sup guys, I'm new to the site and subaru's. i'm really excited to tear into my latest project. I got it for 300 bucks. Its in kind of rough shape, the hood is dented up, and front fender has been skated lol. but internally the car is completely good, 4wd is good, and so is the transmission. my buddy who owned it previously said it overheated one day and he parked it, where it has sat for 6 months. he hardly used it anyway because he lives on a college campus and skates everywhere.

 

 

so the issue is that it didn't start up for me.. i assumed it was bad gas, and drained the fuel lines put in 3 gallons of clean unleaded fuel. no start. so, i took the coil wire off and tested for spark there and got nothing so i'm going to start there. i didn't bring a voltmeter with me so i couldn't say if it had voltage at the coil.

 

i've searched this here and came up with the usual answers

 

fuse 5, 11

fusible link

ign relay

 

 

is there anything else i can do or check for while i am there? the car has been sitting for a while in a gravel lot, and i need to get it running so i don't have to pay a tow truck for 46 miles

 

im all ears for your suggestions and comments

If it ran when it was parked, even though it got hot, it should start now, in theory. Unlikely, but the driver's side timing belt could have broke. That just happened to me the other day on my 93 Loyale. Distributor is driven off of the driver's side belt. An easy check would be to undo the two screws that hold the distributor cap on and see if the rotor spins around when you try to start it. If not, the belt is likely the cause. If not, keep looking. Did you look for spark at the top of the coil? Stick a test light right in there and see. Good luck.. cnc

ive been working on it all weekend, and i found out i had no spark directly off the coil. i downloaded the service manual and followed the no start procedures.

 

 

they start you out at the ecu checking available voltage at some pins on the 24p connector. all voltages checked OK there, and then i went to check if i had voltage there. now i wasnt too sure because the pin that supplies 12v to the crank sensor was listed as GB (green,green/blue?) in the service manual and the pin location is identified. but in the connector is a red wire. that wire should have 12v right? well if it was supposed to, it didnt. just to be sure i checked the green wire next to it, and no 12v. in fact, i was only getting .6v at that pin. WTF. so service manual says i need a new ecu, should i get one or is there anything else to check??

 

btw i have checked the ecu board for burns etc

 

help me out guys, i need this baby running!

really? no replies? id figure someone else might have something to say.

Have you checked for a broken timing belt yet?

 

ECUs in these things almost never fail.

 

If the timing belt is not broken and the fuses are good and still no spark, I would suspect the CAS located inside the distributor.

 

Edit: Located on the coil bracket is something called a power transmitter or something like that. If it fails, no spark. If the coil bracket is not well grounded, no spark.

Edited July 27, 201015 yr by john in KY

check ALL of the things that John just mentioned, those are the most common and likely places.

i haven't checked the timing belt, but i also checked at the ecu that i wasnt even getting voltage at the pin to the CAS. i started there because this is how the service manual says to diagnose a no start ignition failiure. could that be because of the timing belt snapped, disty doesnt turn then etc etc.

 

 

i double checked the coil bracket, and gave it a good scrub with a wire brush.

still no go. i also checked that the ecu was recieving power too, and it is. 12.5v.

Pull the distributor cap and mark the position of the rotor. Bump the ignition and see if the rotor is turning.

 

Pull the fuel line from the filter and see if the pump is pushing fuel. Today's gas sucks and having it sit for six months may have locked up the pump. I'm not sure if lack of fule will stop the spark, but I would definitely check for fuel. I just did a friends car and replaced the pump. It started right up, but after 24 hours the pump was locked due to the fuel. I rapped on it and it started working again. Drained the tank and filled with new fuel and no problems any more.

 

Check all of the fuses and the fusable links.

 

Listen to the advice on the board or you will spend a lot of time chasing ghosts and getting frustrated.

 

Good luck

Pull the distributor cap and mark the position of the rotor. Bump the ignition and see if the rotor is turning.

 

ill do that today, thanks

 

Pull the fuel line from the filter and see if the pump is pushing fuel. Today's gas sucks and having it sit for six months may have locked up the pump. I'm not sure if lack of fule will stop the spark, but I would definitely check for fuel.

 

ive pulled off the fuel line let it drain for 5 min... it didnt seem too pressurized, but i had clean gas coming out of it. also i can smell it by the tailpipe mildly.

 

Good luck

 

answers in red.

 

can anyone else verify that if the fuel pump is inop, the ecu will kill the ignition?? i just want to be sure before i buy a new ecu. as it stands im not getting any reference volts to the CAS. but i want to check everything else first.

Get the numbers off your ecu. I probably have one.

In order to check the fuel pump, you need to pull the line off the fuel filter up under the hood. Crank the engine and the fuel should shoot out of the filter over the bumper on out. you may want to put a small hose on the filter so you can direct the fuel away from the engine bay. There should be a strong stream when you are cranking the motor. If not the pump is bad or you have a bad pump relay. The relays don't go that often though.

Correct me if wrong but fairly sure the fuel pump to run, there has to be a signal from a turning distributor.

sup guys, checked out a lot of stuff today, also 2 pics haha. cleaned the vinyl parts of the interior, fixed the problem with the horn honking randomly and a bunch of other ************. next is vacuuming and steam cleaning the seats, carpet, etc.

 

first pics of what im working with.

 

 

 

 

 

my distributor does turn. timing belt has to be intact then.

 

all fuses/fusible links OK

 

grounds-just cleaned and good.

 

crank sensor wiring-OK all wires less than .2 ohms from diz plug to ecm plug.

 

spark plugs and wires- questionable, but still wouldnt cause a no spark off the coil.

 

ign switch- OK

 

primary ign- 1ohm

secondaryign 10.5k ohms

 

actual voltages at crank sensor with key on, engine off.

 

red-.6v

green 1v

white 1v

black 0v, with less than .2 ohms

 

so now, im 90% sure i have a bad ecm. if anybody who reads this can help me out, i need her runnin asap! ill pay shipping.

 

mdjdc, the numbers are:

 

22611-AA394 A9

mecf-024

xxxxx-H6

Edited July 29, 201015 yr by maozebong

I will look at what I have and get back with you later. Hopefully today, but definitely tomorrow.

 

Have you done the fuel check? You really need to do that so that you don't put in an ECU and find out that you have a bad pump.

 

Try using brake cleaner into the intake and see if the car starts, if it does, you have a fuel issue, if not then fall back on the ECU.

 

I will be in touch.

 

Mike

i tried getting it started today with both brake cleaner and starting fluid. nothing.

 

mdjdc (or anyone else with an ecu), if you do have an ecu, i have money in hand.

Try running a wire from the battery positive pole directly to the positive post on the coil. If the engine fires I would think the CAS is good and the ECU is bad. If it doesn't fire, my guess is a bad distributor (CAS).

i have power at the coil, but from my understanding the coil is grounded by the ecm, upon the pulse of the CAS.

 

 

at this point in time im going to get the ecu first. if im not even getting a 12v reference from the ecm. if that doesnt work, then crank sensor etc.

I've got the ecu for you. Make me an offer and I can get it boxed and shipped to you.

 

Mike

bump

 

 

gonna try and work a bit on my car today. ive got a coolant leak somewhere. my guess is the radiator since the fins are crumbling:lol: ill rent a coolant pressure tester and report the results. if anyone knows of obscure places coolant can leak that you might not necesarily see let me know. everything helps.

 

im going to get my interior all dolled up after. waiting on the ecu from mike so i can fire her up. but heres a list of things i have planned

 

coolant leak

pretty interior

clean engine bay of oil leaks, axle boot grease

change all fluids

2" lift

toyota wheels some off road tires

fix leaky PS lines

custom welded roof rack

custom welded front bumper, rear will follow soon

and more!

update

 

put in the ecu from mister mike, fired right up and ran with no issues!

 

when i tried to use the pressure tester, the hand pumper was already bad. so im gonna try again when i get the day off to rent a good one.

 

anybody happen to have some of these parts here fer sale?

 

good PS pump and lines or a writeup for removing p/s

tail lights and corner lights for a 91 loyale

6 lug yota steel wheels, redrilled or not

 

just pm me if you are willing to sell, and what you are trying to get for them

found the coolant leak... it was the radiator and the fins are trashed and crumbling. thats it!

 

 

when it started running, the lifters on the passenger side head are ticking.

 

i searched a bit and tried the seafoam trick, 8oz in the crankcase and ran it for about 10 min. the lifters immediately quieted down some, but did not get rid of it fully. it is much quieter now though, and sounds much much healthier.

 

thanks to everyone on usmb for the information and posting thier problems and solutions for meticulous review when i am searching.