In this video I have a look at a 2003 Subaru Forester with the engine light on. It has a code P0032 stored in it for an issue with the ) 2 heater. Let's have a look. -Enjoy
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South Main Auto Repair
47 S. Main St
PO Box 471
Avoca, NY 14809
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Hey there viewers and welcome back to the south main auto channel set inside the 2003 subaru, it's a forester. It's got the big 25 single red cam, naturally aspirated engine with an automatic uh. The guy told me that he's had some issues with this car. One of them being that the engine light comes on, and i see he left a receipt here from the year 2019 um.

So several years ago, uh appears at 61 000.. It's got 93 000 on it. So you know 30. 000 miles ago, the car had a head job, uh, probably irrelevant to uh, whatever he's having happening today.

So we're not going to bother with that just something to keep in mind that some work that's had done, but what subaru hasn't had a head job uh done on it. If it hasn't it's gon na have uh engine lights on. I've got the all tele here. We're gon na hook it up we're gon na read the codes out of it and then see.

If has anything to do with that, which i doubt it does so we have a p double zero 32 uh pending and current or old in current super puts it, and it is for a heater control circuit, high bank, one sensor, one uh, so not a big Deal now the guy did mention, though, that he was driving it uh. After an extended drive on the highway, he got off, the highway went to accelerate again his engine light came on and started blinking and then it quit blinking and then the light went out and that was kind of a one-off, isolated case and hasn't happened since, and I see that we have no uh no misfire code in it. So that's good! I don't recall talking to him how long ago that was, but he did tell me you know, he's just trying to tell me everything that he could think of um. Perhaps after an extended drive on the highway uh, maybe his egr stuck a little bit when he got off and did that, but all the monitors are complete.

There is only one code, we're just in generic obd2 right now, uh, which is always my habit, especially on subarus, so we're going to see, make sure yeah. So we have pending and current code p0032. So that's it! That's all the direction we have uh we'll take it for a little rep around town, we'll come in see if we can figure out. What's going on with the heater circuit, probably just a failed air fuel ratio sensor, but in either case it's a video for us and we got to start somewheres on this, so good place as any so i'll show you some scandate! I just popped up here.

So we can see the current draw from the air fuel ratio sensor: oxygen such or whatever it has in the front. I think it's an afr on this and then the rear, uh oxygen sensor. You can see it's drawing 1.1 or 1.06 amps and not drawing any current on the front plan. Does the seat belt? Oddly enough, the cruise control light is not flashing, and i don't know why.

Typically, on a subaru, when you get an engine light, you also get the cruise light. Ah short little test drive that everything seems to run and drive normal as it should. Let's go back, have a look at this o2 heater see if it indeed is a circuit problem or just a simple, failed bluetooth, sensor or afr sensor. So, let's see here folks, i removed uh this little guy from the air cleaner.
So we can get down here. Both o2 sensor connectors are down past your side of the engine, uh there's one running to the back of the converter and then there's another one right directly here that runs to the front of the converter. We're just going to get ourselves a little bit of room. We just want to check the o2 heater itself in this sensor now i've seen where the wires come down through now.

These are real, notorious for wrapping the wires up in the front cv axle these ones were actually right tight to it. So i thought for sure they're going to be rubbed through, but indeed they weren't, which is good. I guess in that sense, let's see if we can't get it unplugged here you seem to be a piss pot to unplug, sometimes that one wasn't too bad. So there's that, let me see, i don't know if you guys can see the connector yeah you should be able to.

I think, and then it's gon na be the two wires that are similar in color. So we got uh white, a blue and a couple of blacks and then we're gon na get our meter and go there. We go we're going to put it on homage. I don't know what the resistance value is specifically, but it's going to be probably 20 ohms or less would be my guess if it was good uh, this one is probably going to be zero or open rather not zero.

Zero would be bad. Put this where everybody can see make sure our meter works, so hopefully you guys be able to either or not, but uh make sure our leads are good. They are they're at zero, we'll let it auto range grab this the two black wires, we'll probe that one there put that one there survey says: let it settle out. 15.

14.69. 14.69. It says mega ohms. This is a good lesson here for you folks uh, to make sure that if your meter is in auto ranging mode that you look at your values because uh as i just mentioned it should be, you know i assume around 20 ohms or less more than likely.

Let's say 14 ohms that'll put us about an amp um. Let me put this so you guys can frickin see it here. Okay, there, you guys can see it there, i'm going to take and probe the two black wires again and we'll watch the meter move around and let me get to where i can hold that steadier here. Folks stand by stand by, let's see get to where i can hold, that one steady.

I should probably use one of my front probes, so we're holding that, of course it's going to be kind of all over the place, but if you look at it at a quick glance, you're like oh, you know, i got 20 ohms, 21 ohms 24.. Let's see the m on the right side of the screen is mega ohm. So that's super high homage all right. We, we were hoping for something uh way less than that um.

So that's i mean to start with. We need a new sensor. You can see now when we look at scan data. We have front o2 here rear t here current and our front is now at 0.2 amps and our rear is still where it should be.
Why is that erico? That's! Well, we installed a quarter amp test light. So straight across the two black wires: let's see right in the back road right in the connector and you can see our lights down there flickering away by. You know a duty cycle controlled uh, but it's drawing 0.2 amps and our test light is 0.25 amps. It's a quarter, amp test light uh.

However, it's not keeping it on uh steady and you can see we yank it out we're down to zero. So, what's that tell us, it tells us that our circuit is intact and that the pcm has a hundred percent control. Uh of it that it has a good power supply, a good ground supply. I don't know which uh comes from, where whether it's fed a full-time power and a pcm supplies the ground or if it has a full-time ground and the pcm.

You know duty cycles of power, but really in this case that's neither here nor there and it's not important because it does work. We install quarter amp load, we see almost a quarter, amp load on the scan tool and then you know we know that the pcm can turn it on and obviously it can detect that circuit and detect it open in it which it has and uh it's nothing. More than just a failed o2 sensor - and we confidently tell our customer that we need no two circuits good, we put it in clear. The codes adios, that's gon na - have to do it for this one folks, i cannot get a hold of this customer uh.

We're gon na have to wait for him to call back to get permission to replace it got him an estimate around uh part is available for today it is an air fuel ratio sensor a little on the spendy side, but i think we've done enough to prove Uh to you that the o2 sensors failed, the car has control. It can obviously control it from what we've seen and uh the rest of it's just uh. You know unscrew it screws into one end clear. The codes and adios muchachos send this baby packing uh.

Why don't i send you packing down to that comment, sections the questions, the comments, the concerns? Look for us on the socials, the facebook, the insty and just from our viewers. If i can do it, you can do it thanks for watching.

By EricO

14 thoughts on “Subaru Forester: O2 Sensor Code P0032”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars adam0U812 Davies says:

    I know you just did a remodel at the shop , but have you heard of these new mini splits for heat and air conditioning ? They are quite a supposed to be efficient.
    Great videos as always , 612k for subs. Awesome 👍

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars James Lemker says:

    I just viewed a few of your video's dealing with a stored car and the tag for it was "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy"
    Not a hater, I just had to laugh about a couple things.
    I think the answer to your mouse question is single – mouse and many is mice. Then you commented about your large nose and that you can smell mice… Along with your Bob Seger comment it took me to "Titanic" the truthful part of the story.
    Fleet made the comment to Reginald that he can smell Ice because the person responsible for the key to the locker where the binoculars were kept had been taken the key home with him. So relying on eye site along they are late seeing and hit the iceberg. When things calmed down before they knew they were going to sink, Reginald commented back to Fleet "Smell ice, can ya? Bleedin' Christ!"
    So, your comment and that comment ran in my head like… I can smell mice ya know, so you can smell mice, can ya ? Bleedin' Christ !
    ROFLMAO !!!!

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars spelunkerd says:

    A simple diagnosis, but even many professionals would take all the fun out of it by skipping steps to go faster. Problem is, going faster leads to professional burnout, and even a few unhappy customers along the way.

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sam S says:

    Subaru finally fixed the head gasket around 2010-2012 when the EJ engine was retired for good. I have a 2013 Subaru Legacy in CT now with 117,000 and only recently the master brake cylinder started failing. Parts were about $300 and it is as good as new. Only issue after almost 8 years and one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Random One says:

    Running across more mentions of SMA on Reddit in r/mechanicadvice, r/mechanics, r/justrolledintotheshop. Almost always followed by others commenting on how good you are cars and how bad you area at jokes. LOL…Unlike myself obviously.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Topher D says:

    That valve train is tapping so loudly that I think this repair is like putting a bandaid on a gushing artery. Unless the camera mic is like ultra sensitive. Either way— always good to see codes go away!

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sam Cooke says:

    Avoca, NY – Car Repair Capital of America. How many times have we been on the drive through town? There are 750k people in Sturgis today – how many people might show up in Avoca?

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars juancarlos artola says:

    minimo…………eric O excellent the video….question..ok. in this kind of o2 sensor of 4 wires..2 black is for the heather and the other 2 is for signal and power and in what wires do you connect the light for test………thank you masther…..forever and ever..

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Leti's Cafe & School House says:

    Omg. Mr Eric you have a twin here on you tube.. it's scary the guy has a welding shop chanel you guys could be twin brothers. Wow! If you want the chanel info hit me up. I don't want to list someone else channel on yours but the resemblance is scary. And on top it. Your beard voice hat….. really I mean it you could be twins. This is not a troll. Promise. Both have channels that work with similar kind of tools wtf scary. When I say the thumbnail I thought was you. Then clicked on it guy sitting there with a welder. I was what? Maybe he opened a new channel. Spent the next 10 minutes making sure that it wasn't you on a different channel. Had my kids look at it they were Wow.. then I posted this on your latest up load.

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Roberta Williamson says:

    There's a YouTube channel the name is Garage54, their current video is about swapping a running engine to see if it's possible, these guys are funnier than neutral drop and they're in Russia they do all kinds of crazy stuff with cars.

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars highrzr says:

    "Head job"…my mind went somewhere else. Although considering what a financial backside violation most vehicles are…Damn that engine clacks too much!

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars throwbo says:

    Did you say that the sensor was spendy? Was this the dealer part? A Denso O2 sensor for this car (OEM) is like $25. God knows why the dealers get $200 for them but avoid the dealer at all costs.

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars CoolChannel Name says:

    Subaru is the worst car company that makes the worst cars. The people who drive Subaru's are typically the people who are clogging up traffic and creating accidents.

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars SJ FK says:

    When you get a subaru in, can you just let the owner know to keep right and never leave the right most lane? They NEVER belong in any lane but the right. The middle lane is NOT a cruising lane, even though every single forester owner thinks it is.

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