Hi guys.

I recently got my hands on a 1987 Subaru L-series with a few issues!
It wont start. I have replaced the fuel pump (the old one was dead.) plugs and plugwires, and the coil.
It ran for a few days, and then died on in the driveway.
I thought it might be the fuel pump relay, and yes, thats dead!

Only 4 wires goes in to the relay, 12V key, ground, 12V out for the pump, and a yellow wire, that I dont know what is for!
I jumped the wires in order to get juice to the pump running, but the car wont start!

what is the yellow wire for?

Or am I missing a piece of the puzzle?

Sincerely Jan

check timing belt and posibble crank senser failure dose the engine sound right when cranking ? spark ? are the main power feeds in under hood fuse box ok black fuse wire is main fuse 80 amp s

one more the feul pump wont turn on unless ecu gets crank signal to tell realy to cycle

There's no spark, but the engine cranks fine, no noises

For SPFI/MPFI: Does the distributor rotor turn on its shaft if you try moving it by hand?  (There is a set-screw that tends to fall out.)

 

If that is not the problem, does the rotor stay motionless while the starting motor is turning the engine?  If so, then a timing belt has broken.

 

For SPFI/MPFI: If those are not the problem, the issue might be in the crank position signals coming from the electronic distributor.  I do not know how to easily test this.  Replacing the distributor with a properly functioning unit is the common way to tell.

 

The coil might be bad (relatively unlikely), the "ignitor" transistor on the coil bracket might be bad (more likely), or the coil bracket might not be properly grounded (the ignitor grounds through the coil bracket) (much more likely).  It would be a good idea to check for the presence of battery voltage at the coil in order to ensure that this is not a fuse or ignition switch issue.

 

There could also be issues with the coil high-tension wire.

Edited August 27, 201312 yr by NorthWet

It is a carbed version, not even sure it's the original engine! give me a V8 and I'll tear it down in a matter of hours.
This is something completely different! hehehe

you can tear down that ea82 in a matter of minutes! Check that the timing belt is broken, because the disty is driven by the cam, and the fuel pump needs to see a pulse from the disty to operate.

There's a mark on the passengerside of the engine, that says, EA81!

So I'm guessing, that it's not the original motor.

Edited August 28, 201312 yr by pappa_wolf

I presume by that you have an 87 Hatchback, with the front grille like that of a brat or 80-84 wagons. They continued this body with an ea81 threu 89 although the ea82 bodies started in 85-94

 

In that case it is a pushrod engine, no chance for timing belt to break. Make sure that the fuel pump is working. It is located ahead of the passenger rear tire on the frame. Also check the fuel filter there and under the hood.

I presume by that you have an 87 Hatchback, with the front grille like that of a brat or 80-84 wagons. They continued this body with an ea81 threu 89 although the ea82 bodies started in 85-94

 

In that case it is a pushrod engine, no chance for timing belt to break. Make sure that the fuel pump is working. It is located ahead of the passenger rear tire on the frame. Also check the fuel filter there and under the hood.

One of the first things I did, was changing the pump and the filter. And if I put 12V straight to the pump, it runs, and gives a lot of fuel.

But if I use the original relay, it doesn't run.

 

And no matter what I do, the car doesn't fire. there's no spark.

I need a new fuel pump relay, but these cars are getting rare over here, that's why I was wondering about the yellow wire!

 

I'll take some pic's of the car and motor later today! hehehe

Diss pu on its way out check wire harness conectors at diss and is there power on the + side of coil ? The carbed feul pump realy needs to see engine rpms to actavate

All right, Problem solved.

It was the pickup in the distributor, that was dead.
With no signal from there, the pump wouldn't run, and the engine didn't fire!
A new unit, would set me back 4765NOK (thats aprox 800$! No, I'm not joking!!)
Found a dead brat, at the lokal junkyard, and picked up a new pickup for 8$, with a new cap and rotor!
After cleaning the carb, she now runs fine, though rough at idle!

Put a Weber on it. They are about $300-400 new, but worth it. I pulled my Hitachi off to put a Weber on and OMG it runs like a NEW car.

Agreed, weber is amazing^

 

Hitachi's are only good when they come in dual.