I have a friend with a 1993 Subaru Loyale who is neither computer literate nor mechanically savvy…nice guy though! His Loyale isn’t getting a spark to the plugs and his mechanic believes the problem is the “ignitor” (“igniter”?), a device that is attached to the bracket used for mounting the coil. Supposedly the coil has been temporarily swapped out for a new one with no improvement, the distributor has been rebuilt (same result), and I am assuming that the mechanic is competent enough to have made sure that the rotor is turning as it should (i.e., the timing belt is in place).

 

Despite what the mechanic claims is a thorough search of local junk yards as well as the auto recycling network, a used igniter doesn’t seem to be available. My friend asked me to see if I could find one from a bricks & mortar auto parts store or an on-line source but so far I’ve struck out. Most places I’ve contacted have never heard of the Loyale, let alone have this particular part in stock. Even the usually reliable eBay has been unhelpful. I can find the coil fairly easily (a coil is, usually, just a coil most of the time) but not the attached ignitor.

 

I figured that the folks on this forum might have some ideas. I have three questions:

 

1) Is there a source for purchasing a new ignitor? It’s fine if it comes with the coil as a set (I've told him that if he replaces one, he ought to replace the other).

2) Same question but for a used one.

3) Is there an ignitor for another year, make, or model that would work? My experience has been that a lot of Subaru parts as well as those for other Japanese makes of that era as well are often essentially duplicates of parts used on other cars. This ignitor doesn't look all that complicated, and I can’t imagine that other than the plugs and wires coming off it and its mounting bracket, there was anything inside that is completely unique to a 1993 Loyale. Anything we can use as a substitute, even if we have to duct tape the replacement part to the coil bracket? What about using a coil out of a later Subaru that has the ignitor integrated into the coil?

 

Just to be clear about what I’m referring to, the ignitor is made up of two parts. The first, let’s call it the “base”, is about 1” by 1” square and 3/8” thick. It sits on one side a 1/6th inch thick metal plate that’s part of the coil mounting bracket. On the other side of this plate is the second part, what we’ll call the “transistor”, because it looks like an old style high amp transistor (the large round type that’s made out of metal to dissipate heat). The transistor has the number 2804 on it, but there are no other markings, part numbers, or manufacturer names on the ignitor. The plate has two holes for the mounting screws and I assume a large hole that allows the leads from the transistor to go into the base. Two screws that go into the transistor continue through the plate and into the base to fix both parts in place. The base has two male terminals and two wires coming out of it. One wire goes to the + side of the coil and the other goes to the – side (each of the coil terminals have another wire attached, but they just go to a plastic connector and are not relevant to this discussion.

 

Any suggestions or crazy ideas for my friend?

 

Thanks

 

Nick in Palm Springs

the ignitors dont typically go bad... ecu's on the other hand can fail from the ************ty ea82 alternator diode packs going out nd putting out AC voltage.

 

check to see that the black wire on the crank sensor is putting out voltage, its common for them to burn out and not send voltage to the crank sensor in the distributor.

Pretty sure new coil,bracket.ignitor assys. are still available from the dealer for a tidy sum.

 

Good news is that they are widely available used, dirt cheap, from any late 80s early 90s subaru at the wrecker. If it looks right,its right.

Yah just get a used one from a scrapyard or say car-part.com. Genuine new probably is still available but might easily cost more than the value of the car.

 

The ignitors don't often go bad, but, they do fail. Especially when you're talking 20 year old electronics.