In need of help

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
01/26/2015 at 22:32 • Filed to: None

I'm on my way to Sno*Drift rally and my dash suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. The check engine light and "traction control off" lights have come on, the "cruise" light is blinking, and the SI-Drive light is blinking and stuck in sport mode. Anyone ever hear of anything like this? Ideas on what to do? Not sure if I should try for Buffalo (original planned stop, about 90 minutes away), try for the nearest city, or just call AAA and have them tow it to said city.

UPDATE: reset computer by disconnecting battery. Lights cleared and back on the road, but now very paranoid.

DISCUSSION (31)

JGrabowMSt > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:34

Is it running normally? Any funny bumps, rattles, noises, etc?

Any major amounts of slush under the car?

Racescort666 > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:39

what kind of car? This is going to sound like the dumbest thing ever but: turn it off and back on again and see if it goes away.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:40

Maybe its just cold and the electronics are confused

thereisnospork > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:41

Everything going off at once screams electrical to me, likely as not a loose connector, ground, or battery terminal. Maybe a bad alternator regulator putting out too much voltage. I'd start with the easy like loosening / tightening the battery terminals and any obvious ground straps in the engine bay if you have the tools and look for improvement.

I own dead car brands only > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:45

disconnect the battery for 15 minutes and try that. It always fixed the stupid little electrical things in my old Saab.

Big Bubba Ray > Racescort666
01/26/2015 at 22:45

Subaru Outback XT. 2009 if I remember correctly.

Big Bubba Ray > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:47

My Outback does this on occasion. The check engine light comes on periodically for no reason whatsoever. Just continue driving. It may turn all off by itself. When mine comes on, it takes about 40 or so miles to reset. Give it some time and see what happens.

Edit: if the lights don't turn themselves off, go to Autozone or whatever parts store you frequent and have them scan it for you.

Boxer_4 > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:51

All of those lights are normal for a check engine light. For some reason, the cruise starts flashing, and the traction control off light turns on. I don't have experience with SI drive, but from a quick search online, it appears that it's normal for the SI drive light to come on and for it to get stuck in Sport mode for a check engine light.

Here's something to try, but I'm not sure if will work for you. There should be a way to get into diagnostic mode and pull the stored codes without a code reader. I've tried it on my 09 Forester before and got it to work. Maybe it will work for you. The steps are as follows:

turn ignition on

quickly (you've ten seconds to do all this)

turn on lightswitch

press trip reset four times

turn lights off

press trip reset four times

turn lights on

press trip reset four times

This should get you your stored codes, and you can look them up and decide what you want to do.

Racescort666 > Big Bubba Ray
01/26/2015 at 22:54

We had this problem specifically with our 2008 Ford Fusion pool car at work.

Boxer_4 > Big Bubba Ray
01/26/2015 at 22:55

2008, but yes.

PowderHound > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:55

Undo the positive? Side of the battery. Depress brake pedal a few times till it's really firm. Connect battery. That should reset your ecu and if the check engine lights comes on again very quickly then you have other issues.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 22:56

The Trac light might not be indicative of the issue, most cars nowadays automatically disable traction control when anything at all goes screwy. My Mom got rear ended a while ago and the traction control and ABS disabled themselves until the ECU was "reset".

Big Bubba Ray > Racescort666
01/26/2015 at 22:56

All the warning lights lighting up? My OB flashes the check engine light occasionally for no reason but I keep driving and it turns off eventually haha

Big Bubba Ray > Boxer_4
01/26/2015 at 22:56

Damnit, so close haha

Boxer_4 > Big Bubba Ray
01/26/2015 at 23:02

I did sort of cheat and look it up.

Big Bubba Ray > Boxer_4
01/26/2015 at 23:04

Substitute the name Dillon for "Boxer_4." I'm semi drunk so this seems somewhat relevant somehow.

Racescort666 > Big Bubba Ray
01/26/2015 at 23:06

Yep, everything, CEL, traction control, goes into limp mode, the works. I think it was the electronic throttle body. There was even a recall for it.

Big Bubba Ray > Racescort666
01/26/2015 at 23:13

Damn, that's weird as hell. What's it like in limp mode?

Xyl0c41n3 > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 23:15

Whatever you decide to do, stay safe out there, Dusty.

victor > Big Bubba Ray
01/26/2015 at 23:24

Mine had that happen. Turbo waste gate failure. But it's different, and you gotta check what codes are thrown.

JEM > Dusty Ventures
01/26/2015 at 23:25

Zis it running ok? yes? Carry on.

Likely slush getting thrown up in place neither you or the 'Buru want it be in and confusing things.

Racescort666 > Big Bubba Ray
01/26/2015 at 23:33

Generally shitty. It pops out of torque converter lockup, engine response is awful, it won't rev above 3-4k rpm.

Boxer_4 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
01/26/2015 at 23:36

Yep, and some (such as Subaru) also disable cruise control.

Dusty Ventures > Racescort666
01/26/2015 at 23:41

That was actually the first thing I tried, followed by turning it off, waiting five minutes, and turning it back on. Neither worked, but disconnecting the battery for a minute successfully reset it. Now I'm praying the lights don't come back on.

XJDano > Dusty Ventures
01/27/2015 at 00:02

Well if it still runs, drives, and brakes, press on.

This happened to me, and they had no answer besides drive it back 3.5 hours to StLouis.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > PowderHound
01/27/2015 at 00:46

Smart Suggestion, Im thinking the computers brain froze over and it went nuts

PowderHound > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
01/27/2015 at 01:07

I do it whenever my WRX flips a code. As long as it isn't a flashing CEL its shouldn't be much to worry about

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Dusty Ventures
01/27/2015 at 08:32

I had the same thing happen in my XV Crosstrek, with the exception of the S1 light as I don't have one. IIRC, it reads as a Cam Position sensor on a reader, but is actually caused be a bad oil control valve. My car was still under warranty at the time so Subaru fixed it gratis. I know for my car there was a TSB about it. Perhaps yours is something similar.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Dusty Ventures
01/27/2015 at 11:54

If you throw a code that lights the CEL on a Subaru it will disable the cruise control and flash that light at you. Mine is pre-traction control and SI drive, but I would guess those default to some sort of safe mode and the lights flash to get your attention. I see you got everything to reset by disconnecting the battery and resetting but I would get it checked with a code reader. Even if the CEL isn't on Subaru's will list any codes that are about to light the CEL. Hopefully it was something simple like the gas cap not getting back on correctly or a fuel system vent getting iced up.

TL;DR - The only light to worry about is the CEL, the rest Subaru lights up to make it impossible to ignore the CEL.

DropTopEnvy > Dusty Ventures
02/02/2015 at 12:52

Same thing happened to me when I had my '06 Outback XT - I did one (count it, ONE) snow donut, dash lit up, went into limp mode and ended my fun for the day. The only snow day we had last year.. I traded it in a couple weeks later. Oh, and my engine had 13,000 miles on it after it was replaced at 62k. I wanted out of my can of worms before it got opened any further - but yours is probably in better shape!

Dusty Ventures > DropTopEnvy
02/03/2015 at 00:25

Yeah, mine has been more than happy to do sno-nuts. When the light went on I was actually slowing down slightly while passing an accident on the other side of the divider on the interstate. Super random timing. Probably a dirty sensor or something, there haven't been any lights or signs of trouble since.