Rear Diff Temp warning light

[DaveMc]

Hi,

 

The rear diff temp warning light has been flickering on and off on my 2010 Subaru Forester 2.0D.  At first it was more often off than on and now it is more often on than off.  It seems to be sensative to the angle the car is at i.e going downhill it will go off but come on again on level.  It certainly has got nothing to do with temperature as it appears within a couple of seconds driving on a day where the outside temp is -5C.

 

Any ideas?

 

Dave

[Tlag]

I think I would get the diff looked at to see if the oil level is correct. Sounds like it could be getting hot through lack of oil content.

Just a guess to be honest, but it's somewhere to start

[DaveMc]

I think I would get the diff looked at to see if the oil level is correct. Sounds like it could be getting hot through lack of oil content.

Just a guess to be honest, but it's somewhere to start

But that wouldn't answer why it comes on when the oil is clearly cold!

[Gaulson]

If the oil is low it could be causing the sensor to trigger because there isn't anything to detect. That would be my thought

[Guest]

Think on the later cars it acts as an low oil indicator as well as temp, even more so if at angle it comes on, but you could check the wiring to the sensor you may have an earth problem.

Paul

[weemac2010]

Same problem on my impreza: the temp switch has an earth return tthrough the diff casing, which in turn is earthed to the rear body earth point via a cable and spade connector onto a tag under one of the rear cover bolts on the diff . This is nicely positioned to catch road spray and corrode to nothing then fall off. The diff can sometimes get an earth throught its mountings, but since they are flexible it depends on the torque through the diff as it moves around, hence the flickering. Renewing the connector and/or the tag should do the trick..