Cougar

I would guess that the coating is due from the particular fuel that is being used in the car. As far as the timing goes I think you have to may have to connect some electrical connections together first before you can check your timing with a light. I would check a service manual about the proceedure. If the knock sensor is bad you will get a code stored in the ECU and I think the CEL light will turn on. This sensor is monitored by the ECU so it would know if there is a problem with it. They are not cheap to replace needlessly.

What was the condition of the EA 82 alternator that fried the fuseable link? Was it a newly rebuilt one? If so, you should take it back and exchange it. If it was another used one then I would purchase a rebuilt alternator and put that in. You need to check all the fuses and fuseable links and make sure they are ok. Is there any possibility that you shorted the alternators' output terminal too ground when you installed it? If you are sure that was ok, then the alternator may have an internal short in it. You could use an ohmmeter and check the output terminal to ground and see if that is shorted. The small field wire to the alternator should have 12 volts on it when the key is turned to the on position and motor not running. Since you are getting a charge light it means the field line to the alternator should be ok.

Glad you got it Nick. Thanks for the feedback.

Here is some info I found on how to do the programming of the remote. The source also confirmed the colored buttons on the remote for 2002. Unlock all doors. Cycle key quickly but carefully on-off app 10 times until the car honks one time. Do not turn the key far enough to start the car. Just to the 'on' position so the dash lights up. When the horn honks, open and close the driver's door, press any remote button and that's it. Program another remote? Open and close the door again and push a button on the 2nd remote. When you're done, remove the key and the horn should honk 3 times. You're all set. Sometime it takes more than 10 on-offs to set program mode. Open/close the door, lock/unlock etc, wait 10 minutes, then try again. If you still have a problem and you know the battery is ok then there may be some RF interference near your location causing a problem in the receiver. If you are near a FM broadcast station I would try driving about a mile away and see if that helps. Another Glen.

I would suspect a power relay may be your problem with the electrical system if you have looked at all the fuseable links. Is this an XT you are having trouble with? You don't really say what you have. You stated that you checked the fuseable links but you should use a tester to make sure that voltage is getting to both sides of the link. I have seen bad connections to the links also.

Thanks for the explaination of the way they do things in Japan paddlesnz.

The light is there to tell you that a service code has been set in the ECU memory, when the light is on while running. You then need to look at the ECU's flashing LED, count the long and short flashes, to find out what code(s) has been set in memory so you can locate the trouble area. Things that set off ECU codes effect the engine performance. There are still a lot of things that can go wrong that are not monitored by sensors to the ECU and will not set off any codes. Your welcome for the help on this. We learn also by doing this and, there are some really sharp trouble shooters here on this board.

Recently Al found a problem in his ECU circuitry that controlled the CEL light. There is a transistor array pack in the ECU that has 4 transistors in it that control different things and one of them, that controlled the CEL light, was bad. He replaced the bad section with a single unit as the other three were ok. The transistor makes a ground connection that turns the light on when called on by the ECU and in the test mode when the ignition is turned on. If this is a problem with your ECU also let us know. I have some of the IC's to replace the original unit. It would be good to check the bulb also to see if it is ok. The other choice is to replace the ECU at a pretty high cost unless you can find a deal somewhere.

Glad to hear the problem is solved Tim. It sounds like you got it alright. It's great when you can prove the problem part. You should be fine for some time now on this area of the car. Thanks for the feedback on this. "Drive On"

Just because you hear and feel the relay click, it doesn't mean it's good. You have to check the contacts across the relay when it is energized to be sure you are making good contact to the switched leads. This is where most relays fail due to burned contacts inside the relay you can't see, but you can measure them. You can use a voltmeter to measure the switched leads. When the relay is engaged, the meter should show zero volts (a shorted condition) between the two switched leads. If you show a voltage then there is a resistance between the leads causing the voltage drop and you need to replace the relay. You will need to catch this when the problem is happening to prove out the relay because relay contacts can be intermitant just like the problem you are having. You could just try replacing or swapping it to see if that will stop the problem. It is much cheaper and easier to replace the relay than the pump. I would want to prove it is the pump first before replacing it if this were my car. Pumps are a common problem also though.

Your right on, as usual Skip.

It could very well be the relay. It may also be due to the ECU turning the pump off because it is not seeing timing pulses from the Crank Angle Sensor. This is in the distributor. The next time this happens I would check the ECU for trouble codes to see if there is another problem besides the relay. If the relay is not working, I don't think you will have a code for that problem but you will if there is a CAS problem. I would purchase a service manual for your car. It will pay for itself in no time helping fix problems like these.

The sound you heard was relays closing I beleive that are in the test sequence. The flashes are seen looking at the LED in the ECU unless there has been a change from my '88 model. I think Skip was refering to Al Savage, who is a poster here and has a 93 Loyale. EDIT: Opps! I see Al has now posted ahead of me so no introduction needed.

I think there is a relay in the control circuit. My hunch is, the relay may be intermitant or, there is a loose connection to the pump from the control circuit that caused this to happen. I would purchase a service manual for your car so you will have a reference to go too when things like this happen. It can save you a lot of money in the long run.

You most likely blew out a fuse link if the ignition fuse is ok. I am not sure where to find them on a XT but I would look for a small plastic box possibly on the drivers side or near where ever the battery area is. The box was mounted on the washer fluid reservoir on my GL-10. The box had a top that pulled off and that exposed the four fuse links. After you get the power back you can check for power to the coil lead with the ignition on, the leads to the coil disconnected, and isolated from ground. The lead with the voltage on it should go to the plus side of the coil and I think the rest of the leads should go the the minus side of the coil.

Al, Your going to have that car running like new soon.

It sounds like your alternator is a little weak Brian but, you should be able to make the trip with no trouble if things stay the same. You may have some diodes out in the rectifier circuitry of the alternator. I would have a load test done on the alternator at a shop when you get the time to check things out further. They can check the battery out also while you are there. Have a good, safe trip and enjoy the nice country there. Oregon is definately good "Subaru Country".

The alternator's output can be noisey and the battery acts as a filter for the noise. The battery also smooths out the pulsing DC output of the alternator. To me, it is not a good idea to remove a battery lead while the engine is running. You may get away with it but you are asking for trouble by doing it with the ECU and other electronic circuits. The easiest way to check the alternator is to have a load of some sort on the system, like the headlights on, and then measure the voltage of the battery while the engine is running around 2,000 rpm. The voltage should stay up around 14 volts if things are ok. If voltage goes below 12.25 volts, there is a charging problem and some troubleshooting should be done.

In answer to your question about a ground loop, it is having multiple ground points in a line that has voltages in between the seperate ground points. Having a single ground point keeps this kind of thing from happening. Unless your main battery ground lead is not connected properly I doubt you have a problem there. It may have been just some bad luck that caused the second alternator to go out on you. I would get a rebuilt one to replace back in the car and check out the battery and wiring before you put it back in the car. The alternator's main output lead to the battery should not have any resistance in it. The battery should be checked out, load tested and fully charged before putting in the new alternator. If the battery is more than four years old I would think about just buying a new battery as it will not last much longer and you will have more trouble down the road. After you have everything in and running I would have the current flow checked to the battery to see if something is drawing excessive current and damaging the alternator.

I would think you should have no problem doing this with a unit from an '01 or '02 Outback.

The fan motor speeds are changed by different resistors in series with the fan motor leads. They are in the air duct near the motor. I think yours are behind the gloove box. The resistors usually open up after some time and the set needs to be changed out. Wires from the motor will go to the resistor pack. You could also have a faulty switch causing this but chances are it is the resistors causing your problem.

Good work Al. You saved yourself a good amount of money over a rebuilt ECU. Have you thought about a career in Automotive Electronics? You would do well and I think the pay for a top tech is very good income. Best regards,

Somehow the wire from the sensor has to get back to the ECU. Have you tried to locate the wire by looking at the wire color at the sensor and see if matches any of them at the ECU end and then do a continuity check on any that match? If you can't find a match you could try them all and it wouldn't take too much time to run through them. Unless the sensor is intermitant it sounds like it is ok so I would say you have a connection problem somehow. If you can't find the wire I would purchase a factory service manual that covered the wiring for your car. These are 'priceless' in my opinion. If it saves you a shop repair it would pay for itself on the first repair.

Checking my service manual, it shows a commom breaker for the windows so that is ok. It also shows a relay to feed power to all the windows so that is ok. After the relay, power goes to all the windows on red wires. Check for power there at the window switch. It is the only red wire on the connector. If you have power there then you most likely have trouble in the main drivers door switch assembly unless some wires have been severed to the window switches.

I think the breaker is a self reset type and it feeds all the window circuits I beleive. My hunch is you have a problem with the switches in the drivers door for those windows.