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WRX CEL uphill


syy0628

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Hi,

My my99 WRX has been throwing Check engine light on boost uphill lately. The car pulls alright doing 0-100 or wide open throttle in 2nd gear and 3 gear, but if I get it on boost a little bit when going uphill at highway speed(say 4th gear at 90kph over the harbour bridge), I get a check engine light every now and then. It started doing this 2 years ago, but now it's more frequent. I get code 23, 32 and 52 in diagnostic mode. The code 32 was always there, but the code 23 and 52 is new. The car drives fine off boost and I get 8L/100km on longer trips so I think the O2 sensor is alright, and the exhaust smells normal. The car smells a bit rich on cold start. I was under the impression those car use MAF on cold start, but only O2 sensor at operating temp, and then use both on boost to calculate AF ratio, so I kind of think the MAF is to blame for the check engine light?  But how to explain the Check engine light only come up when on low boost for long period of time rather than on full boost? I have sprayed MAF cleaner a few times but it doesn't seem to help.  I am running a cheap panel air filter with the standard airbox. The car is NZ spec with ej205 completely stock apart from sway bars, it has 280000kms on the clock, I am not driving the car until I fix the problem since I really want to get to 400000kms on this car without open the engine.  Any thought guys? 

Thanks in advance. 

 

 

Edited by syy0628
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I've experience this exact symptom of the CEL coming on while going up a slight incline in 4th gear at high speed. Car was NZ New '99 V5 STI.

 

I never checked the code, because when I powered off the car and re-started the CEL would go away.

 

There was no noticeable performance impact during the CEL.

 

I'd drive the car to clear the codes. Re-run the scenario to get the CEL to come on and re-check the codes.

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11 hours ago, RaKid said:

I've experience this exact symptom of the CEL coming on while going up a slight incline in 4th gear at high speed. Car was NZ New '99 V5 STI.

 

I never checked the code, because when I powered off the car and re-started the CEL would go away.

 

There was no noticeable performance impact during the CEL.

 

I'd drive the car to clear the codes. Re-run the scenario to get the CEL to come on and re-check the codes.

 

Yes, the CEL will go away after a restart, I started to get CEL two years ago, not long after I used a cheap air filter. But it's very rare. Once a month. However, now I get CEL almost every the other time driving over the Auckland harbour bridge. A brand new car certainly does not do that, so there must be something wrong. I don't have an AF ratio gauge, it's quite scary to think the car could be running lean. And it's quite embarrassing when you are driving with friends around, talking about how awesome the car is, and the CEL comes up.

Edited by syy0628
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23 maf

32 o2 sensor

52 parking brake or brake fluid level sensor 

 

o2 shouldn't cause a MAF issue.

maf issue can cause o2 error reading to rich or lean etc, so start with MAF and depending on filter it could have stuffed the MAF.

Is the intake piping all in good condition with all clamps tight and no leaks?

 

For 52 check brake fluid is topped up or the handbrake switch isn't getting worn and sensitive.

 

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14 hours ago, Gripless said:

23 maf

32 o2 sensor

52 parking brake or brake fluid level sensor 

 

o2 shouldn't cause a MAF issue.

maf issue can cause o2 error reading to rich or lean etc, so start with MAF and depending on filter it could have stuffed the MAF.

Is the intake piping all in good condition with all clamps tight and no leaks?

 

For 52 check brake fluid is topped up or the handbrake switch isn't getting worn and sensitive.

 

 

The MAF sensor can cause the mixture to be too lean or rich, but I don't know if it's going to throw an 02 error because of that?

The 02 sensor is plumbed right in behind the turbo and has a limited operating temp range... a long hill on boost, might push it out of

it's operating temp, which might cause it to throw an error... but I used to get the same thing happening in mine because the 02 sensor

was missing. I would replace it personally... and the MAF sensor.

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21 hours ago, Gripless said:

23 maf

32 o2 sensor

52 parking brake or brake fluid level sensor 

 

o2 shouldn't cause a MAF issue.

maf issue can cause o2 error reading to rich or lean etc, so start with MAF and depending on filter it could have stuffed the MAF.

Is the intake piping all in good condition with all clamps tight and no leaks?

 

For 52 check brake fluid is topped up or the handbrake switch isn't getting worn and sensitive.

 

2

I didn't know S*** when I first got the car, so I bought the cheapest penal filter at SCA, So I think it might have killed the MAF.

 

One thing I noticed is that the footwell gets very hot very quickly on boost, much quicker than it used to be. All the intake piping seems ok, and since I am getting 13psi boost, there shouldn't be any big boost leak.  I am not sure why code 52 is there, I changed my brake fluid and clutch fluid not that long ago, the level is good, handbrake is working well. Will it trigger the code 52 if the handbrake is used when moving? I use handbrake quite a lot in the wet. 

I think I will change the MAF and filter first, and then it doesn't fix the problem, I might get an O2 sensor from pick a part turbo legacy, are they the same part? 

Where can I get an OEM Subaru MAF sensor and air filter for a reasonable price? 

Thanks for all the help.

Edited by syy0628
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17 hours ago, syy0628 said:

I didn't know S*** when I first got the car, so I bought the cheapest penal filter at SCA, So I think it might have killed the MAF.

 

One thing I noticed is that the footwell gets very hot very quickly on boost, much quicker than it used to be. All the intake piping seems ok, and since I am getting 13psi boost, there shouldn't be any big boost leak.  I am not sure why code 52 is there, I changed my brake fluid and clutch fluid not that long ago, the level is good, handbrake is working well. Will it trigger the code 52 if the handbrake is used when moving? I use handbrake quite a lot in the wet. 

I think I will change the MAF and filter first, and then it doesn't fix the problem, I might get an O2 sensor from pick a part turbo legacy, are they the same part? 

Where can I get an OEM Subaru MAF sensor and air filter for a reasonable price? 

Thanks for all the help.

 

If you can feel the heat from downpipe in the foot well then a possible scenario is that MAF is failing... causing your car to run lean... meaning more heat... and the extra heat is messing with the 02 sensor and the brake fluid sensor, which is pretty close to the turbo. Or maybe someone has removed the heat blanket from the firewall and removed all the heat shields from the downpipe and turbo??? 

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With @Loren MAF is likely having issues.

if the car doesn't have a custom tune then swap it out. If it's been tuned then swapping the MAF is a little risky as it will have less safety margin.

 

handbrake while driving maybe the answer to code 52.

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