engine check plus blinking cruise control light

first significant snowfall here in NJ. i have a long steep driveway and made it to the top, where i got stuck. i kept revving the engine to try to get out of the position, but couldn't without some help from a couple of kind guys on the street. anyways, the ABS+Engine CHeck+ Cruise Control blinking came on. obviously one i was out and moving on the street ABS went on, but the Engine Check and Cruise Control blinking light still stayed on. is it supposed to do that? car is in the garage now, if i let it chill out for an hour or two will the false (as i deem them) diagnostic lights go away? i've never had this problemn before, only when i was revving and going nowhere today at the top of my driveway.

Sounds like an emmisions related CEL.

 

You can reset the ECU and the CEL by disconnecting the battery, but before that you should check what CEL it is.

 

You can do this by connecting the two white plugs in the fuse box by the drivers left knee, then when you turn the ignition on (do not start the car) push the odometer reset while the gauges are sweeping, the CEL code will appear in the odometer window.

I think it's from the wheel spin. I had mine go off last year on a dyno which was the roller type not load bearing. Do a search. I think someone had a snow related CEL last year and it was due to wheel spin.

i think it might be from wheel spin, is the solution the same as what philt is talking about?

i did a search, guy said he brought it to the dealer, which i don't want to have to do.

I got the same lights when I disconnected the plug above the air box for a light replacement. Try several restarts it may clear. Mine did.

I took mine to the dealer. Told him I had a CEL. 10 min later he comes back and says "all fixed. Reset the ECU."

If it was me, I would want to know what the CEL was for before resetting it, otherwise how will you know if you get the same one again ?

If you don't want to go to the dealer go to Autozone. They'll pull your code for free.

If you don't want to go to the dealer go to Autozone. They'll pull your code for free.

 

Why, you can do it yourself in 2 mins without going anywhere. The car has it's own code reader built in !

I got one from wheelspin in the snow last year, it went away the next day before i had a chance to pull it.

same exact thing happened to me. i was backing up a hill and front was spinning. ABS/CEL came on first then when i finished backing ABS went off and CC started blinking.

 

car drove normally. after about five restarts everything cleared and no more lights. this was the first time i spun the wheels since i got the car, so i think this had something to do with it. not sure exactly though.

 

CC blinks just because it is disabled when your CEL is on. My mom had this problem twice with her 05 forester and it was an emissions sensor both times (replaced). apparently there are two sensors for emissions and they both went bad at different times (both in winter driving).

 

i wouldn't be surprised if the snow/spinning has something to do with it, but i'm not an expert.

i'll wait until tomorow to see if it goes away, thanks guys

Had this problem too. CEL P0500 is what is was for me. Seems to me a few of us have had this problem lately. I was driving in rain though, no snow or wheel spin. It has gone away for now. Why do I feel this is not the end of the problem, I kinda like my ABS to work....

Friday night I was stuck in one foot snow and had to do some wheel spin to get it out. Noticed CEL and blinking cruise light on Saturday morning. Dropped the car immediately at dealer. They could find the following CEL codes.

 

P0500 - Vehicle speed sensor

C0108 - Front ABS wheel speed sensor LH malfunction (ABS Wheel speed sensor abnormal signal)

 

They have done some diagnosis ... They told the CEL is cleared now(looks like it disappeared by itself). They will do one for diagnosis tomorrow morning to make sure everything is fine..

 

Have you noticed these CEL codes before and what did you do to resolve it?

 

Thanks

Same thing happened to me and the cel and cruise control went off after I filled up the car with Gas. Not sure if they were related or just hit the magic number of restarts to turn off the cell. My cell looked to be 55, but after doing a search on this forum it actually was SS, the car just displayed it as 55.

did you tighten the gas cap completely?

I assume I did. I got the cell only after bottoming out the car in some snow and trying to rev my way out. Needed some people to lift the front bumper up before being unstuck.

 

did you tighten the gas cap completely?

I assume I did. I got the cell only after bottoming out the car in some snow and trying to rev my way out. Needed some people to lift the front bumper up before being unstuck.

 

How did you resolve it? Did you find out the CEL code?

first significant snowfall here in NJ. i have a long steep driveway and made it to the top, where i got stuck. i kept revving the engine to try to get out of the position, but couldn't without some help from a couple of kind guys on the street. anyways, the ABS+Engine CHeck+ Cruise Control blinking came on. obviously one i was out and moving on the street ABS went on, but the Engine Check and Cruise Control blinking light still stayed on. is it supposed to do that? car is in the garage now, if i let it chill out for an hour or two will the false (as i deem them) diagnostic lights go away? i've never had this problemn before, only when i was revving and going nowhere today at the top of my driveway.

 

I had the exact problem tonight, wheels were spinning and I couldn't get the car out. I saw few people in the parking lot so I asked if they can help but all pretent to not hear me. So without a sholve, I had to *dig* the snow with my hands hoping the wheels will get some traction. One store owner from across the street came with a sholve to help me. Anyway, I will wait a few day to see if the warning light goes away and post anything I do to get them go away (including a trip to dealer).

You can do this by connecting the two white plugs in the fuse box by the drivers left knee, then when you turn the ignition on (do not start the car) push the odometer reset while the gauges are sweeping, the CEL code will appear in the odometer window.

 

Does this method work on a 2005 Legacy 2.5i?

Does this method work on a 2005 Legacy 2.5i?

 

YES

That reminds me that I should put a collapsible G.I. shovel in my car...

I am seeing a lot of people having this issue. Just curious to know whether this happens predominantly in 5MT as against 4EAT/5EAT

 

I would guess that its easier to spin your wheels on a 5MT rather than an 4/5EAT.

this same thing happend to me last night in my 5EAT, wheels spinning caused cel light