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Hi, I am new to subarus and forums.  but thought I would give it a shot.  I bought a 96 legacy LS a month ago.  one morning I had to turn on defrost and after a few minutes the check engine light came on and the car started running a little rough.  when I turned the defrost off car cleared up.  check engine light went off a day or 2 later.  same thing happened with the AC on, so I took it and had the code read.  misfire 3 was what I got.  so I changed plugs and wires.  next morning same thing with defrost and same reading.  what would be next?  Thanks!

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after 20 mins of running I got in the car turned on the lights the radio and stepped on the brakes, it bogged down pretty good but never shut off, never got a check engine light. I am gonna look for a used coil pack and try that.  also how would I check valve clearance?

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96 ej22 has HLAs and are self adjusting as far as valves go.

 

try drving the car with everything on, lights, heat, AC, fan, radio, wipers, dome light, flashers,

turn on the HVAC last.

see if you can cause the problem with something else,

not just the HVAC defrost / AC.

Edited by johnceggleston
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Not sure how to tell engine type I will include pic. It has 170k miles. I did replace the battery last week. Tried disconnecting the battery but not with a load. I will test that next

That should be an EJ22 (same as my 95 LS).  Can't quite tell from the photo you posted, but if you look down between the power steering reservoir and the alternator it will say the engine model on the block (EJ22 or EJ25).  You can also tell by looking at the valve covers or the number of cam gears on the front.

 

EJ22

p7251390.jpg

 

EJ25:

6184_P2025715.JPG

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Maybe the AC Compressor is worn and putting more than normal strain on the engine when it kicks in?  That jolt from the AC clutch kicking in could cause the false misfire reading.  BTW, a transient error like that misfire or the knock sensor will cause the check engine light to stay lit for about 24 hrs after the last occurrence.

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  • 3 weeks later...

After further research, checking for bad grounds, ac compressor, wires, coil pack, I found that a sticking egr valve seems to have been the problem. Sticking open after driving for a bit. I am gonna put more miles on to confirm but I cleaned it and seems to be fine now. Thanks for all the help and if it comes back I will ask more questions. Thanks again everyone.

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