AT Temp Light Flashing

2000 Legacy Wagon. Changed the front struts, went to drive it and the transmission started binding. The engine would rev high and then clunk into gear. Went to put it in P would go into reverse, put it back into drive high rev, clunk, went to put it in park binding, clicking sound. Then my AT Temp light is flashing. Any ideas, pull codes, count how many hard flashes?

Fluid is at level and nice and red.

check the connectors on the rear of the engine, passenger side. the largest goes to the trans. open, clean, and re-seat .

do you also have a CEL?

i have a slightly different issue but it seems to have been triggered by replacing the RF axle. after the replacement, at start up i had a CEL multiple engine codes. i cleaned and checked the connectors and the codes went away. the car also ran well during my test drive.

however, the next day the auto trans started down shifting when driving on the hiway for no reason. and then up shifting almost immediately. i also get a flashing AT Temo light while driving. but not at start up . (flashing at start up indicates an electrical fault in the auto trans.) and occasionally it feels like it is binding in turns. i noticed yesterday that it was idling a little high.

i assume / hope mine is electrical in nature but i do not know. still have not figured it out yet.

buy some electrical connector cleaner and check the connectors.

Good to know, I'm not sure if it does have a CEL. But I am taking a scan tool with me next weekend and I am going to scan to see if I have any. Not sure if the check engine light is out.

Your scan tool will not read tranny codes. Do search for handshake method.

O.

I did the handshake method and was successful. There are different methods. I found 3 and the last method worked! What I need is a speed sensor, which only comes in a harness with all of the AT speed sensors. Subaru#24030AA041 $220 ouch. I found one on ebay for $50. Anyone have similar problems this is your fix.

what code did you get?

the speed sensors are really simple items and RARELY go bad, at least the ones on the trans harness that is. a bad wire connection is a much more common problem.

the front speed sensor is not part of the harness and they can and do go bad. (how many miles?) but thet usually throw a CEL abd a trouble code.

i have been reading and posting subaru repairs since '05 and i have never heard of a speed sensor that was part of the harness going bad. i doubt you need the rear speed sensor. front, maybe.

do you have a CEL trouble code? what is it?
do you have a trans trouble code? what is it?

No CEL. I had a code 93 rear speed sensor. And 31 TPS sensor. Front speed sensor is a code 33. Talking with the dealer the only speed sensor they list is the whole harness. It is a rare thing to replace, but I have read similar cases and the remedy was the harness. The dealer told me about the history of why they sold the harness, they told me the last 3 occasions was from rats chewing on the harness.

Do you have the subaru part number for the front speed sensor?

I cleaned the connections with electronic cleaner and nothing changed, at least the main one on the passenger side.

I know the others are on the driver side, and I am not sure if I need a transmission jack to lower the tranny to get to them. I know I have to drop the pan and take the center pipe to get to some of the sensors.

is the oil pan on the trans dented?

i found and corrected my issue by double checking all the wiring connectors and all the ground wires on the engine.i had a loose ground wire on the engine next to the coil pack.

i would concentrate on the TPS first. a bad signal from it will give all sorts of headaches. i would remove the air filter box and spray the TPS connector with cleaner. i would then MARK the tps position (it rotates) and remove it and then spray inside of it. both the sensor and the throttle body. you MUST reinstall it EXACTLY the same way it came out.

but i'm doubtful it will help unless you messed with it during the strut job. this feels like a wiring issue.

the connectors on the rear of the engine , loosen them from the engine / trans so you can look inside. see if there are any bent pins. follow the wires on the passenger side of the trans, from the ends forward to the engine looking for damage. the rear speed sensor is on the tail section of the trans near the drive shaft. the ''inhibitor switch / position indicator'' is on the passenger side where the shift cable connects.

have you ever had any mouse issues?
did you mess with the small ''stuff'' on the front of the passenger strut tower. there is a resistor there and something else. if the resistor is bad or disconnected it will cause a hard shift.

on the 90s auto trans the front speed sensor is directly under the large connectors on the rear of the engine, passenger side. it has a wire connector on the top of it and it threads down in to the trans/ front diff case. this feeds info the the speedo which then sends it to the ECU.

http://opposedforces.com/parts/

wire harness

No rat problem just stating an interesting history. No the tps sensor was a later code, I did an ohm test to see if it was ok. I didn't check flash the code until after I put the tps back in.

I bought the speed sensor already for 50 dollars which is pretty inexpensive, so I will have to check the connections anyway. I might as well replace with the newer harness.

Thanks for the diagram, I have a shop manual for 2000-2003 legacy.