mikeamondo

Howdy... I've posted my Legacy Purge valve solenoid problem, and thanks to everyone who answered... I'll be swapping it soon.... Now... on to Legacy #2... 1990 Wagon.... CEL check says Oxygen sensor.... though the check eng. light does not come on constantly. Doing the eng. running check with the green connector gives no fault.... although, I might wait and try it when the problem (and light) seem to be occuring. Here's what it does: Runs good when cold... no real problems. Then, as the car warms, there seems to develop a miss that is almost unnoticable until the car is under a load, as when pulling a steep hill. Then the miss becomes VERY noticable, lurching and hesitating..... As long as you don't drive agressivley, and stay off the mountain, you might not notice the miss.... it's so minor it feels like you're turning the ac on and off, robbing just a little juice from the motor. Then you go to pass a truck on a hill and forget it. Sputter city. Normally, the CEL will then come on a few seconds or a minute later, and stay on for a few miles. So.... is this the O2 sensor causing a problem? Is it hard to change? As always, help from the gurus on this site is greatly appreciated! You guys are truly the best! --Mike

Thanks for the reply and the info! So... does this purge valve thing do something really important, or is it just so the car can be sold in California? Would it's failure result in the low power on the hills we've seen? What I'm getting at here is.... is it really worth it to fix it when the cars running okay? Thanks, Mike

I've got two Legacys... a '90 and a '92. I ran the check sequence as described in the Sticky Note section on this forum and found the following codes: With the Black Connectors: 1992: 12 (Cam Angle), 31 (Throttle), 32 (Oxygen), 35 (Canister Purge Solenoid Valve) 1990: 32 (Oxygen) With the Green Connectors, while driving: 1992: 35 only 1990: No fault (steady blinking) Soooooo.,..... If I understand how this works.... with the black connectors, you're seeing ANYTHING that has sent an error code while driving in the recent past, and with the Green Connectors, you are seeing those things that are sending an error code NOW. Correct? And if so, does that mean the only thing I need to worry about is the Canister Purge Solenoid Valve on the '92? And.... what the hell is a Canister Purge Solenoid Valve, and how big of a pain is it to change? By the way, both cars run okay, but the '92 is weak on steeper hills. Other than that, and the check engine light being on, you would not know there was a problem. On the '90 model, showing no errors on the green connectors, there is some hesitation here and there.... almost like a slightly clogged fuel filter, but the filter is new..... Any help on this, as always, is greatly appreciated! --Mike

I've changed the fuel filter. That helped a major miss problem that I'd been having. But now, while climbing a hill, it misses and lurches, like it's on 3 cyl. then 4, then 3 and back and forth.... seems to be getting worse. The last mechanic to look at it (a week ago) said it was showing O2 sensor and throttle position sensor. Would either of these cause the problem? The Check Eng. light is on intermitantly. How do I check the codes? And finally, as we don't have money for anymore mechanics, we are going to be doing work on this car (and our 92 Legacy) ourselves for a while.... What is the best Shop Manual / Technical help book I can buy for these cars? I have a Haynes manual for my Old Lincoln T-Car, and frankly, it's crap. Where can I find something that will guide me through basic and not so basic diagnosis and repair? thanks! Mike

Do I get at it through the floor in the back of the wagon?

I've got a '90 Legacy.... same car as on my other post about the starting issue.... Here's another, but I think unrelated problem... When the fuel tank is low... like below a quarter or eight of a tank, it will loose power, especially when going up hill.... acts like it's about to die. If I pump the gas a few quick times, it will catch an run again without completely dying. The problem goes away when I fill the tank and only happens when low. Is this a weak fuel pump? If so, how hard is it to change? I just realized that I forgot to put it on the list for the mechanic....... Thanks, Mike

Yes... once warmed up, it starts and runs with no problems. ---

Gas comes from a variety of stations.... Mechanic this morning thought it might be Air Mass Sensor related.... He also said new ones are $300+. Any ideas on the air mass thing? Sound right? Thanks, M

I've got a 1990 Sub. Legacy Wagon with 120k miles +or-, and when the weather is below 20 degrees or so, it has a serious problem starting. Actually, this also occurs sometimes on my '92 wagon, but it's not as severe. The car turns over, may fire and run for 1 sec. or so and dies. A couple times like that and then it backfires back through the aircleaner... If I can get it to catch, after several repeats of this proceedure, I can sometimes get it to run (very roughly), and by staying on the gas pedal, I can keep it lit long enough for it to warm up. Eventually, it will even out and run okay. The car is going into the shop today, but the weather is 30 degrees plus and the ole' boy started right up this morning. Mechanics' going to think I'm making it up! Anyway... does this sound like the idle air control that I've seen mentioned in other posts? What else should be worth trying if it comes back from the shop with a big "I dunno" from the mechanic? Any suggestions appreciated! Mike

Hey! I Found the ECU! Turns out my mechanic was hooking stuff up to the TCU instead. Don't know how I missed it the first time! Anyway, the black box computer is hooked up and working as promised. Thanks for all the help, and making so much information available online! Could not have gotten this thing working without it! Mike

Thanks for the reply, ShawnW..... I'll see if I can find the box with the yellow plugs. We've taken the project away from the mechanic.... I found the other box I described whilst under the dash myself..... It has black plugs, and I suspect it might be the TCU as you mention. It is into this unit that he connected the speed pulse wire. Where would the ECU be in relation to the TCU? Is the TCU the first box you would see looking up, under the dash beneath the steering wheel? Any help here is greatly appreciated! As to the performance comment.... I have no idea what you mean. We're trying to install a computer to monitor how our teenagers are driving the car. If I could make it go slower, I would! Again... sorry to those of you reading this who would say the computer is violating thier trust..... but I don't really care.... I just want them to staty alive while they learn how to drive. Thanks! Mike

Okay guys...... I've had to take this project on myself, as the connection from the mechanic didn't turn out quite right. So.... the newbie asks...... Where the heck is the ECU? Under the dash, beside the steering column... where you can only see by contorting yourself half in and half out of the car, with your head on the brake pedal.... there is a brass colored box, about the size of wireless router box, (it's what I'm looking at), mounted on a 45 degree angle, with a row of connectors in the end. My mechanic thought that this was the ecu, and the the diagrams listed above, were those connectors in the end. However, the connectors don't match the diagram. Not the right number of pins. Is this, in fact, the ecu, and if so, why doesn't it match the diagram? I also downloaded the 1992 engine and electrical guide from the same folder as the diagrams, and began a search for the B58 connector. I was thinking that this fabled connector was, in fact, the source of the diagram, and where the speed wire should be hooked. More contortion. More pain. No connector. It's supposed to be yellow. Would appreciate knowing if that is in fact what I need to find, and, if so, where the heck is it? As a reminder, I need to find a source for the speed "pulse". Would also be helpful if I knew how many pulses per sec. it produced.... Fords make 8000.... how about Subs? This should get me started...... Thanks! Mike

Wow! Thanks for the lightening quick response! If I understand the diagrams you sent... Connector B58, number 11 should be carrying the electronic pulse from the speed sensor.... and all we should need to do is tie into that wire at the connector.... is that right? (sorry to be so clueless here!) thanks! Mike

We're trying to have a mechanic install a computer device in our 90 Legacy Wagon, designed to record several items while the car is being driven, including acceleration, cornering, braking and speed. This, of course, is to help our teenagers drive like normal people instead of teenagers. (Sorry to any younger folk on here, but I'd rather they feel untrusted and alive than trusted and dead!) Anyway, the manufacturer of the computer says we need to hook into the vehicle speed sensor, but that the 90 Legacy's age might mean that it only gets speed info from a traditional speedometer cable. I know it has a cable, but does it also acquire a speed "pulse" through an electronic speed sensor of some type? It seems like it might collect it for purposes other than the speedometer. The unit is all hooked up and ready to go, except for the speed line. I've been told a transducer, installed inline with the speedometer cable, will generate the need 'pulse', but I was hoping to find a direct connection in the system first. Thanks, Mike