Cougar

I assume you did this test with the car running. This may indicate a problem with the distributor. The shaft bearings may be worn. Under the plate inside the distributor is a wheel with many notches in it for a photo light sensor to keep track of the cam position. This sensor can be a problem sometimes. There may also be a transistor tied to the distributor shaft and they have also caused intermittant trouble. If you do have that, I would suspect that may be the problem. The transistor can break down and cause this kind of problem. Skip knows more on this than I do. I have only read about them. Edit: Your model may not have the notched wheel I refer to. That may have been a later model.

Are you getting the proper voltage to the lights? The only thing I would be concerned about using some others is to make sure they close to the same wattage as the old ones. You don't want to overload the wiring.

Those wire resistors have to handle a lot of wattage. You will need to replace the unit.

Welcome to the forum. I would test for power at the back of the radio with a test light. If you have power there then it would seem something is wrong with the radio internally. Some radios have a fuse inside and you could check and see if it is ok. If you need another radio you could try a salvage yard if you want to replace it with the same model. Crutchfield.com has a good line of new systems. The sender unit in the fuel tank is the cause for most of those type of problems but if may be just a faulty wire connection to it also.

Good luck with the new gaskets. Make sure you get the latest versions and keep us posted on the results.

I would recommend you see what is causing the ECU light to turn on to help pin things down. You should be able to look at the ECU and view the LED that is at one end of it and count the flashes. It uses long and short code flashes. The long flashes are for the ten's place and the short ones are the single units place. Example: 2 long and 3 short pulses would be code 23.Here is a link to help explain things better. The ECU is located under the dash above the drivers feet area I believe. Look for a pair of green wire connectors and connect them to together. http://www.troublecodes.net/Subaru/

I had an '88 GL-10 Turbo wagon for many years and it seemed to have enough power to get around the hills in Alaska. If you really want the extra power then I would think about selling yours and looking for a turbo model. I would guess that it may be the least expensive way to go also. The turbo equipped engine has less compression than a standard engine along with a different ECU and other things. If you can afford a newer style Outback, it will even have more power.

Great idea about getting him in touch with Richie, Northguy.

I know what you mean. Unless you know the history of the car it can be kind of hard to tell at times how it has been treated. If you buy a used car you have to be ready for anything to happen. Hope this one works out ok for you if you end up getting it.

It seems to me, for the unit to get that hot that the water cooling to it may be blocked somehow and possibly the oil passage. The oil may have been cooked also.

The brake warning light may have set a code that could be read. I very much doubt that the light turned on because of pad wear and it is a more serious problem. Your statement about not wanting to buy a car that has been raced and you are looking at a car that really is meant for rally racing puzzles me. I doubt the car has been babied on the road.

I think I would try find another car that hasn't been damaged. Here is a link you can use to search for a car. http://www.cars.com/go/search/advanced_search.jsp?error=no_results&tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&yearType=popular&cid=&dlid=&dgid=&amid=&cname=&zc=97201&makeid=45&modelid=2996&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7CE-ANY%7CM-_45_%7CH-%7CD-_2996_%7CN-N%7CR-250%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CY-_1999_%7CX-popular%7CZ-97201&aff=national&aff=national

Your welcome for the help. Thanks for the feedback on the solution to the problem.

Phifer, Since you state that the dash lights are on when the light switch is off and they turn off when the light switch is in either of the on positions I have to think that the switch is wired backwards somehow. I don't think a new switch will solve this problem. The wiring to the switch seems to me what the problem is and will have to be changed. If you are going to work on this yourself then you will need a wiring diagram to refer to.

What happens when the light switch is turned to the first or parking light position?

Don't you have to press the remote twice to open the other doors. I have to do this on my van I know.

It sounds like the voltage may be low getting to the seat heater coils or there are some broken coil connections. If this vehicle is still under warranty I would let the service shop handle this.

You may be able to find these at Radio Shack or a good electronic supply store.

I would try a fuel pressure check. It sounds like you have a blockage somewhere or bad fuel somehow as Blitz pointed out.

I haven't done one before but I would assume you could reach behind the dash to get at it and it will be a normal dash bulb.

There may be some shorted turns in the armature causing it to slow down. Having a new one put in will keep you going for a long time.

Since you are getting 9 volts at pin 4 in the low position then it seems that the motor should be working on low speed. It would be good to know which direction the voltage is being supplied from. The pin may be a return to the control box and the problem is in there. I wonder about this because you have 12 volts at pin 4 and it works ok so it seems to me that problem may be between the switch and the control box.

I think there is a seperate control box for the low speed control but it may be internal to the wiper motor. How many wires tie to the motor?

The GL-10 was the top of the line model at that time. It had most of all the options included but you could add more. It sounds like your current starter has an intermittant internal short if your seeing a lot of current draw and no starter action. It may also be the solenoid contacts in the starter need to be changed out. The new starter should work ok. I would make sure the bendix gears match up in depth before you put on the new one.

If the injector resistance was too low or too high I would think it would generate the appropriate code. If you have MPFI you could try swapping the injector with another cylinder.