Cougar

Well it seems you have ruled out the fuel system Rick. If the distorted pulses you are seeing are looking ok while it is running ok and then noising up while it is misbehaving then it sounds to me that the CPS sensor is intermitant. I think this is photo electric type sensor. If the ground to it is ok then that may be what you need to change out. I think some of these engines have a transistor mounted on the side of the distributor if I remember right and it could be that also. They can cause this kind of problem I believe. Glen - In Anchorage by the Cook Inlet.

According to my 88 manual the relay is in a blue socket and may be on the right side of the steering column under the dash. The coil wires are colored blue/white and blue/black. It looks like they are series in with other items so there is some extra current that they are carrying. The blue/black wire looks like it would be the best to break into. If you had a switch that could handle 10 amps that should be ok. Most micro switches can handle that amount. I doubt that it will be that much anyways. There are some other relays in the area also so don't confuse it with another one. When you first turn the key to the on position you should be able to hear the fuel pump turn on briefly. You may have to cycle the engine to hear it again. You can pull the relay you suspect is the right one and listen for the pump. If you don't hear it then you most likely got the right one.

How about this for a kill circuit. If you know where the relay is for the pump control all you would have to do is put a switch in series with either of the two relay coil wires. This is a low current circuit and would not require a special switch to handle heavy current. If one wire was tied to ground I would choose that one to add the switch into. This would do what you want to do. What do you think?

I have a manual for the 88 which should be close. Are you having trouble with the pump control? I'm not sure why you would want a manual control for the pump.

I agree with Shawn on this. Same thing happened with my alternator. These lights are in the field circuit to the alternator and it is a heads up warning about the alternator. They go out when you rev the engine because the alternators' output goes up also.

You can get these at just about any place that carries stereo equipment for autos.

I like Josh's suggestion, replacing the temperature sensor for the ECU may solve this problem. You should be able to check it out before you replace it. By checking the voltage at various temperatures you should see different voltages at the sensor contact if it is ok. Be sure to indentify the correct sensor as you have two of them. The other is for the temperature guage. If the sensor is ok then I would see if you have a leaky injector.

Your welcome for the help. Did the engine die while you had the pressure gauge hooked up? If not, then you still may have an intermitant pump. This happened on my 88 GL-10. Another thing you may want to do is replace the fuel filters. I think there is two of them. This may be the real problem. I have the full set of service manuals on the 88 if you need any info.

A terrible throught ran through my head as I read this but as I think about it it may be what is going on. My thought was when the engine backfired it may have caused the timing belt to slip. I hope this is not what happened.

Your fuel pump may be on the way out. You could try starting it and give it a shot of fluid as the motor starts to die. If it keeps it going then you are probably going to need a new fuel pump.

You should be able to go to an Autozone and they do a scan check for free I believe. You should also check out the AT temperature sensor and it's wiring. It may be the cause of all of this.

Your low voltage reading is due to a high resistance somewhere in the line (bad connection). You should check the area that you found the corrosion at and really clean it up as it is most likely your problem. Just out of curiosity what is this 'stop check' you refer to. Is this something for checking the stop light operation?

Your welcome for the help Al. Keep us posted on the progress. If working on the electronics is not your main area at work then I think the shop has you misplaced.

I think this could be caused by the EGR valve being gumed up. Have you checked that?

Well it sounds like you have been having some fun cleaning up someone elses mess up. It seems like another tech tale of a simple problem gone wrong, not checking for proper power. Your patience with it pays off with another good learning experience. The shop should let you handle the tougher problems first. Your wiper problem may be the same type of thing. Though the systems may not be identical I figure they will be similar. I checked one of my manuals (for a 94 Legacy) and it shows a couple of connections from the switch tying to the module for the intermitant mode. My hunch is one of those connections is intermitant. You could try spraying some contact cleaner on the contacts, if you can get to them somehow, to see if that helps. The switch is the only thing you have not yet replaced so it points to that in my thinking, unless the replacement module has the same problem. The only other thing it could be is a bad wire connection between the the module and the motor; which you should be able to locate easily with your Fluke.

Hi Al, Looks like you got a good one here but it shouldn't be too hard to find the culprit here I would think, especially since you have replaced the control module (hopefully a known good one and not one with the same problem). Have you checked the wiper switch in the intermitant position with a meter to see if things are ok there? I would also check the main power to the control module and make sure that there is a steady supply to it.

I would start by checking for a problem with temperature sensor or the wiring to it. Also check the wiring to the transmission control unit. Here is a link that talks about the code you mentioned. http://www.alldata.com/techtips/2004/20040301a.html

Your wecome for the help. As far as the resistance goes, I am not sure but I seem to remember something like around 5k ohms possibly. I have heard that just cleaning the contacts sometimes will get them working again.

You should be able to order a factory service manual that covers the wiring on your car. Considering the age of the car, getting a wiring manual would be a good investment. It sounds to me that the drivers side sensor has a open connection to it. Checking the resisitance of the sensor with an ohmmeter will tell you if that is so. This is a fairly common problem with these cars.

Your wecome for the help. Keep us posted.

Try the plug wire removal to see if you can pin it down to a single cylinder. As far as a shop goes, I would go to a dealer service shop or a place that specializes in Subaru repairs and just have them give you an opinon of what they think is wrong. You can give them a list of things you have tried already and the results. Like the compression test.

If you are still getting a backfire at high RPM you may have a distributor problem but I'm not sure if this model had one or not. This is pointing to a timing issue it sounds like to me.

You should be delighted about those pressure numbers. They are all within 10 lbs. of each other and high also. This is very good news. The talk about the front seal is refering to the seal for the main crankshaft. It also has a rear seal as you most likely know. Subaru engines are known for their tappet noise and perhaps what you are hearing is just that. The type of oil you are using will have a bearing on this. What are you using currently? A weak oil pump can cause this also as was mentioned. To help pinpoint a source of noise you can use a length of heater hose and put one end near your ear and then probe different areas of the engine to find the area. It could be that all the tappets are making noise. If this is a rod problem it should change tone if you remove a plug wire and listen to the engine. Turn the engine off first to remove the plug wire if you do this test. You may also want to let a Subaru repair shop listen to your engine and see what they think. It sounds to me you don't need to tear into the engine unless you have a serious tappet or rod problem.

I think your making the right choice on the part. Be sure to check for a bad connection also to the sensor as it could be just that. Your welcome for the help.

I'm not sure what area is causing or where your chattering is coming from. One thing that may help is to remove a plugwire from the suspected area and see if that changes the noise. Your welcome for the help and keep us posted.