[1995 Legacy hard start when cold, easy once operating temp]

if you have a CEL you need to get the code - that will more than likely tell you what the problem is.

 

 

 

hard starting in cold makes me think coolant temp sensor.

 

Are 1995's OBD I or II?

[1995 Legacy hard start when cold, easy once operating temp]

Also, yes, my check engine light is on, but I thought that these rigs will NOT start with a bad cam and/or crank sensor.  For all I know, the sensor is bad, but the symptoms I have described have been ongoing since I got the car (a month ago).  It just hasn't been frigid enough for me to care until now.  

[1995 Legacy hard start when cold, easy once operating temp]

Welcome aboard, man. What diesels have you owned? Temp related no start these three things came to mind:

 

Trash in fuel lines/lost pressure

Failing electrical connection

Gasket/vacuum issues. 

 

Will the car catch with some starting fluid down the throttle before you crank? How do the neg/pos battery and ground cables look? Any CEL codes? 

 

This cold snap is a pita on us good coasters for sure. It was 5* down here in Va this morning. Nothing like trying to adjust timing on your old Ford truck so you can make it to an 8am lecture haha. Times like these I really miss my w123/4 

 

 

w123... now we're talking.  Though it's not like it would do you much good in these temps, unless you're close to an outlet.

 

My diesels:

 

85 300td

84 300d

72 22d (slowest car on earth)

84 330d (for parts, rotten frame)

89 w250 Dodge

99 w250

 

I'll check my connections and run around with a vac gauge.  

 

All I can say based on observation is that the colder it is, the bigger of a pain in the rear it is to start, and cranking is not affected much by the temp.  As as I previously stated, I have a 200amp charger, so I have all of the cranking one could ask for.

 

By any chance could it be a coolant temp sensor?  I ask based on little actual experience with this motor, just looking at possible culprits based on research, and maybe a bad sensor is giving me a constant, non adjusted air/fuel ratio, which grows more evident as the temperature gets colder.  Correct me if I'm wrong, it's just a hypothesis.

[1995 Legacy hard start when cold, easy once operating temp]

By the way, this could help:

 

180,000 miles.

[1995 Legacy hard start when cold, easy once operating temp]

That's what I'm running.  

 

Also, the starter has no problem turning the motor over, with ease.

 

In some of my diesels, I'll switch to a lighter oil in the winter, and the cranking capabilities are noticeably different. 

 

But this Subaru's having not the slightest problem turning the engine over.

 

Bryan

[1995 Legacy hard start when cold, easy once operating temp]

Hi all,

 

This is my first posting here, and it is regarding the first gas (and electronically injected) rig I've ever owned.  I have a number of diesels, all of them mechanical, and just acquired a 1995 Legacy wagon.  I'm quite pleased with the car, but we have been have some cold weather recently (I live in Northern Vermont, about 1/2 hour from Canada), and the colder it is, the more trouble the car has starting, to the point that this past entire week, I have had to hook up my 200 amp battery box to get it to start.  Today, which pre-windchill temperatures haven't climbed over -6F, no amount of cranking will get it going, and I don't feel like buying a starter, so I'm not going to push my luck.  I did crank it for 30 seconds a couple times, and it sounds like it wants to start, but no-go.

 

Once warm and up to operating temperature, however, it has no issues.  The engine purrs, and it'll start right up time after time when running errands around town and the like.

 

Any ideas? 

 

Thanks in advance for any replies,

 

Bryan