Cougar

Have you checked the timing? What is the MPG with regular gas?

Are you saying that when you pull out fuse #5 that the light goes dim but 5 seconds later it gets brite again with the fuse still removed? According to my manual the fuse contols more than that, but your model may be different. It would be good to know how much current is being drawn. Can you get a ammeter to check the current with? If you can't reduce the current flow by pulling any of the fuses you could try pulling the fusible links one at a time to see which one the draw is on.

It sounds like you have a good one here MilesFox. Lets firgure this out. First off, in post #6 you mention removing a harness. Which one are you talking about? A lot of these symtoms sound like something has happened to the iginiton switch. Have you checked things there to make sure it is ok? Just as a wild thought, try disconnecting the alternator to see if that changes anything. Perhaps something has failed in it and is backfeeding power to things it shouldn't.

Good post MilesFox.

From your first post you stated that by removing fuse #5 it made the light dim. Is that still the case? My manual for an '88 model shows the seatbelts being supplied power through fuse #12. Not sure if yours is the same or not. If you find there is a draw that is not going through the fuses then check the alternator by disconnecting it and checking things again. The output lead is hot so disconnect the battery before working on it and don't ground the lead while checking again.

If you have a current drain problem still the problem could very well be with the seatbelt system. It would be nice to know how much current is being used while the car is off. If there is more than around 80 milliamps of current draw then there is a problem. If the seatbelt system is suspected, try disconnecting the wiring to it and see if the current draw changes significantly.

Along with the the pressure switch that KStretch55 mentions, my manual for an '88 model shows a water temp switch, AC switch, thermal protector, AC cut relay (for AT only), the switch in the mode panel, slip amplifier, and connection to the ECU. A fault with any of these inputs to the slip amplifier could cause the problem. I suspect the wiring for the '88 model will be close to a '91 but I don't know for sure. You may want to get a manual for your model year to look things over as some things may be different. The AC control circuit is a fairly complicated circuit to work on. There may be fuse near the relay on the strut tower also that you should check the voltage at while the problem is happening. It would be nice and simple if there was a connection problem with it.

I'm not sure how relevent the voltages you show are. Voltages can backfeed through various things and give you strange readings when normal power is shut off, depending how things are wired. Make sure that the engine has been grounded properly.

Nice ride Tim. You may want to have a block check done to see if exhaust gases are getting into the coolant. It is cheap to have done.

You are correct that fuse #5 powers a lot of things and the ECU is one of them. I learned about this fuse after working with a another poster who was having ignition problems. It turned out fuse #5 was missing. Fuse #12 also runs a lot of things.

Check the fuse and relay to the compressor. They may be near the right strut tower if it is like the earlier models. I would guess the relay is the cause of this. The vacuum line is for the vent operation, not for the compressor.

Yeah, this is strange.

I assume you have checked the ignition area for any problems. If not, I would do some checking on those items. Also check the fuel filter.

Sorry you had that happen. If the job was done right you should have a lot of trouble free miles ahead with the car.

You don't state how you are checking the power. Did the power to the fuses suddenly start to work or was there a problem in the testing? If the fuses have power now but the flashers don't then you need to trace back the supply wire as I guess you know.

Yeah, Josh is fast on the draw and I think he has the correct diagnosis also. After driving the car in the snow you now know the feel of a Subaru FreeLegacy. Hope you enjoy the car for some time. They have some weak points but they can go for a long time when they are cared for.

Hopefully the problem is not due to bad head gaskets.

I agree, check the fusible links. There may be a bad connection.

Check the fusible links next.

I would check the ECU next for any codes. It seems the ECU is not getting the CAS signal for some reason.

I don't think you damaged the MAF, at least just by removing the filter. You may want to check the codes to see if that will give a hint to the problem. It sounds to me that that you are not getting fuel to the engine when running. You could try spraying some starter fluid into the intake when it tries to stall to see if that will keep it going. If it helps then you need to see why fuel is being stopped somehow. It may be the ECU stops seeing the CAS pulses and shuts things down.

Check to see if the horn works. Fuse #5 supplies power to it and the ECU I believe.

Yes, that is magnetic pickup loop. As one of the magnets on the shaft rotates by, a pulse is generated in the pickup loop and the signal is sent to the ECU so it can send a pulse to fire a plug. Some models had a couple different disty makes so it would be good to know what make your disty is. There have been mixups with the cap and rotors.

If you have a Palm Pilot this may be of interest to you. http://www.ghg.net/dharrison/palm.htm

My '88 manual shows that the SPFI ECU has 3 plugs and the MPFI has 4 plugs. Neither model matches the color of the disty wires you show.