Hello i-club. I just picked up a 2002 wrx wagon with 40,000 miles so im a pretty happy person but what im not happy about is the boost problem ive been having. The car stock. So when i picked up the car it was diving fine, the turbo was spooling fine and on my boost gauge reading up a little beyond the .1 bar which i am to believe is around 12 lbs boost. (this is what is normal) then after about 4-5 days of driving it seemed like the car wasn't pulling like it used to. i checked the gauge and now it wont read past the .05 bar which is half (around 6-7 lbs boost). Im pretty sure i can feel the power loss and ive checked the TMIC connections and tightened any and all hose clamps i can see. Ive heard it may be a vacuum problem but im not sure how to check this or what the problem really is.

Any help or suggestions will be Greatly Appreciated.
Im a to subaru's so please bear with me.

-Ben

 

Sounds like bad gas and you went into safe mode. Wastegate boost only no EBC. Get the gas out either run it or empty it some how, get new good gas and take of the negative terminal on your bat to reset your ECU. Leave it off and go pump your breaks a few times then hook it back up. Boost should return.

FYI 1.0 bar is about 14.5lbs.

 

umm.. ya.. just remember our cars use 91 octane at least!

 

yeah I haven't used anything besides 91 octane. I have the negative battery terminal disconnected now. So we'll find out in a bit if that was the problem.

 

Yeah I only use 91 also (except when I use race gas) and I have gotten a bad tank. Takes one tired driver to put it in the wrong tank and you get the problem that you are describing. If you don't get rid of the gas resetting the ecu won't be of much use as it will go right back into safe mode when it detects severe knock that bad gas produces.

 

Taking off the negative battery terminal worked. Thanks

 

NP man, glad it worked for ya!

 

alright so for the past few weeks this problem has been reocurring. I can reset the computer and it fixes it but only for a short while. So I guess my question is what sensor or what is the part that will need to be replaced/fixed to solve this computer safe mode from being triggered? I have never run any gas under 91 octane.

 

your going to need to get the car scanned. Also figure out if its been tuned and a sensor is failing but the cel lights been disabled.

 

Also I'm in walnut creek. Let me know if you need help.

 

The problem is electrical, coming from the ECU. The reason it keeps coming back is because you reset the ecu, clear all of its learned memory and then it relearns the same thing.
-John

 

Get the car scanned for codes. Quick like.