Inane Cathode

I ran a can of gm top engine clean through the IAC in case it was somehow gunked up, alas, no improvement. I also put some gm injector cleaner in the tank, filled it up, i suppose i'll have to wait but theres no improvement with that yet. Damn, this is frustrating. Does anyone have any idea what i'm talking about? Am i asking the right questions? How about how do i know if this is the ignition system or the fuel system?

Been there done that with an idle surge fixed with the starter wire fix, coolant sensor is brand new. I guess to narrow things down, it hesitates and stumbles under constand light throttle application, i get long winded sometimes.

Alright wtf New plugs: No result Checked the coil resistance cold: Good Checked the coil resistance hot: Good Checked the fuel pressure: 28psi with the regulator hooked up to vacuum, 36 with it unhooked, fuel pressure climbs way up as it should when i pinch the return line Unplugged the tps: better for a while, then its really bad Unplugged the mafs: bad all the time Re-did all the grounds and various power feeds to and from the computer, no change. I'm quickly running out of ideas here, i don't know wtf is going on. It's not repeatable all the time, but when it starts doing it you can get it to do it over and over. Even when you're taking off in first gear. Ok, so a repeat of what its doing: If you take off hard on the throttle its fine, accelerating quickly is no problem, doesnt skip a beat. Once you're moving, however, and you're holding your speed with light throttle it'll start to crap out, when you increase the throttle to compensate it just gets worse, bucking/sputtering, not having it at all. After you push the throttle about a quarter, sometimes more sometimes less, it'll correct itself and go off like a rocket like normal. If you take off with light throttle it'll do it until you push in the throttle by about half. It doesnt do it when it's cold up to when its almost all the way warmed up, then it starts up with it.

It's a 96 legacy engine and engine management swapped into a 72 beetle, but it's still a subaru heh. The wire hooked up wrong was the starter input wire to the computer, it tells the computer if the car is cranking or not, it's sorted now though. Plugs and wires are brand spanky new, i checked for water intrusion and they're dry all over. How would i diagnose a bad coil pack? It seems a bit too 'regular' to be a coil pack though, although i've never had a bad coil, or pack before so i wouldnt necessarily know that. As far as check engine lights, i've had TONS of them. Mostly from my own dickering with unplugging things but a few i've chased down and fixed per above. The knock sensor is brand new too, the old one was all cracked around the base as you describe and whenever it got wet it'd throw the code until it finally just quit all together. New one fixed that. I'm not sure if it's an oxygen sensor issue, it's too harsh i think to be a fuel trim issue, that and the upstream sensor is brand new as well. All the wiring has been gone through umpteen times so i'm pretty sure its not a wiring issue either. Any ideas? Edit: I don't think it's the tps sensor, i unplugged it and it was still doing the same thing. Of course it was much worse after unplugging the maf and leaving the tps plugged in but i believe that just exacerbated whatever was wrong.

It runs fine if you take off right away, or if you wait, it always seems to start up after its warmed up or a few blocks into the drive.

Hey it's me again! Well i got the idling issue sorted out. Turns out i had the wire thats supposed to be an input from the starter solenoid circuit (tells the computer the starter is cranking) hooked up to battery voltage. This made it think the car was constantly trying to start, so it kept retarding the ignition thinking it was going to start any minute now until it almost died then rinse repeat. Anyhow, it's been running pretty darn good lately but recently it's started up with a new problem. After driving in a really heavy rain storm, at least thats when i think it started, it's started a part throttle hesitation/bucking. It's almost impossible to just cruise down the highway. If you're trying to crack the throttle it won't do anything, in fact it'll start to buck pretty good and act generally crappy about trying to accelerate until you get about a quarter into the throttle travel then WHAM it comes on like a light switch and you're off like gang busters. If you drive aggressively it'll run pretty good, but when you go to take off in first gear it'll do the same bucking/poor running thing until you get to half or maybe more throttle. It's not always repeatable, and it seems to come on like a switch at different throttle openings, but it's always right off closed throttle or very near. I've changed the air filter, oil, cleaned the MAF, dicked with the IAC valve (i can reset it pretty easy, index marks). I've unplugged the TPS and driven, and its had the same issue. I unplugged the MAF and it got ALOT worse, much more pronounced than with it plugged in. I unhooked the pressure regulator to simulate a vacuum leak (and higher fuel pressure) and it had the same issue, only idled worse heh. Anyhow. I feel like i'm out on the furry edge of diagnosing here, so could anyone help me out with some ideas, i feel like i'm already stumped ><

I can't help but wonder why there's a trend recently to make every new design look as much like a transforming fighting robot as possible. Also, that's a little weird that they're stroking it but reducing the bore. Seems kinda backwards for what everyone else is doing these days. Woohoo for torque though What are those dealies on the cam ends, is that some kind of vvt?

FIXED! Actually fixed now. Dig this, this is a good one. So in another forum, someone mentioned something about there being a 'starter' input to the computer. Battery voltage while the engine is cranking, and mentioned that if its unhooked the engine is harder to start. Interesting, because mine starts right up and i dont remember doing anything with that wire. Well, in a fit of mechanically inclined boredom i ventured out to find that wire, find the VW solenoid wire, and reunite the two. Maybe it'll start a little easier (sometimes it cranks a little long, i think theres something wacky with how the vw key switch works with how the subaru ecu wants it to work). So i traced the wire out of the computer to find it ALREADY CONNECTED! Not only already connected, but already connected to 12V ALWAYS ON! Hmm, not right! So, i unhooked it there, stripped back the solenoid wire from the car, connected the two, started the car and VOILA! Idling perfectly. I was a bit suspicious, so i went around back and dicked with stuff to try to get the idle to shoot up like it normally does. I opened and closed the deck lid (the lid pushes on part of the intake hose) normally this makes the idle drop a bit and the motor races up to 1500-2000 rpm then settles back down. this time, however, it dropped for a split second then continued to idle where it should. Then i put the index on the IACV back where it should be, again it dropped for a second then climbed back up to where it should be evenly, and idled just like it should. I put it in gear, let the clutch out as if to stall it, and it just goes back to idling like it should. Woohoooooo! So, still some issues though. I'll continue with this thread, it should be pretty easy to track down compared to the last problem. Ahem. So, when i start the car, it'll start then immediately race up to 2000rpm, then sloooooowly come back down to idle. If i take off before it settles back down and i clutch it or put it in neutral the idle will fall to 1800 or 1500 and just stay there. Obviously, this makes going down hills kind of a pain in the rump roast. What i've done temporarily is disconnect the VSS so the computer thinks the car is sitting still. It hadnt thrown a code yet (it probably will throw a p0505 if it does) but at least right now it goes back to an idle so it doesnt stick when i'm driving. So, is that normal? I've got the PCV system hooked up, everything seems to be ok (god knows all those checks/replacements i've done) so why do you think it's doing this?

Oil separator eh? Hmm, can't find one in any of my engine parts location pictures. What i've done is run the large 5/8ths hose directly to the pcv valve, run the small 1/2" nipple from that fitting to a T fitting that connects to both the head vents, T'd into that line again, and ran that hose out to the IACV intake hose to another T. I hope that makes sense, but it's hooked up the way the manual describes how the system works. High vacuum pulls crank fumes from the large fitting on the block, as well as a bit of fresh air from the smaller fitting piggied to the large block fitting. The smaller fresh air hose is connected with the head vents as well as vented to the intake hose before the throttle plate but after the MAF. At low engine vacuum, the case fumes are drawn out through both the PCV valve and the fresh air connection out to the intake hose. Jeeze, hard to explain, but its working the way it should now

Might have found a solution. I changed my search wording (breather instead of pcv) and came up with this gem (hearsay from a service manual): "In a part-throttle condition, the blow-by gas in the crankcase flows into the intake manifold through the connecting hose of crankcase and PCV valve by the strong vacuum created in the intake manifold. Under this condition, fresh air is introduced into the crankcase through the connecting hose of the rocker cover." Sooooo, intake vacuum comes through the pcv, to the big hose going to the crank breather hose fitting, and fresh air is supposed to get sucked into the rocker covers, down through the oil galleys, and into the crankcase, then up through the breather hose into the intake? My question then, is what is that extra leg on the crank case fitting dealy. Theres a 5/8ths nipple, and branching out of the base of that is a 1/2" nipple. What's that for, then?

I've got hopefully i pretty easy question. After i got done with my swap, i basically just left the pcv system unhooked. I dont have the stock intake obviously, so theres no provisions for clean air intake off of it other than the IACV and the throttle body. In an effort to nail down my bouncy idle issue, I decided to put the pcv system back together today and i have some concerns. Heres how i hooked it up: Both head breathers are T'd together, then the leg of that T goes to the Y shaped fitting ontop of the crank case breather, then from there i have the big 5/8ths" hose going to the PCV valve on the intake plenum. I then started it, and right away the engine sounded LOUD. Very very loud lifter noise. I revved it out a couple times and the noise went away. I turned it off, and cracked the oil filler and a huge rush of air went in. For some reason i dont think this is the way it's supposed to be hooked up. So, basically, how is the head breather/crankcase/pcv system supposed to be setup? I've got nothing to go off of and for some reason i cant find any hose routing information online, just vacuum line diagrams for 80s loyales

Hopefully a somewhat easy question this time. I'd like to get into the data stream on my ecu. I want to see whats going on with the idle that way. I've got the tactrix 1.3u cable (from evoscan) they say it's compatible with my96 models, but i cant for the life of me figure out how to communicate with my computer. I've got the obd connector on the end of the cable, as well as another 9 pin block connector of some kind. I need some help from someone experienced in this area, i'm not sure what to do with it. Do i need to have the subaru select monitor plug to use this cable? I can wire one up if need be, but i thought just the obdII connector was good enough.

Disreguard, its still broken It might 'idle' alright but the idle hangs WAY too high. You have to stop twice, sometimes, other times not, it'll stick up above 2000, it'll bounce around up there, it isnt right. Damn it i thought i had it. The throttle plate is obviously open too far. When it is set where it should be it isnt running correctly. When the throttle plate is totally closed it does the bouncy idle thing. I dunno, maybe i should just get used to it. Noone seems to have the right answer :/

I think actually the problem was it was too far closed, or some combination of messed up settings all around. It's still got some funkiness, but nothing i cant live with. Starting it, it hangs up at 2k a little too long for my comfort. It does come down but a bit slowly. It'll also hang up around 1500-2000 if you put it in neutral while the car is moving, or clutch it, unless you come to a stop twice and let it come back down. Then its right as rain. Odd, but i can deal with it. I might wongleflute with the vss and neutral switch settings.

Fixed! A user on another forum told me to reset the base-line idle. You unplug the connectors to the IAC and the TPS, pull off the IAC hose, then plug the hose and the fitting on the intake tract, then you adjust the throttle stop screw until you get an idle speed of 750 or so, then you hook everything back up, key on to check the signal out of the tps (supposed to be .6 to .7 volts) then it should be good. I did all that, started it up, and whaddayaknow it jumped up to 1800rpm, then came back down to 1k, then just below at 850 or so... no dipping, no revving back up, stayed right there. Drove it around for a while and the idle was hanging really high, around 2000-2500. So, i went under the seat and unhooked the neutral switch (some ecus need it grounded, apparently mine isnt one of them). That made it run -perfect-. Clutch it in out of high rpm, drops like a rock to 1200, then settles down to 850 and stays there, purring away. No light surging, no burbling at decell, actually alot smoother off idle (it was kinda snatchy before) I like to figure out why problems happened after the fact, helps me learn so here goes: The idle wasnt ever to be right even if i corrected it; leaky air intake tract, slight vacuum leaks at the iacv and elsewhere The idle stop wasn't corrected for the lack of a PCV system, small 'leak' as it would be its still air that wasnt there when it should have been according to the computer The neutral switch being hooked up along with the vss 'tricked' the idle into being correct, for some reason the ecu added a few hundred rpm onto the idle speed whenever it was hooked up. Set the idle so it 'idles' and drive it, the neutral switch forces the rpm up too high. Set it so the rpm does what it should at idle and it almost dies when you clutch it, as well as bouncy idle. Of course, hind sight i should have started with resetting the idle, in fact i did actually at one point, but with the small vacuum leaks and not unplugging the tps when i did so lead to the computer compensating as if the throttle was opened so it wasnt actually in idle loop (along with the neutral sensor deal). Lemons out of lemonade (or however its supposed to be) all the spurious testing and re-wiring has fixed or prevented alot of issues. Gave me a chance to check the fuel pressure, and give the entire car a very thorough checking it might have not gotten had things just worked out of the box. Thanks everyone SO much for the help, i'd be a frustrated tangled up ball of gear head alone on this issue Epilogue: If you've got idling issues, or you have a swapped motor, or some kind of custom setup, it'll behoove you to verify the baseline idle. If the throttle plate isnt open as much as it should be, or if the engine is getting more air than it should AT IDLE! You really should check and make sure it's correct. Unplug the tps, unplug the iac, unhook the iac hose, plug everything up, and make sure it's 'idling' at around 750 rpm with /no/ computer input besides what air its getting, and what fuel its getting by default. If you leave the tps sensor plugged in, when you wongleflute with the throttle stop it might go into open-throttle mode and it'll 'run away' and sound like its idling right.