Check Engine Light ?

[SayItAgain]

I have a 1983 Impreza LS with front drive and 93k on it. Today after
driving a mile I noticed the Check Engine light was on. I turned off the
A/C and at the next light put the car in neutral. When I shifted back into
drive the light went out. I made two or three short trips after that and
the light has stayed out.

Is this a minor oops or do I need to take it in for diagnosis/service? And
just what does the Check Engine light mean? The manual basically says take
it in - no clarification.

Thanks for any help.

 

[*Vanguard*]

I have a 1983 Impreza LS with front drive and 93k on it. Today after
driving a mile I noticed the Check Engine light was on. I turned off
the A/C and at the next light put the car in neutral. When I shifted
back into drive the light went out. I made two or three short trips
after that and the light has stayed out.

Is this a minor oops or do I need to take it in for
diagnosis/service? And just what does the Check Engine light mean?
The manual basically says take it in - no clarification.

Thanks for any help.

I used one of those Chilton books you get at the auto parts store about
working on your car. It mentioned connecting 2 black connectors under
the driver-side dash by the ECM (computer) and fusebox. This is
verified by doing Google searches regarding trouble codes, like
http://www.legacycentral.org/library/codes.htm but the trouble codes
listed in this article may not be correct for your car; they change by
year and model. Adding Impreza to the Google search found some
articles, like
http://www.derekcarswell.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/subaru/ecudiagnostics.htm.
When you turn on the ignition, the check engine lamp flashes to let you
know what, if any, error codes it recorded.

 

[Todd H.]

I have a 1983 Impreza LS with front drive and 93k on it. Today after
driving a mile I noticed the Check Engine light was on. I turned off the
A/C and at the next light put the car in neutral. When I shifted back into
drive the light went out. I made two or three short trips after that and
the light has stayed out.

Is this a minor oops or do I need to take it in for diagnosis/service? And
just what does the Check Engine light mean? The manual basically says take
it in - no clarification.

Couldn't hurt to take it in and see what the code was. Are you due
for plugs or wires? Could a been a misfire code on one cylinder...or
any number of things.

 

[Sys Hiphlus]

I have a 1983 Impreza LS with front drive and 93k on it. Today after
driving a mile I noticed the Check Engine light was on. I turned off the
A/C and at the next light put the car in neutral. When I shifted back into
drive the light went out. I made two or three short trips after that and
the light has stayed out.

Mechanic told me once to pick a day your
not going to use the car for 24 hours.
Disconnect BOTH the + and - terminals
from the battery. Close hood and let it
sit for 24 hrs. then re-connect battery.

Resets the CPU in the Emissions System.

If this don't work, you need a
mechanic or a vehicle code scanner
to point to the problem.