glkiller2

it was formerly schucks, I bought the one that lasted two years from them, lifetime warranty. the new one was warrantied by oreilly since they took over the store. seriously it lasted about 60 miles. I'm going to tell them what happened, and see if they want to improve the situation (crappy parts rebuilt in mexico and they must be proud of that they put their very own sticker sayin so on it:) ) or whatever. But that yellow wire is fed from the ignition fuse 16 along with the fuel pump, I would think it would need to be grounded with a simulated load (resistor). But that may take away the alt problem detection circuit I would think. I dunno.

BTW it just occurred to me that my 300,00 mile engine still sounds smoother than my 98 ej25 with a supposed fresh rebuild 20K. (EJ22 has recently had the HLA tick, fixed now) that engine sounded great for sittin for months waitin for me to unplu my new alt:) Thanks again everyone, keep rockin the forum!

Goes to show put it on the sticky if not use it for a title: Bought a new alternator? Don't trust it for a second. Want to check it? Unplug it. I thought since it was new it wasn't the problem, WISH I had known how easy that is to check. Now I gotta put the car back together... AND resist the urge to throw that couple days of use alternator through the window of the parts store:) Thinking I will do the alternator mod suggested by GD and others, stick a '97 alt in there and redo the wiring to the square plug. I looked at a parts site suggested here and the new alt for the 90-94 is still $300 I likie $75 and a little splicing mucho bettero.

IT"S ALIVE!!!! when I tried to start with alt unplugged, I had forgotten to plug in the coil after testing. (derr) plugged in coil, and cranked for awhile, it stumbled to a rough start (still flooded) then smoothed out, started belching smoke (prob fuel in exhaust) revved up, sounds responsive to throttle, smooth as a 300,000 mile engine can:) I'm gonna get me a REAL alternator, change my oil (prob fuel in it too), and drive it like I stole it! woooohoooo! ty all so much gloyale thanks for chiming in with the unplug it suggestion! owe ya a growler (beer)

Yes! Progress! Several times This did steady the CEL and fuel pump it no longer flashes and cycles, but also the car would not start, would crank, and I could smell fuel, but sounded like no spark. It did't try to catch at all. So does this circuit supply power to the coil while key is in start position? but the computer takes over when in on position, (the purpose of the diode). If so, could I wire power into that connector to the yellow wire and get it to start. Or could that be dangerous, and I should just get a good alternator for it and cross my fingers, (again) Also I'd like to suggest a sticky: After all the research I've done, seeing the suggestions to unplug stuff and see what changes I think there should be a procedure suggested that is easy to find: Check fuses unplug coolant sensor unplug alt unplug MAF etc. I had no idea before I started this that unplugging these things could lead me to an answer, thought it would just create another problem. (possibly dangerous) Thank you all very much for your time and input:) We're getting closer I think.

can anyone else confirm the existence of wire connectors taped up in the wire harness where it goes from under hood fuse box into fender, (who's bright idea was that anyway) put the wires in the fender sheesh)

I don't have any starter fluid, I was told never to use it by many people I respect the opinions of:)

I tested the coil it's ok. it did rumble to a start when I unplugged the coolant sensor awhile back but died quickly. I got it to do about the same kinda start once by flooring the gas. It sputters like it wants to catch, but the CEL and fuel pump are goin off erratically, like ecu loses power intermittently.

I tested the fuses with key on 15 amp to ignition and 10 amp to egi all normal voltages. meter too.

no, engine wont start.

how do I find the numbers for the fuses, BTW thanks a bunch for the reply:)

I tried to pull codes by connecting the black read connectors. I could not spot a pattern at all, I could hear the relay and fuel pump cycling over and over and it (CEL) would flash dimm then bright getting the tach bump every few relay hits. BTW I'm sure it's the fuel pump relay only that's ticking.I held both while it was goin on and the ignition relay is not cycling. With the connectors together the CEL comes on right away regardless of the fuel pump but seems to lose power intermittently. Remember I tested power from ignition relay while key was on and it had steady output. CEL would shut off randomly, come back on, flash once, shut off, stay on, very erratic all while fuel pump and relay are clicking away. The battery is studly, last charged in November, still cranking the engine. Will have to charge it soon though. Hey I read the cooling fans are supposed to come on when that connector is together, but mine didn't. If that helps. Again I did the black connectors, checked wire colors to book and it matched blk/red and red/blk. I have left the battery disconnected when I'm not working on it it may have lost historic codes by now. Very concerned about what Ivans Imports said about connections wrapped inside the wire harness where it goes through the fender do I have to rip that whole mess open? again I went up to the multi directional glob:) not into it.

opened the harness up TO where it splits in a few directions and found no connectors, should I go further? yes I can't tighten this anymore without breaking it I think. I'ts the stud for the ALT output power, I'm tight on the bolt but the bolt wiggles a little. Think I traded one bad alternator for another? would it cause these symptoms or just not charge?

so i grudgingly worked on it some more. fun fun I thought what the heck let's try the coolant sensor, unplugged it and it started, ran like crap for about 10 seconds and died (stumbled badly, gave it gas it revved a little then died). I noticed that before that test the CEL wasn't flashing erratically as much as previously tested, but after that test it does it again. I tested for power at the orangeish connector (check connector?) yellow/red wire while cranking and had power steady all through starting test. I may have mispoke on the CEL fuel pump deal earlier, when key turned to on, you can hear the fuel pump run for a sec and the CEL only comes on after the pump turns off, usually when it is flashing erratically the fuel pump is cycling on and off quickly. NOW this may be a game changer: I was looking around for fuse 14 inside the car and testing again to see if I made any mistakes. What I found was that the fuse for the EGI slot is good for one. BUT when the key is turned on, with no fuse in place, I get power to BOTH sides of where the fuse would be in the block. Furthermore when I touch the bottom contact with my tester, I can hear the fuel pump cycle. Could this mean I have a bad diode? I assume it's that little black thing sticking out of the harness near the ECU and fuse block. Looks kinda like a blade fuse mount with a black fuse in it, but I doubt it's actually a fuse. I don't know how to test the diode. or even remove it. bizaro stuff Also: Checked power from ignition relay while cranking, it was fine. moved ground spot on engine, same results. with connectors connected checked for grounds at ECU, they were fine.

F It I give up. $200 to the guy who comes to Lapine and fixes it.

Sorry to revive such an old thread but I'm just gettin back to this thing, it's been parked all winter. So I MAY be onto something: The connector at the fenderwell for the engine control, there are two of them but the bottom one I was testing grounds, I found one side (engine) had a good ground, and when disconnected it's female end counterpart had what I would call a weak ground, several ohms of resistance. Hmmm. So I went under the dash and tested the ground to the ignition relay's coil and it was about the same. I'll be darned if I can find a ground post under the dash for the computer, relays, and such. I read this thread which mentions a ground from the ecm carried all the way back to the engine but can't find this on mine. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136655-forever-cranking-never-starting-no-spark-ecm-not-communicating/?hl=%2Belectrical+%2Bissues So where are these ground connections for all this important stuff? Do I have to take the whole dash out to get to it? I'm currently looking over the FSM as best I can. So it seems the grounds in that engine connector do go from ecm and company to motor. there is a black/yellow, black/red, black/white, and black. hard to test connector with battery in vehicle. (I tried to start it since messing with connectors) I think I'm on the right track, it still has these symptoms: key to ON: Check engine light light flashes intermittently as if a bad connection, as it flashes the fuel pump cycles along with the flashing. key to START: check engine light acts like it loses power but may flash on for very short periods. engine cranks over easily, and occasionally, when check engine is on for short period it'll stumble and try to start. the cheap book says that the hots are shared between ignition relay and fuel pump relay. And that the ground for ignition relay is not tide into fuel pump relay. I would think the shared hot right, but I ran a jumper from bat to input and output side of ignition relay and got the same symptoms, so went back to thinking about grounds. The box for the computer shows a good ground but I haven't found the wires for the grounds out of it yet.

ty all so I think I can see my ignition relay, of course in a terrible spot the Battery terminals are very clean, I think I will check over fuse box connections and fenderwell connections before I try to dig that PITA out.

ty

light flashes irregularly, bat is 3 yrs old.

I'm at the end of my patience with my POS electrical system in my 92 legacy. Awhile back, couple months it started flashing dash lights for charge and brake,usually it would come on for a second, then go away. next day nothing, day after it might stay on for a minute or two then go out again. this went on for awhile until I got the time to change my alternator as many posts here said that indicated a bad alternator. So I replace the alternator (Ultima 15573) from oreilly as it was warrantied for life, it lasted a whole 2 years. NOW when I put the key to on position to start I get this sound that I think is relay chatter, my check engine light flashes and the car won't start. I double checked my connections and tried again, it started, very roughly, something was wierd, but no dash lights. next morning it does the chatter thing again very briefly, starts drive 30 miles for work, starts no prob goes 30m more to home. today it chattered really bad and would turn over but not start. power and grounds seem okay everywhere and I think I've cleaned every connection at least 3 times for battery and grounds. I'm thinkin ignition relay, but I'm outta my league here. BTW the post connection on the new alternator was tight and had no movement before, but now I can wiggle it around a little in it's mount. the good news is I NEVER smelled anything frying, and I do know the smell:) Any ideas are very appreciated.

Love it! great way to take up about 6-8 thousandths in diameter. From what this machinist learned in school, (never done knurling on a piston, but have on a small shaft on a manual lathe), it raises the metal inside the knurl AND actually is more likely to increase the strength of the metal than fatigue it if done properly. Very little if any burrs will be raised, but some minor lapping (sanding) to fine tune the knurl easily can take car of that. I can imagine it would allow for MUCH better lubrication. Would like to see a pic of your air powered knurling machine Ivan...sorry lol I found the pic very cool! Nice post. here's someone elses writeup: http://www.pbase.com/stealthfti/image/53355694

Yeah, I'll take my time and find a young short block for my heads.... shhhh "rebuild" is a bad word for the 2.2:) THX

BTW if you fill the rocker with oil and then push in the lifter it flushes the oil out of the bleeder holes very well, it's a nice visual check to ensure your passages are clear. Compressed air may leave bits stuck in there that you have no chance of seeing, so shove some oil through it too, just to be sure. ALSO all bleeder holes on the sides of the lifters should be facing UP in the rockers natural position in the engine.

Nope, left the engine in, took the advice here and did the simple fix. I can see how the more experienced guys could access both sides from under the car and get it done, but I took out the battery, washer fluid tank, and the air filter assembly. That made it very easy to access from above and see the cams very well once the rockers are removed. I think it's an easy job if you have ticking valves. Most of mine didn't want to move freely until a bit of new oil and some massaging got them freed up. If lifters won't pump solid, replace them, easy. I would DEFINITELY recommend putting in new orings on old lifters you plan to re-use. My old orings were FLAT. and each lifter sealed into the bores much better.

FIXED!! Thanks for all the great advice guys. It went very well. When I picked my parts up at the stealership I asked the mechanic his opinion on priming lifters for install and he agreed that they should NOT be fully primed like the books say. I did a partial prime, when you pump the lifter full it's very solid, when you let all the oil out you can feel it stop against metal when compressed. I left just enough oil in them to be able to squish them almost all the way without feeling the metal stop. Started the car and got ALOT of noise. It gradually got better and after being warmed up for about ten minutes I wrapped the throttle a few times up to 5000RPM. They then went quiet (thank god). I ran it over to my parents house in Grants Pass and the motor ran better than it ever has for me. Great mileage and power. 300 miles after 3/4 tank, awesome. Thanks again for all the help guys.