96 Legacy "AT Oil Light" codes 24 and 32

[JayW]

Hey, this is my first post! So go easy on me!

 

My girlfriend bought a 1996 Legacy L 2.2 automatic with ~195k on it. It appears to have been taken good care of for most of it's life. After driving it for a few months, the AT oil light started flashing 16 times at start-up every once in a while. Now it is pretty consistent and she finally decided to tell me. After researching (thanks, for the info, everyone), I did the diagnostic and got codes 32 (Vehicle speed sensor 1) and 24 (Duty c). I've never worked on at AT and am intimidated by them. I've changed the fluid, cleaned the grounds, etc, with no changes to the problem. I am not getting any torque bind on tight corners. The ABS light is also on all the time with codes 52, 51, 31, and 11. Any recommendations before I try to replace the sensor and solenoid? Anything that might be worth checking? Thanks in advance!

[idosubaru]

erase multiple codes and see which one comes back first.  replace that one first. 

 

 

here the vehicle speed sensor is the easiest one so i'd replace that one.  they don't fail often enough to justify new prices so used is a good fit sometimes.

 

does the FWD fuse by the front passengers strut tower in the engine bay work?

when you install a fuse does the light on the dash light up FWD and is the vehicle in FWD?

 

don't laugh, this has happened before, are the driveshaft and rear axles in place?

 

same with ABS - clear codes and see which comes back.

 

a bad rear brake light bulb can cause the ABS to freak out.  the filament can fail in such a way that it dirtys up the signal on that wiring circuit which is integrated with the ABS controller.  replace bulbs.

 

some model Subaru's right around 96-98, i forget which year(s), have a relay issue with the ABS.  you can google it i'm sure, it was fairly common, maybe even a TSB, etc available for that issue.

 

sometimes sensors are just crudded up with metallic fragments, cleaning them off will get rid of an ABS sensor code.

[Fairtax4me]

There are two speed sensors on the auto trans IIRC, so knowing which one the code is for (1 or 2) can help with diagnosing the issue. There is also another speed sensor in the speedometer head which is ised to convert the 8 pulse signal from the forward sensor on the trans (up near the front differential) into a 4 pulse signal for the ECU. If this goes bad the ECU gets no speed signal which will affect ahift points and other things.

Vehicle speed affects the engagement of the DutyC solenoid so the TCU may just be freaking out that the VSS is not sending the correct signal.

 

ABS code 11 indicates the ABSCM is in self diagnostic mode. You will always get code 11 even if there are no other codes.

Check the wheel speed sensors for crud on the tips and reset the ABS codes and see what comes back.

If the ABS light is not ON during normal driving the ABS is working correctly at the time.

[JayW]

I just cleared the codes and will drive it this afternoon and then check the codes again. 

 

The FWD fuse does work: FWD light comes on and it is indeed in FWD.

 

 

Driveshaft and axles are all good.

 

Brake lights are good, but there was some corrosion on my driver's side, so I cleaned that up.

 

Yesterday while driving up a mountain road, it dropped out of gear. I let off the gas, then put it back on and it went in smoothly, with no other problems for the rest of the drive, which included some steep gravel hills, so 4WD was definitely working well. This is the first time (that I know of) for this to happen. I had just drained and filled the transmission again, and I had it a little bit low on fluid. Hopefully this was the cause.

 

Thanks for the tips, I'll report back after driving and checking the codes again. I'll also check out the ABS business.

[Crawlerdan]

subaru automatics have a series of solenoids in the trans pan, they are ZERO clearance, if you jack on the pan, hit a small rock, or the pan in anyway holds weight, those little guys crack, causing at temp light. just a good place to look.

[JayW]

Okay, so I drove it for two days with no AT light, then yesterday (after a 20 minute drive at highway speeds) it came on after restarting the car to check. Checked the codes... 24 (Duty C), with no 32 (VSS1). Just drove in tight circles, no torque bind. Shifting feels really good after all of this new ATF I've been putting in. I don't really get it... If the duty c were failing, I would get torque bind and the FWD fuse would not work, right? I was really hoping it was a bad VSS that was messing up everything like you said, fairtax4me, but it doesn't look like that is the case. It appears that the problem occurs when driving at highway speeds.

 

Something strange that I've noticed is that the engine temp gauge always reads warm (normal operating temp), even when starting on cold mornings. Weird. Wiring problem?

 

Coming from my 2002 VW, where sensors go crazy all the time and signal the CEL, I'm surprised that I'm not getting any CEL codes for things like this. Normal?

[johnceggleston]

do you have mice where you live?

 

check the wiring, and the connectors.

look for bad spots.