2005 Baja trubo 91K
I was driving about a month a go, lost power and the check engine light goes on.
I take it to the dealer and they tell me they get a dirty engine code. There a lot of carbon and dirt on the intake butterfly. They suggest a cleaning and a re-flash of the computer for the new gas that we have now a days. Oh and they suggest a 90K mile service - change all fluids
$700 later I don't really notice anything different - Maybe the auto trans seems to down shift a little hard into 2nd and 1st gear when its cold but this could have been there b4 the service.
I start the car today and the check engine light comes on - WTF cars seems to drive OK no weird noises
I'd like to take it to an Autozone and have them put a code reader on it - Can anyone tell me where the post is ?
Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PORT
Moderator: mikenmel08
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
In the drivers footwell, should be visible from underneath, it's on the right side pretty much just below the fusebox.
If you've got problems with carbon deposits you might just need a good Italian tune-up (good hard acceleration for an extended period to get cylinder temps high enough to burn off the carbon deposits) Otherwise throwing some seafoam through the intake should take care of that carbon. Best results you should do both.
For future reference, grab a cheap BT OBDII scanner off of amazon and install Torque on your phone if you have an android phone/tablet. Works great for reading the various sensors and you can do CEL scans yourself. The BT Scanner you'd want is an ELM 327, I've got this one and it works great: http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-ELM327- ... ds=ELM+327
Good luck, let us know what the trouble code is if you want some help with diagnosis/repair.
If you've got problems with carbon deposits you might just need a good Italian tune-up (good hard acceleration for an extended period to get cylinder temps high enough to burn off the carbon deposits) Otherwise throwing some seafoam through the intake should take care of that carbon. Best results you should do both.
For future reference, grab a cheap BT OBDII scanner off of amazon and install Torque on your phone if you have an android phone/tablet. Works great for reading the various sensors and you can do CEL scans yourself. The BT Scanner you'd want is an ELM 327, I've got this one and it works great: http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-ELM327- ... ds=ELM+327
Good luck, let us know what the trouble code is if you want some help with diagnosis/repair.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
I have some good Italian home made wine and some prosciutto but I don;t think the car would care for thatNitro350Z wrote:a good Italian tune-up (good hard acceleration for an extended period to get cylinder temps high enough to burn off the carbon deposits)
I took it to advanced auto and used one of their ODB II scanner - Took forever to connect and I had to go manual with global setting no subaru listed not even in Europe
When I finally got it to read it found P2012 MOD $10 Intake manifold Runner control circuit low bank 2 CONFIRMED
Not sure what tis means and I never used a code reader but I noticed I could clear the code so I did. Took the reader back in and bout some 12.00 Techron® Concentrate Plus injector cleaner. Will dump it in when I leave for work.
Is that normal after clearing codes?
I'll search forum for P2012 codes but I don;t like this ! ! !
P.S. I have an iphone but I will look at the code reader you mentioned could use it on the forester too
When I went to leave the car would not start it just kept cranking and cranking. Yikes I messed up the car but finally it started
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
The injector cleaner stuff is mostly useless, throwing it in the gas tank dilutes it to the point where it doesn't really do anything other than lighten your wallet.
P2012 is a TGV related code (tumble generator valves) they're on the intake runners by the block and they're little half-butterfly valves that block off the intake on startup, they supposedly help with emission on startup. Once your engine is warmed up they park in the open position. I'm surprised you're not in limp mode, usually a TGV code throws it into limp.
Check your wiring around the servos, might be a loose plug or something. Otherwise they're not too difficult to change out (should be easy to find a guide online to reference how to get to them), people are selling their TGV motors and sensors(depending on the year they either have the extra sensors or don't) for fairly cheap since a lot of people do a TGV Delete since once they're open they're just a restriction in the intake tract. If it does end up being the TGV motors and not the connector, I've got a set of servos if you want to buy them.
P2012 is a TGV related code (tumble generator valves) they're on the intake runners by the block and they're little half-butterfly valves that block off the intake on startup, they supposedly help with emission on startup. Once your engine is warmed up they park in the open position. I'm surprised you're not in limp mode, usually a TGV code throws it into limp.
Check your wiring around the servos, might be a loose plug or something. Otherwise they're not too difficult to change out (should be easy to find a guide online to reference how to get to them), people are selling their TGV motors and sensors(depending on the year they either have the extra sensors or don't) for fairly cheap since a lot of people do a TGV Delete since once they're open they're just a restriction in the intake tract. If it does end up being the TGV motors and not the connector, I've got a set of servos if you want to buy them.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
The Subaru Stealer already did a cleaning and a re-flash like 300.00Nitro350Z wrote:The injector cleaner stuff is mostly useless, throwing it in the gas tank dilutes it to the point where it doesn't really do anything other than lighten your wallet.
P2012 is a TGV related code (tumble generator valves) they're on the intake runners by the block and they're little half-butterfly valves that block off the intake on startup, they supposedly help with emission on startup. Once your engine is warmed up they park in the open position. I'm surprised you're not in limp mode, usually a TGV code throws it into limp.
Check your wiring around the servos, might be a loose plug or something. Otherwise they're not too difficult to change out (should be easy to find a guide online to reference how to get to them), people are selling their TGV motors and sensors(depending on the year they either have the extra sensors or don't) for fairly cheap since a lot of people do a TGV Delete since once they're open they're just a restriction in the intake tract. If it does end up being the TGV motors and not the connector, I've got a set of servos if you want to buy them.
The fist time it happened the car would barley run or revup - is that what you mean by limp mode. Today it happened when I started the car. I just started running 87 octane I wonder if that's causing it.
If code comes back maybe its time to bitch at the sealer I mean dealer
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
Yeah, DO NOT use 87 octane in a turbo Baja.
Some TGV codes will cause it to go into limp mode, basically no boost, slow throttle response and it will only rev to like 3,000 RPM. Some of them will not.
After you clear the codes, you have to turn the ignition to ON but not start. let it stay in the on position for a few seconds and you will hear a relay click on the passenger side. Then you can go to start and it will fire right up. Otherwise, it will just crank and crank for a long time before eventually starting.
The drivers side TGV sensors are easy enough to change, the passenger side are not. Subaru does not sell the sensors or motors separately, only the whole assembly last time I looked. But the sensors and motors can be purchased online used, and the sensors are the same as the TPS sensor on the cable operated throttle WRXs so you can buy those if needed.
Get the crap gas out of there and put the proper fuel in first. It should run a lot better and wont destroy the engine from detonation. Then if you still have problems, go after the TGVs.
Some TGV codes will cause it to go into limp mode, basically no boost, slow throttle response and it will only rev to like 3,000 RPM. Some of them will not.
After you clear the codes, you have to turn the ignition to ON but not start. let it stay in the on position for a few seconds and you will hear a relay click on the passenger side. Then you can go to start and it will fire right up. Otherwise, it will just crank and crank for a long time before eventually starting.
The drivers side TGV sensors are easy enough to change, the passenger side are not. Subaru does not sell the sensors or motors separately, only the whole assembly last time I looked. But the sensors and motors can be purchased online used, and the sensors are the same as the TPS sensor on the cable operated throttle WRXs so you can buy those if needed.
Get the crap gas out of there and put the proper fuel in first. It should run a lot better and wont destroy the engine from detonation. Then if you still have problems, go after the TGVs.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
Echoing that 87 is a bad idea. you should be putting in 91 minimum and 93+ if it's available.
You AREN'T saving any money throwing in 87. All your "savings" are being negated by the ecu pulling timing and lowering your millage because of the lower octane gas. Plus detonation can lead to engine failure, which will cost a lot more than any possible savings you'll get from running the wrong fuel.
Pretty much any gasoline turbo motor and high compression naturally aspirated motor requires premium to prevent detonation, not doing so will result in detonation and pulled timing because the ecu is trying to save the motor. The only exception are motors that are tuned for regular. None of the Subaru turbo motors are tuned for regular afaik.
As a side note, the relatively new gasoline direct injection motors can run high compression/higher boost on regular octane fuel, and most(all?) are tuned to detect when higher octane is used and get a small power bump from doing so. It was a little bit of a shock to see the new round of turbo hot hatches running regular fuel.
So yeah, throw in a few tanks of the proper fuel, I'd recommend resetting the ecu so it can do a relearn (unhook the battery, press brake to drain any residual charges, leave it alone for a little bit, and hook up the battery again) then see if the codes come back. If they do start futzing around with the tgv system.
You AREN'T saving any money throwing in 87. All your "savings" are being negated by the ecu pulling timing and lowering your millage because of the lower octane gas. Plus detonation can lead to engine failure, which will cost a lot more than any possible savings you'll get from running the wrong fuel.
Pretty much any gasoline turbo motor and high compression naturally aspirated motor requires premium to prevent detonation, not doing so will result in detonation and pulled timing because the ecu is trying to save the motor. The only exception are motors that are tuned for regular. None of the Subaru turbo motors are tuned for regular afaik.
As a side note, the relatively new gasoline direct injection motors can run high compression/higher boost on regular octane fuel, and most(all?) are tuned to detect when higher octane is used and get a small power bump from doing so. It was a little bit of a shock to see the new round of turbo hot hatches running regular fuel.
So yeah, throw in a few tanks of the proper fuel, I'd recommend resetting the ecu so it can do a relearn (unhook the battery, press brake to drain any residual charges, leave it alone for a little bit, and hook up the battery again) then see if the codes come back. If they do start futzing around with the tgv system.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
I used to want the turbo... I'm glad I got a N/A.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
Thats exactly what if did. First time on the highway it went into limp mode. Turning it off for a while cleared the limp but the check engine light stayed on.Hawk296 wrote:Yeah, DO NOT use 87 octane in a turbo Baja.
Some TGV codes will cause it to go into limp mode, basically no boost, slow throttle response and it will only rev to like 3,000 RPM. Some of them will not.
After you clear the codes, you have to turn the ignition to ON but not start. let it stay in the on position for a few seconds and you will hear a relay click on the passenger side. Then you can go to start and it will fire right up. Otherwise, it will just crank and crank for a long time before eventually starting.
When I was playing with the code reader I kept hearing that click on the passenger side. After clearing the code I didn't wait and yup it took what seemed like forever to crank till it started. I'll know to wait for the click next time
I'll switch back to higher octane 90 or better but I was getting awesome mileage (25 miles per gal on highway) with 87 and the manual sez 87 is OK
If it comes back maybe I should take it to a performance shop and have them alter it - anyone know of any good shops in Connecticut?
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
From the Owners manual:
87 is just for temporary use for when you can't find 91+, It just lets you know that putting in a single tank of regular won't grenade your motor but that it's meant to run 91+
Getting a tune should be beneficial, you can generally safely get a decent power bump with a good conservative tune, you can also disable certain CELs so you can permanently get rid of the TGV codes and you can replace the TGVs with deletes if you want, that would remove the headache of having to deal with them in the future. You can also get an e-tune, lots of tuners can do that, they send you a base map, you do some logging and send the data to them, they adjust the map and send you a tailored map. It's more affordable than a full out dyno tune and it should be more than sufficient if you don't have any other power mods, a stock motor should be relatively easy to tune.
87 is just for temporary use for when you can't find 91+, It just lets you know that putting in a single tank of regular won't grenade your motor but that it's meant to run 91+
Getting a tune should be beneficial, you can generally safely get a decent power bump with a good conservative tune, you can also disable certain CELs so you can permanently get rid of the TGV codes and you can replace the TGVs with deletes if you want, that would remove the headache of having to deal with them in the future. You can also get an e-tune, lots of tuners can do that, they send you a base map, you do some logging and send the data to them, they adjust the map and send you a tailored map. It's more affordable than a full out dyno tune and it should be more than sufficient if you don't have any other power mods, a stock motor should be relatively easy to tune.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
Nitro350Z wrote:From the Owners manual:
![[smilie=dunceblock.gif]](./images/smilies/dunceblock.gif "dunceblock"){kind=small}
I missed the word "TEMPORARILY" maybe because I wanted to. I'll up it to 91 by end of week I'm not sure I fully understand the rest of your post. I think you are talking about getting a tunable component that sits between the stock computer and allows you to run stuff on and off. As far as I know the engine is all stock I bought it used with about 89K on it.
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
Oh, the stock ECU is tunable, you can fully adjust the tune, turn trouble codes on and off, play with fancy stuff like launch control and no lift shifting. The Baja ecu isn't supported by Cobb's accessport, but you can tune it using various open source tuning software, you just need a laptop and an appropriate cable, it's tuned through the code reader port you're referring to. The Subaru turbo ECU's are actually really versatile, there's not a lot of reason to go for a piggyback or standalone unit.DoubleD wrote:I'm not sure I fully understand the rest of your post. I think you are talking about getting a tunable component that sits between the stock computer and allows you to run stuff on and off. As far as I know the engine is all stock I bought it used with about 89K on it.Nitro350Z wrote:From the Owners manual:
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
Nitro350Z wrote:Oh, the stock ECU is tunable, you can fully adjust the tune, turn trouble codes on and off, play with fancy stuff like launch control and no lift shifting. The Baja ecu isn't supported by Cobb's accessport, but you can tune it using various open source tuning software, you just need a laptop and an appropriate cable, it's tuned through the code reader port you're referring to. The Subaru turbo ECU's are actually really versatile, there's not a lot of reason to go for a piggyback or standalone unit.
REALLY - where / how can I learn more - I suppose I can also do damage by setting the wrong values
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
This should get you started - http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=795608DoubleD wrote: REALLY - where / how can I learn more - I suppose I can also do damage by setting the wrong values
And yeah, a bad tune can destroy a motor. Best route is to get it professionally tuned by someone, properly tuning a motor yourself will take quite a bit of skill and knowledge, it's not an easy thing to tune a motor to get reliable power out of it
Re: Check engine light on AGAIN - Where's the CODE reader PO
If anyone does this with a NA and gets good results (as far as efficiency without loss of power or durability) please share your findings/map changes!