dave833 Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 I just paid the princely sum of $200 for an '87 GL10 3AT Turbo Wagon from the local Subaru dealer. It's got about 125K miles, all the bells and whistles, and has very little rust, especially for a Utah Sube. They had it advertised in the Auto Trader for 2 months for about $700 with no takers so I went over the other day to check it out. The battery was dead so the salesman put on a jumper box but got the connections backward. Presto! Fusible links fried! (It wasn't really his fault- someone had installed new terminals on the battery cables with the colors reversed.) Based on the fried condition of the links and the promise that it DID run before, I offered $200 for it which was accepted. (It's the most I've paid for any of my 4 Subarus!) Anyway, I went back today to see if I could get it started. I replaced the fusible links and jumped it correctly- it turned over but no start. I pulled a spark plug, which looked new and clean and gave a spark when I turned over the car with it connected to its wire and out of its socket. I checked the fuel pump-- it does NOT come on when the key is turned. The relay clicks, but no fuel pump noise. I connected the fuel pump directly to the battery and it comes on, but the car STILL won't start even with the fuel pump hot wired. (Yes, I added two gallons of gas to the tank.) Actually, it did sputter a little and almost started after I ran the pump on battery briefly, but with the pump continuously ON it never even came close to starting. It also almost started after I sprayed a little starter fluid into the intake, so I suspect a fuel delivery problem, but why the fuel pump isn't coming on is a mystery! Any suggestions? The ECU is not giving any trouble codes that I can see. Is it possible the ECU was damaged when the salesman fried the fusible links? I really don't want to have to tow this car home-- another dead car on the property will not make my family happy! If I can drive it home I have a better chance of keeping it- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88rxsedan Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Originally posted by dave833 I just paid the princely sum of $200 for an '87 GL10 3AT Turbo Wagon from the local Subaru dealer. It's got about 125K miles, all the bells and whistles, and has very little rust, especially for a Utah Sube. They had it advertised in the Auto Trader for 2 months for about $700 with no takers so I went over the other day to check it out. The battery was dead so the salesman put on a jumper box but got the connections backward. Presto! Fusible links fried! (It wasn't really his fault- someone had installed new terminals on the battery cables with the colors reversed.) Based on the fried condition of the links and the promise that it DID run before, I offered $200 for it which was accepted. (It's the most I've paid for any of my 4 Subarus!) Anyway, I went back today to see if I could get it started. I replaced the fusible links and jumped it correctly- it turned over but no start. I pulled a spark plug, which looked new and clean and gave a spark when I turned over the car with it connected to its wire and out of its socket. I checked the fuel pump-- it does NOT come on when the key is turned. The relay clicks, but no fuel pump noise. I connected the fuel pump directly to the battery and it comes on, but the car STILL won't start even with the fuel pump hot wired. (Yes, I added two gallons of gas to the tank.) Actually, it did sputter a little and almost started after I ran the pump on battery briefly, but with the pump continuously ON it never even came close to starting. It also almost started after I sprayed a little starter fluid into the intake, so I suspect a fuel delivery problem, but why the fuel pump isn't coming on is a mystery! Any suggestions? The ECU is not giving any trouble codes that I can see. Is it possible the ECU was damaged when the salesman fried the fusible links? I really don't want to have to tow this car home-- another dead car on the property will not make my family happy! If I can drive it home I have a better chance of keeping it- well, when you hook things up backwards, alot can happen.. a freind did that on a 97 ford sho, and he fried the main relay, along with the computer.. double check all your connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Check all fuses inside the car. Check to see if check engine light comes on with the key in the on position. hook up green diagnostic connectors under the dash and see if there are error codes.. even with no codes, you should at least get the manufacturing date code.. if no flashy lights at all on ECU, then there's a chance you fried ecu. also, with key on and green connector connected, you should hear the fuel pump relay click every 1.5 seconds, you should also hear the fuel pump cycle every 1.5 seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSNRG Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 It does state in the FSM that the ECU will fry INSTANTLY if the cables are hooked up backwards:-( Check the horn fuse, I just had one that wouldn't start and after much diagnosis, I found the horn was not working, I replace the fuse and the car came to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave833 Posted October 23, 2003 Author Share Posted October 23, 2003 I got the car running today- turns out the gound wire from the ECU was drawing a few volts of current from somewhere. Sort of a reverse short. I bypassed it and grounded the pump directly to the battery. Car starts right up now. ECU was/is fine. I was getting ready to drive it home when I found the radiator empty and the radiator drain plug missing! Held up another day for lack of a 10 cent plug. (Acutally about ten dollars from the dealer-- ridiculous!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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