FWD idiot light

My Subaru service department says my '95 Legacy automatic does not have an idiot light to indicate that my fuse is in and that I'm in FWD.

Does anyone know if that is correct?

The fuse is in, and I see no light on the dashboard, and it seems to still be in AWD.

the 95 auto trans car DOES in fact have an idiot light for the FWD fuse.

if the fuse is in and the light is not on,

there are a couple of possibilities,

the duty C is bad,

the bulb is bad,

the fuse is bad,

the wiring to the fuse holder is bad,

the TCU is bad.

if you have a circuit tester, check to see if one side of the fuse holder does in fact go to ground.

installing the fuse grounds out a pin on the TCU.

it is not rocket science.

do you have a flashing AT Temp light at start up?

do you have binding in tight turns?

if you remove the fuse do you have binding in tight turns?

why do you have the fuse in?

what are you trying to accomplish?

what is wrong with the trans, car?

johnegg, re FWD idiot light

the car binds and chatters in tight turns. the binding releases when I shut the ignition off.

I put the fuse in to see if putting it in FWD would help, but nothing changed, so that is why I questioned the FWD light.

I will test for ground in the fuse holder, but I fear my problem goes beyond that.

YES, the AT Temp light flashes at start up. What's that about?

UNFORTUNATELY, when changing a flat rear tire, on my way to an appointment, in the rain, I completely forgot about the driving on a donut no no, so I think that I screwed something up, I just don't know what.

I have an appointment with a transmission guy ($$$), but since there was no FWD light I thought it might be an electrical problem.

Is there a solenoid somewhere? Or is that just wishful thinking, since I drove it with the donut. (maybe 75 miles, under 50 mph

NOTE: I'm pretty sure I had the binding before the donut episode, only not so severe, and it only chattered on very tight turns.

What's the TCU?

What's the duty C?

I know what a bulb is :-)

since I drove it with the donut. (maybe 75 miles, under 50 mph

this, by itself should not cause a problem.

not an ideal situation,

but not a trans killer either.

the flashing AT Temp light indicates that there was an electrical fault in the trans the last time you drove the car.

given your symptoms,

it is caused by the duty C solenoid that controls the transfer clutch in the rear extension housing.

there is a possibility that several, three, drain and fills of fresh ATF will improve the situation.

the duty c could be stuck.

but even if the duty c has to be replaced ,

it is not a terrible repair.

$100 parts, several hours in labor,

some new ATF.

TCU = trans control unit, (computer).

don't bother checking the ground,

that is not the problem.

change the fluid,

do 3 drain and fills, (just like engine oil)

with driving in between.

then give it a couple of days to see if it improves.

long term,

if you do not want to , or can not afford to replace the duty c,

assuming that is what is needed,

you can remove the rear section of the drive shaft and make the car FWD all the time.

i did this for 40k miles with my 95.

it ran great.

Okay, the AT Temp light flashes about 15 times every time I start it up, and the local trans guy had mentioned the solenoid, and I trust him.

The Subaru dealership kinda pulled out all my confidence in them, when they "checked" and said there was no FWD light. I would go to the dealer only if I wanted to spend the most money possible.

Thanks for the idea about removing the rear section of the drive shaft...if all else fails.

I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for your help.

johnegg, When I first turn my key, all(?) my dash lights light up, but no FWD, so that bulb, or circuit may be bad. The ground in that FWD fuse compartment is complete, but even if there was no FWD light, it made no difference.

They changed the solenoid in 95, so rather than doing all the work of taking it apart to get at the solenoid, to check the part number, we did as you suggested and removed the rear of the driveshaft. That did the trick. Runs like a top. I'm satisfied with a 2WD… till next winter.

I wonder if I will get better gas mileage. We will see. Thanks for your help, that was a great solution.