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95 leg auto. My wife had the car die at idle at a stoplight, she said it took a while to start, and since then (a week) I have been driving it with no other problems. I started poking around looking for problems, and tested the coil following my chiltons manual. Here's what I got:

 

Spark plug post 1-2........ 2 Ohms

Spark Plug post 3-4........ 2 Ohms

Harness Post 1-2........19 Kilo Ohms

Harness Post 2-3........19 Kilo Ohms

 

These #'s are WAY off what the chiltons says. What should they be? Is the thing toast? Or is my cheap-o multi meter junk?

 

I'm thinking the IAC may be the culprit, as it died at idle - perhaps time for a cleaning - anything else I should check?

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Thanks Josh I knew you would come through. The link you gave was exactly what I was looking for. The coil pack is a Diamond, My readings were 2 ohm that should be 0.7 ohm and 18.5Kohm that should be 21Kohm. Could this cause the car to die or any drivability problems? I'd hate to shell out 75 bucks on a new one with no changes in the car - and should I consider a used one?

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assuming you performed the test correctly, the readings should be around those specs.

 

If the coil pack isn't working right, it can cause a lot of problems.

 

You can try to get a used one......I got my diamond for like 50 bucks, subaruparts or 1stsubaru should be around that price.

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I went out for lunch, and after coming out of the store the car took a while to start, it did not feel like it was kicking, then it started, and the CEL was on. I will get the code pulled soon - however after driving the car back to work there was a humm noise from the rear only when the car was moving - but it was independent of speed, and braking and turning had no effect on the sound. After stopping I crawled under the back (no noise while parked), then I drove it around the parking lot and there was no noise. Could the noise be the fuel pump going in the toilet? Do subaru fuel pumps humm when they are dieing, and would a bad fuel pump set a CEL?

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Ok here is the scoop Josh, yes same car. The back brakes are toast, the wear indicators were making the noise from the rear, odd how problems come in pairs at the same time..... anyway the code was cam position sensor, bank 1. Is bank one drivers side? Going to get one locally, along with pads. I'm gonna hold on the coil - could the cam sensor sound be causing a die at idle and difficult starting?

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Reset the computer and the CEL has not come back. The problem is very intermittant and the only clue I have is the cel immediately after the car had trouble starting. I had the cam sensor throw a CEL about 8 months ago - no other symptoms other than the CEL - reset it and never came back till now. I ordered a new one from the dealer for 23 bucks - it'll be here in 2 days. Are there problems with the cam sensors, as I see my car had recall service for cam/crank sensors at 50K miles? Did SOA replace the sensors under the recall?

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Just reading throught the posts here guys and thought I would throw in my thoughts.

 

The meter readings you took on the coil look encouraging to me due to the fact that both sides agree in the readings. Depending on the type of meter design and circuit you are measuring the readings can vary some. Shorting your meter probe leads and checking the ohm reading will tell you how much from your test reading you will have to subtract to get the actual resistance of the circuit if you really need to know the actual value of small resistance measurements. The main thing again, is that both side agreed.

 

It sounds like you do have an intermitant CPS and I don't know any info on TSB's for this. Also, I'm not sure what side is bank one but I think it is the passenger side. Can someone verify that?

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anyway the code was cam position sensor, bank 1

 

That's strange : there is only one cam sensor and it's on the driver's side cam. The fault code I know that would mention something like bank 1 (upstream) and 2 (downstream from the cat) is the one for the O2 sensors.

Just a tought.

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Like frag says there is only one cam sensor. The scanner was a generic OBD II scanner that autozone had, so I suspect that is to blame.

 

http://www.endwrench.com/pdf/elec/FtIgnitionCoilTestingF98.pdf

 

This says +- 20% on the terminals and +-10% on the harness, so my 2ohm reading should be a maximum of 0.759 ohms, leading me to think that the coil should be replaced.

 

The cylinders are arranged

 

_________ <----Windshield

 

3.............4

 

1.............2

 

So yes 1-3 are on the pass side.

 

The best price I can find on the coil is 75 bucks from 1stsubaruparts - anyone else find better?

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I doubt your coil is bad. Did you check your meter lead resistance on your meter like I mentioned in my previous post? It can change your readings significantly, a couple of ohms possibly.

 

Thanks for explination on the cylinder locations.

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