I have a 98 Subaru Outback legacy limited. 155,000 miles. Died the other day, check engine light came on and got her back home on the rear two cylinders (front two don't spark). Put in new plugs, wires and coil. Still no spark on the front two plugs. (I have a spark plug checker.) Is this the ignitor, timing belt or crank position sensor? Help is appreciated.

 

Herman in Kill Devil Hills

Swap the coil packs front to rear and I think you will know the problem.

I already put in a brand new coil. ??

Sorry, didn't see that in your original post. When my car had the same problem, problem was the front coil pack had failed.

It's probably the ignitor or a bad connection to it. Otherwise, although unlikely, it could be due to an ECU failure. It should be possible to troubleshoot this with a voltmeter.

Another possibility is some of the reluctor tabs for the crank sensor have broken off. Checking the crank sensor signal with a scope will show if that is the case or not.

Ignitor

Thanks yall. It was the ignitor.

 

 

I just replaced the fuel filter, plugs, wires, air filter, coil, A/C belt, alternator belt and ignitor. Now the engine runs really well except the speedometer ocilates or doesn't work at all and the car randomly cuts off. There are no CELs. It restarts no problem. It seems there may be an electrical short????

 

Also if my belts are to loose would that cause it to cut off??? Or is the speedometer and engine cutting off related?

Good call by Naru about the ignitor.

 

There may be a bad power connection to the ignition or the fuel system causing random shut down. Possibly the ignition relay, main relay, or fuel pump relay. I would suspect the ignition relay first.