Thankyou so much to all those who responded to my Subaru query, especially john in KY .Your advice saved me from ripping my dash apart and beating my car with a hammer! The cause of my trouble was a disconnected vacuum hose which I carelessly knocked apart while changing a spark plug (in the dark of night) of all things.I feel quite foolish but not as foolish I would have felt had I actually taken the problem to a mechanic.Thanks again ,Simian.