JohnCalder

Thanks for that. I stated that twice I had earthed the positive and reconnected the battery and it worked, unfortunately the last time the engine did not start, this "fix" did not work, so at the time of writing the car is sitting in my garage at home. Given that it now seems a coincidence that the car started when I tried the so called "fix" do you think that this problem still originated from the ECU? I dont mind getting a ECU (a refurbished one costs approx $500 in australia) but if you can think of any other sources for this fault I would galdly like to hear them. Thanks once again John Calder

Thanks for that. I stated that twice I had earthed the positive and reconnected the battery and it worked, unfortunately the last time the engine did not start, this "fix" did not work, so at the time of writing the car is sitting in my garage at home. Given that it now seems a coincidence that the car started when I tried the so called "fix" do you think that this problem still originated from the ECU? I dont mind getting a ECU (a refurbished one costs approx $500 in australia) but if you can think of any other sources for this fault I would galdly like to hear them. Thanks once again John Calder

I have a 1997 Subaru Impreza GX auto sedan. I have had an intermittent problem for the last year. Somtimes when the car is cold the engine cranks but does not fire. It never does it when the car is warm. If I leave it for a few hours it usually starts. Once started I never have the problem for the rest of the day. Subaru dealerships and specialists have been unable to detect the problem. Computer codes always show everything is ok. The mechanics have established that when the problem occurs there is definatley no spark. Numerous parts have been tried but to no avail. A friend told me that he had a smilar problem on his Kia (although his does not even crank when it happens). He was told by a mechanic that sometimes the "diodes" play up and that he should disconnect his positive battery lead and earth it to the car, then put the lead back on the battery. My friend insists it works every time. The last 2 times my Subaru would not fire I tried this and it turned out to be successful, the car started 1st time. What I would like to know is where is this "diode" likely to be located and also why this should work? I am at a loss as to understand the rationale behind this "fix". I really would appreciate an explanation for this so that I can go back to the Subaru specialists and explain it to them and hopefully come up with a permanent fix for it. Thank You John Calder john.calder@bluescopesteel.com