AT Issues - Power Light/Duty C/VSS

[vokaL]

I'm going to explain the back story so bare with me.

About 2 months ago after driving my car to the store I came back out to find out my car would not start. I got a jump and drove it to the nearest Shucks where I determined my alternator was dead. I replaced the alternator and the battery and the car started right up. There were some funky electrical things going on when I first started it (blinkers making that "clicking" sound when they weren't activated) so I unplugged a fuse, plugged it back in and the noise stopped.

I drove my car for about a month with no issues, but then I noticed a few things going on.

1. After I've been driving the car for about 15 min. and the engine is warm I notice a slight shake when at a stoplight or stopped. It seems to be worse when in gear (D) as I've shifted to neutral and the vibration is less noticeable. The idle seems a bit low as well sometimes dipping below 750k when stopped.

2. When I drive for about 30 min. then park and let the car rest for about an hour I start the car and it has a very rough start/idle and even stronger vibration than before.

So after noticing those two things about a week later my "Power" light came on when starting the car. It flashed about 8 times and I did some searching on the boards. The thing about the Power light is it's random. One day I can drive just fine without the light coming on, no gear slipping, nothing. I pulled the codes from the TCU and got 24 and 33. I've been driving only to and from work which is about 12 miles round trip.

So here's the kicker, everything was very sporadic and the Power Light thing only happened once every 5 days or so. Saturday I took a trip to the parents house which is about 45 miles away. About 35 miles into the trip the car starts acting up. RPMs were jumping up and down, power light came on, and every time i released the gas pedal the car sort of jerks and the RPMs drop a little. I was worried I might not make it there.

I get to the house and check the diff and tranny fluid. Tranny fluid is light red, seems fine. Diff oil level is fine but has a very weird smell, stinky and sort of burnt.

I let the car sit for a day while I'm there but upon leaving I start the car and notice the speedometer, odometer and trip counter are not working. Soon after I got a CEL.

Any suggestions? I realize the duty c might be dead, and the vss might have caused the speedo to die. I'll be back over there this weekend so I would like to try out a few things if possible.

[Legacy777]

Skimmed your thread, and it sounds like you may have different issues than the trans.

Battery and alternator good?

[Buffman]

my suggestion is to drop the trans ecu, remove connectors, and inspect ECU for any corrosion on the case or even dirt. If present open ECU and spray down with Electrical Contact cleaner. Clean connector and harness side of connector also. I've had a random power light for the past year for the duty C solenoid. Somedays it would just go away. Wiring harness itself to the trans lookced fine.

I noticed rust on outside of trans ECU case. Took it down and cleaned it up along with the connector and harness. Duty C error code gone for 3 weeks now. (Yes Power Light still works)

[vokaL]

Thanks for the replies!

Battery and alternator seem fine though I haven't ran a voltage test to confirm.

Where is the transmission ecu located? I have a 1991 Legacy Turbo SS.

Was the dirty ECU causing any other issues other than giving you a duty C code? I also wanted to mention that I'm getting HORRIBLE gas mileage (10mpg city).

[Legacy777]

TCU is under the dash to the left of the steering column

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... cuhide.jpg

[Buffman]

only the duty C issue for the TCU. I have a goofy idle issue, that would probbaly be solved with a new IAC, but that's $$$$. I need to find a good used one