Gaffa

Well, if you take it to the scrapyard/used auto parts dealership it will actually be dismantled down to a list of usable organs that will eventually be sold to a needing recipient, right? =) If this makes you feel bad, put out an ad for a parts car, then you will meet the man who needs the organs.

Sooo my quest to get the trusty ol' Sub back in working order is something I cannot let go. Maybe you rugged oldies have some useful input, here goes: It ran very poorly for close to a year and I had trouble getting the error codes because normal OBD2 readers could not work it's SSM protocol but eventually I figured it out and replaced an O2 sensor. Immediate improvement, ran (almost) fine for some time. It then got worse and worse and went from intermittent starting to not starting at all, if it started it ran decent but had low power. Pulled it into my newly finished workshop and started to dig into it. Read the codes again and now it highlighted knock sensor and ignition circuit. Pulled a couple plugs and found them covered in oil (Jeeezus, just getting the plugs out requires special tools, screams, and a tame octopus), google told me bad gaskets on valve covers and spark plug canals. Replaced those, changed the oil and plugs with a hopeful attitude. Rubbed the starter for a few seconds and it eventually coughed to life and ran better than ever, purred like a kitten but on the second attempt it would not start. On some attempts it would run for some time but start to stutter and then die which was a new phenomenon. Probably unrelated but as I put in more oil (hadn't filled her up enough) that symptom disappeared. As of now it starts on every 2nd attempt and always with a struggle, if it does start it runs fine and starter gas has never made a difference which has lead me to believe fuel supply is fine but ignition is the problem. Nice blue spark comes off the coil, one plug cable looks beat up so will replace all four of them too, but it feels like with bad cables it should run poorly and not just be difficult while starting. I don't get error codes for the ignition circuit anymore but sporadically get a code for knock sensor. It seems to appear quite randomly though, whether it starts or not. I am going to troubleshoot the knock sensor using a web guide and possibly replace it but apart from that I am starting to run out of ideas, you guys have any tips? I run FreeSSM and have plenty of values to look at but don't have the skills/knowledge to be able to pass judgement.

Well, hello again. It's been a while... Sooo the situation is this: I eventually settled on the OBDkey and started working with that. It has not really worked well for me and it took me ages to finally connect to the car after fiddling with drivers, protocols, ports and so on. I managed to pull a couple error codes and eventually replaced an O2 sensor and the car ran MUCH better. Now the car has started acting up again and I just can't connect.... I was able to connect once at like the 67th attempt but was unable to run any program so something with the communication does not work, I really put tons of time and effort (since it's kinda fun too) into hacking my way forward with different computers and so on but it just won't work. And I'm not quite willing to give up either so I want to get myself a reader that is custom made for Subaru, the bluetooth OBDkey I got because I thought it would be useful in the future for other cars too. But google does not help me here, what reader will work for me? My Legacy is a European 1999 model that runs the SSM1 protocol, the old one, through the regular OBDII connector. Which all-in-one reader can handle this? I feel kinda done with struggling with laptop connections so I feel a reader with a screen that I just chuck in the connector would be in order but the ones I see on Ebay and so on does not guarantee SSM1 compatibility. I can settle for a USB-connected device and use a computer but the bluetooth stuff, need a little break from that.....

I checked the pin placement on the female connector on the car and I have metal pins in slots 4,5,7,11,12,13 and 16. This does not correspond with anything google has shown me...

Thanks a lot for your input, I ended up getting a cheap one not from ebay but from a decent online store for like 100 USD. My intention was to spend a little more but after reading about protocols and technicalities until my head spun rapidly I just went "that might work". This one is called Dibotech OBD-2 scanner. I've seen ones online that look identical called VAG so I guess it is a common chinese product sold with different labels on it. I hooked it up to the 2001 Impreza and it connected without issue and displayed the "old" code. I will order the sensors and replace them and then delete the code but for now I have only checked that it connects. Buut: When I tried hooking it up to my trusty ol' Legacy it lit up, chewed through the different protocols for a while but could not connect, I tried a few times, checked the connector and cables and so on. Google told me to check all the fuses and they are all good. I read that on some Subarus the cigarette fuse needs to be good for the OBDII port to work. Regarding that, I did kill the lighter outlet years ago when I ran the living hell out of a 12V compressor with it and it has not worked since but the fuse is good with voltage on both sides. But since the scanner lights up it obviously has power so that should not be an issue I guess? Is there any reason for this particular scanner to work on my old Legacy? The supported protocols in the device info reads like this: ISO15765-4 (CAN) ISO14230-4 (KWP2000) ISO9141-2 SAE J1850 PWM (41.6 kbaud) SAE J1850 VPW (10.4 kbaud) ISO 15765-4 CAN (11 bit ID, 500 kbaud) ISO 15765-4 CAN (29 bit ID, 500 kbaud) ISO 15765-4 CAN (11 bit ID, 250 kbaud) ISO 15765-4 CAN (29 bit ID, 250 kbaud) ISO 14230-4 KWP (5 baud init, 10.4 kbaud) ISO 14230-4 KWP (fast init, 10.4 kbaud) ISO 9141-2 (5 baud init, 10.4 kbaud) Should I return it and get another model or is there anything else I can try?

Thank You for your reply. Thing is the guy in the shop kinda recommended me to just delete the code since it could be leftovers from an engine misfire and not necessarily a bad sensor or something. But you may be right, replacing the sensor may be the logical first step. Still want a reader though because gadgets are fun..... and I want to to do some work on the legacy also.

Well hello, those who are about to aid me. I am on the hunt for an error code reader, I never fiddled with those so the standards and all are difficult to overlook. I have on the one hand a 1999 Legacy that runs poorly and the check engine light flashes sometimes, I want to look into that. I also have a 2001 Impreza that didn't pass the yearly check due to check engine light and error code for bad camshaft position (was it P0340?). I want to just delete that error from its memory. What should I buy? I guess I need both a code reader and adapters to connect it to these pre-2002 models. I found something online that seemed to be suitable but would require a Windows XP computer.... How do you even find such a laptop nowadays? I would like to be able to use either a Mac, a newer PC, or an Iphone. Doesn't really matter, anything but what I don't have (a PC running XP). What can you recommend? Any help is greatly appreciated.