Cougar

I have a suspicion that the crank angle sensor in the distributor may be causing this since it signals the position for the ignition timing. It would be interesting to look at the ignition coil wire on a scope while the problem is occuring. I suspect that you will only see two ignition pulses instead of four.

Glad you got things going. Thanks for the feedback.

Welcome to the forum Kristian. Lots for good help available here.

Two more things to check. Be sure fuse #5 is good. Also check the ECU for codes. Let us know what you find.

Be sure to check the fusible links for a connection problem. Your voltmeter is reading too low, even though they normally read low due to the wiring. Somewhere between the power accessories wire from the battery and the voltmeter in the dash is a bad connection. Another thing is there may be a problem with the ground that is causing this problem. To check that out you can make a long ground jumper and tie one end to the negative battery terminal. Then touch other end to suspected bad ground points to see if things change when you touch them with the jumper.

The answer is yes. That is your next step in my book. You can just replace the pickup if you want.

Gald you got it PennyMc. I remember now about hearing there was a problem with the Haynes procedure in the manual.

Your welcome for the help Sub. Glad your are up and running. First thing to do about the starter is clean the battery connections if that hasn't been done already. The starter problem could also be due to bad contacts in the solenoid. You should be able to buy new contacts for around 10 dollars. If the contacts aren't the problem it may be due to internal corrosion in the main battery lead.

It sounds to me one or both of the cams is a tooth off.

The reason this happens is because of the high amount of current that the wire connection has to handle. If there is a small amount of resistance at the connection it will heat up and over time it gets worse and finally does this kind of thing. The problem now may be with the switch contacts and will need to replace the switch itself.

To 82Bratavenger: Check to see if the alternator warning light turns on when the key is turned to the ON position to test the warning lights. If it doesn't check to make sure the bulb is ok. If that is ok then check the voltage to the small white/red wire to the alternator with the key to the ON position. You should see close to battery voltage there. If it isn't, you need to find the bad connection in the line. This wire ties back to the warning light and to power. Make sure all the fusible links are making good contact also.

Your welcome also.

I think an intermittent shorted cell could have caused this problem. Now that he has the new battery it will be good to have the alternator checked out also so there won't be future trouble. There are some folks here that have the Optima in their car. They are good batteries no doubt. The only thing is the price. You can buy at least 2 excellent batteries for the same price and they will probably last you a total of 12 years or more depending on the situation.

If the reading you give is from the dash meter you may find that the meter is about 1 volt lower than the actual battery voltage. This is due to voltage drop in the wiring to the meter. A ammeter needs to be installed is series with the accessories power wire to the battery. To me, it is not worth doing. If you know where 12 volts really is on your meter you can always refer to that and know what the state of the charge system is for the most part.

I doubt that the installers had anything to do with this unless there is a loose connection somewhere to the alternator. Here is something that may help you though I see you have most the info already. Check in with your local dealer. http://auto-recalls.justia.com/content/00I002000-SUBARU-LEGACY-1997.html

I would try some dish washing liquid on a terrycloth towel. If that doesn't work you might try using a soft toothbrush using light strokes and the soap. I had this kind on problem with a new Sooby once. It ate into the paint and the dealer repainted the hood for me.

Good deal. Thanks for the feedback.

Your welcome!

Some of the warning lights are in series with the alternator exciter circuit so when the alternator has a problem it effects the lights.

Just to be aware of, these warning lights are sometimes used in the alternator circuit and will light up if there is a problem with it. I'm not sure if this is the case with this light or not though.

Normally there is a resistor in line with the power lead to the coil. On start up, the resistor is bypassed to allow full voltage to the coil. During the run cycle the voltage should be around 10 volts to the coil I think, though I have not measured it. You definately have a problem if you only have 2 volts to the coil and either have a bad connection or a bad resistor. Check the other side of the resistor and see what the voltage is there. It should be 12 volts. If not, look for a connection problem up stream.

You may be able to find out some info here doing a search. You could also try your local library if you don't want to purchase one. Another good source is Ebay. They have a good assortment of manuals right now.

Hurray! Good job. Your pesistance to fix this has paid off. I would be feelin' pretty good right now. Roy, you are right! It can be the simplest things that can cause the most grief. I had a problem with the right front speaker in our new van once shortly after we purchased it. The service folks first ordered a new radio to try and fix it. That didn't work so they tried calling the factory for help over the phone and that didn't work. The service folks spent many hours trying to fix this problem. After coming home with the van and the still broken speaker I decided to look into the problem myself. After a short period of time looking things over I noticed a connector in the door jam. I pushed on it, and it clicked. Turned the radio on and the problem was solved. During this process I also found a couple of errors in the factory service manual that covered this area. They corrected the error in later updates after I made them aware of it. It's the simple things that get ya.

The white/red wire on the car is for the exciter of the alternator. It is normally marked the 'L' lead on the alternator. The black/white wire should go to the 'S' lead of the alternator. The b/w wire is always hot to the battery, and the w/r wire is switched on with the ignition. You could try switching the leads and see what happens. It shouldn't hurt anything. If that doesn't help, you may have an internal problem in the alternator and will need to fix it. l

The lead you are talking about is the sense lead for the alternator I believe. It should tie back to the battery through fusible link #2. The same wire color, B/W. The lead needs to be connected to the alternator so it can check the state of the battery for proper charging. You can leave it disconnected until you are ready to drive the car, then just hook it back on and start it up. A new alternator should fix you up. Good trouble shooting.