EmmyHope Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Hi, I have a '98 Legacy Outback with the auto transmission and have several questions. The backlight illuminating the on-the-floor gear selector (Park, N, Drive, etc....) does not work. I have checked all the fuses (drivers side under dash and engine bay) and they seem to be fine. I was leaking oil. My father and boyfriend thought it looked like it was coming from the oil pressure sensor on top of the engine next to the alternator. They replaced it. In testing the replacement they took the connector off the sensor and turned the car on and ran it for 5 minutes. No oil pressure light came on. They then did the same with the connector on. What could be the cause of this? The rear windshield wiper does not work (the defroster does). Whenever the vehicle is on, you can hear a buzzing sound coming from the base of the rear wiper, so I assume power is getting to the wiper. Is this wiper motor something that can be rebuilt, or is this another problem? Thanks for any and all help. edit: I forgot to mention that my passenger side foglight glass is broken. I have search on the internet for a replacement, and have found several subaru parts places that sell the whole set, or EVERY OTHER piece but the glass lens. Anyone know where I can pick one up (besides the junkyard, not too many subaru's here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 the shifter light is probably a bad bulb, the center console will have to be taken apart to replace it. i cant help you with the oil problem sorry. and the rear windshield wiper motor needs to be replaced, no sence in rebuilding, just buy new if you want to spend the money, or, go pick one up from a junk yard for 10 bucks that works. but who knows for how long. the stock subaru foglights are 6 inch i believe if you have the big ones, just go get at aftermarket set and have your dad or boyfreind put them in for you, i upgraded mine cause mine were cracked too, i picked up a set of 6" pilots from an offroad 4x4 shop and a set of decent builbs for 80 bucks total, and then just hard wired them in to my factory wiring. and they even came with the same fog grill that you have now so you would never know the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmb2485 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 The backlight illuminating the on-the-floor gear selector (Park, N, Drive, etc....) does not work. I have checked all the fuses (drivers side under dash and engine bay) and they seem to be fine. Bad bulb. I have a manual so I can't help you with specifics, but I'm sure you can find some info on it with a little searching. I was leaking oil. My father and boyfriend thought it looked like it was coming from the oil pressure sensor on top of the engine next to the alternator. They replaced it. In testing the replacement they took the connector off the sensor and turned the car on and ran it for 5 minutes. No oil pressure light came on. They then did the same with the connector on. What could be the cause of this? Leaks are not fun to find. I'd give the engine compartment a good cleaning, then drive it for a few days and look for the wet spot. You can clean the engine compartment with a hose and a can of engine degreaser; just be careful not to spray any water in the air intake and don't go nuts with the degreaser or water on electrical connectors and the alternator. The rear windshield wiper does not work (the defroster does). Whenever the vehicle is on, you can hear a buzzing sound coming from the base of the rear wiper, so I assume power is getting to the wiper. Is this wiper motor something that can be rebuilt, or is this another problem? Could be a lot of things. Use a multimeter to make sure the wiring at the wiper motor has twelve volts when you turn the wiper on. If it does, pull the motor and give it twelve volts while sitting on the workbench. If it works, something is bound up in the wiper mechanism. If it doesn't, replace the motor. edit: I forgot to mention that my passenger side foglight glass is broken. I have search on the internet for a replacement, and have found several subaru parts places that sell the whole set, or EVERY OTHER piece but the glass lens. Anyone know where I can pick one up (besides the junkyard, not too many subaru's here) Try ebay. Or find some aftermarket lights that are the right size and use a little ingenuity to install them. If you go aftermarket, either get something with the same wattage bulbs as the stockers, or re-wire them using a relay with power straight from the battery and the factory wiring as the switch. If you run higher wattage bulbs on the stock wiring you could end up melting the wires which could start a fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmyHope Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Thanks for the help. I would just like to clarify about the oil pressure sensor. The leak appears to have been from the old sensor, so I do not think it is a problem. The question I meant to ask was, why would the oil pressure light not come on when they unplugged the sensor and ran the motor? Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmb2485 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Thanks for the help. I would just like to clarify about the oil pressure sensor. The leak appears to have been from the old sensor, so I do not think it is a problem. The question I meant to ask was, why would the oil pressure light not come on when they unplugged the sensor and ran the motor? Thanks again If you just put the key in the on position, without the motor running, does the oil pressure light come on? If not, you have a bad bulb. All the lights on the dash should be on when you do this, to verify that they work. Of course, it could also just be the computer not realizing there was a problem. I drove my Jeep for a couple months with a bad throttle position sensor that would act up every few days, and the thing didn't throw a code (check engine light) until about six weeks in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmyHope Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 There are two lights that flash on during start up that I think refer to the oil sysyem. Just off the top of my head there is a light with words (I think its oil level) and the "oil can" light. Both flash on when you start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmyHope Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 when you start the car, their supposed to flash...if they stay on after the car has been running for about 15 seconds then theres something wrong with that system that its indicating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmyHope Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Im sorry im not explaining this correctly. With or without the oil pressure sensor connected, they flash on when starting the engine and then go off. My concern is, should the oil pressure light come on if the sensor is not connected (and stay on), but it doesnt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one bad bg Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 im not a subaru expert but i dont think thats a pressure light, i think its an oil level light...maybe your oil pressure sensor is connected to your check engine system, in which case it wouldnt turn on until you drove the car 300 miles with it disconnected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmyHope Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thats a better answer than we have been able to come up with. My question to that would be, isn't that a rather dangerous design? Don't engines have to have a minimum oil pressure to effectively lubricate the engine? If it would only come on after 300 miles of fault the engine would be ruined if was at under 5psi for 300 miles. anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmb2485 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 The oil light on any car is for pressure, not level. Newer cars that have electronics for everything may have an oil level idiot light also, but the standard oil can light is for pressure. Your light may not have come on because your oil pressure never got low, because you have a bad sensor or because the computer just didn't realize there was a problem (see my TPS example above). I'll look in the FSM and see if there is a test procedure for the sensor when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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