thats a relief as the light does go off eventually. Where are the sensors and how easy are they to clean?

The sensors are on the offside front and offside rear suspension arms. There is a plug on each and they are activated by the suspension arms.

Ok i have had a reply from Subaru. Paraphrasing them they say the dealer bought too many parts as they bought the connecting linkages and sensor all together.

However, the parts for the system shown here: http://opposedforces.com/parts/impre...llustration_6/ show the parts as ordered and do not give an option to order the sensor alone.

Therefore, can anyone help to break down the parts even further to just the sensor itself?? If possible? i.e. expand again what is included in kit part no: 84031FE000 and part no:84021FE000 ??

If we can do that we all wont need to suffer this cost in future.

You can get alternative or second hand sensors for much less....

Please supply the details on alternate sensor.

Regarding second hand sensor, i think that would be a lottery if they are prone to water ingress. However, in the recorded cases so far, it has beeen a major shock for everyone to find out the cost of what is regarded as a minor item. Including in my own case.

I would like to identify an alternative product or a cheaper way of buying the part before i move away from the subject :thumb:

Well I don't know where my garage sourced them but they were £50.
There are some on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nk....c0.m270.l1313

Though none for scoobs at the moment.

Good find :thumb:

Doesn't surprise me tbh, they will be aftermarket ;parts, not made by Subaru, who will simply ramp the price as they now seem to do with all spares:(

The brackets are part of the sensor assy and cannot be purchased separately & the small tie rod is part of it too. What you see on the Opposed forces diagram is that of the Subaru Parts catalogue, Nothing is available by itself

Cheers Rob, that is what i was afraid of. I will get the old parts back and see if i can trace the maker or equivalent. :thumb:

subscribed with intrest incase it happens to mine

Got this problem on mine.

I've found the fault. It is the front sensor. What happens is because the connector is mounted vertically (its horizontal on the rear one), water runs down into it and corrodes the contacts. On mine it had caused one of the 3 pins to snap. I've stripped it down but unfortunately i'll need both a sensor and the connector as the pin has corroded so badly its stuck inside and just disintegrates if you try to remove...The sensor clearly has one of its pins missing! Front one is very easy to get at, rear one isn't so! My rear one looks fine though.
Anyone know where the 'brain' is?
What a stupid system, I just want a manual switch!
Here's a pic of my missing pin
Attachment 56370

Stpid design.

If/when you refit it, I'd paint the joint with waxoyl a few times to seal it against water penetration.

What's the matter with FHI? Don't they have wet roads in Japan?

Let us know where you get the replacement sensor from and how much. Dont get if from Subaru unless you want your wallet emptied. :rolleyes:

Any makers markings/Part Numbers on the sensor???

The system comprises this: a sensor on o/s/f suspension link; sensor on o/s/r suspension link;ecu located behind glovebox, actuator on each headlamp dipped beam. The sensors are hall-effect and are fully encapsulated so they cannot be dismantled.The connectors are 'sealed' but (evidently) still prone to water ingress. On the front sensor, moisture entering via the connector gland can enter the sensor itself. Both sensors appear to be identical, only the connecting linkages differ front and rear. The lnkages are very poorly designed and the pivots are prone to contamination and jamming, but can be repaired fairly easily by dismantling/lubrication/reassembly. Failure of one or other of the sensors throws a warning light in the instrument cluster. The appearance of the light, even intermittently, is almost certainly due to the front sensor having failed due to water ingress. Replacment of the sensor would be necessary in this case. Corrosion or damage to the connector pins may also be present and might be rectified by polishing the affected pins, or may require the connector to be replaced. If, after replacement, it transpired that the front sensor had not in fact failed, that would infer failure of the rear sensor, which could be replaced by the new sensor already tried at the front.

genuine parts GmbH, (http://eshop.original-teile.de) can supply the required part number (84021FE000) for approximately GBP90, but the minimum order charge makes it uneconomical to buy fewer than 3 at a time. For 3, the total price, inc shipping would be around GBP105, each, and this would reduce the more that were ordered at one time.

Would other forum members be willing to take part in a group buy?

... or a smear of clear/white silicone grease from a plumber's merchant (NOT the stuff you put round the bath, it's more the consistency of vaseline, and doesn't dry or harden).

Yes, high temperature grease works too.

bttt

Thats a good price, still quite pricy though for what it is. Also found it here:

http://www.walldonwaypartsshop.co.uk...EVE_84021FE000 but thats nearly same as subaru price.

Seeing as i am working in Russia found them here too:

http://parts.auto.ru/brand/subaru/84021FE000 about 46 RUB/GBP so about 88 GBP.

Same issue on my 2007 Hawkeye - scared to death at those prices!! I guess they're relatively easy to fit but where to source the part? And is there an easy way of detecting which sensor might be at fault?

Anyone tried to re-engineer a sensor from a different vehicle? e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3007057056...=p5197.c0.m619

I have asked a couple of the Chinese ebay suppliers if they can get Subaru fitments, if not then I'll have a go at butchering one of the Landrover parts, it's worth a try at £9.99 http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/smile.gif.


AJS

If it can be done for £9.99 then how on earth can Subaru charge £270 for the same functionality - I'd demand to see a full breakdown of actual production costs if I was being stung for that!

Just an update: I managed a spasmodic repair using the trusty WD 40 approach. The warning light would occasionally come on at start up but go out after about 10 minutes driving. However, I then had all four sets of brake pads replaced and it'sd been fine since. Not because of the brakes of course but I wonder if the jacking up extended the suspension and loosened the brackets?

Repair update
 

Well, after speaking to the ebay supplier of the landrover part I found out that they (landrover) use same part as BMW & Minis. Main issue with bodging a repair using one of those it that the landrover part has 6 output pins whereas Subaru use 3.

I couldn't find ANY electrical info about the LR part so I was reluctant to try and bodge one to fit incase it killed the Subaru levelling system (unlikely but possible).

Solution was to get a second hand sensor from someone on the forums breaking a Hawkeye, note - front and rear sensors are the same, it's only the linkage that is different.

Reassembly after obtaining replacement part:-
1, dollop of vaseline in the connector recess.
2, push on electrical connector.
3, refit sensor.
4, completely cover with waxoyl.
5, refit linkage.
6, coat everything with waxoyl.
7, hope it doesn't fail again.

All the best,

AJS

Any one got any pics as to where the sensors are. Just incase I'm looking at the wrong things !!!

Finally got round to getting mine fitted by my local specialist. Annoyingly, even though the replacements are nearly new items that came off a Hawk being converted into a track car, and they worked OK there, and their fitting has extinguished the warning lights on my car, the headlights are pointing down to their lowest extent.

We have disconnected the battery to allow any controlling ECUs to reset, and an audible noise comes from the motors when the lights are switched on, so I'm not sure what is wrong.

I suppose I could manually raise the lights using the screw adjusters though I don't know how much adjustment that would achieve.

Good to see some happy news on here. I've still not fixed my sensor but instead disconnect it and manually adjusted the lights which are now perfect! well unless i'm towing at night!

I'm going to take the sensor off and try to get inside to see if i can reconnect my missing pin with a direct wire. If it fails i'll get another sensor, MOT not until next year so plenty of time!

Both sensors are mounted on front and rear (drivers side) suspension arms, quite obvious to see
Will take some pics when i mess with mine

Check where the lever arm fits to the sensor, it is shaped like a rectangle but with one end slightly rounded so that it is keyed correctly. However, it is easy to get it 180 degrees wrong, escecially if it is a bit corroded.

It's a simple job to undo the nut holding the lever arm to the sensor and rotate the sensor spindle 180 degrees.

Yes thanks for info I'll have a look at that though I thought that the sensors would still have been attached to the lever arms as they came from another car.

That's a good point, they should be correct then, but it sounds like one of the "new" sensors may not be working properly.

If you still have your old ones it is worth plugging your old REAR one into the front connector (you don't have to fit the sensor - just plug it in) as a test.
Theory behind this is that the rear ones seem to last a bit longer and may still work.

If it makes no difference then try plugging it into the rear.

Good luck!