I am a new member to this forum, but i have a problem that i need help with. I am a fairly knowledgeable shade tree mechanic but by no means am i a pro. when i got this car it had been sitting for over 6 months and had a dead corroded and nasty battery and cables. i didnt want to spend a lot to get it on the road so i cleaned the terminals put a new battery in and changed the oil. the battery terminal recently broke so i cut the cable to change the terminals. the positive was corroded almost 6 inches under the insulation. so i changed the cables that went to the alternator and engine ground. now the car wont stay lit. she will crank and then sputter out. i can keep her going with the gas pedal but she is slow to respond and then races. i dont think i did anything...... please help me with my baby

Did it start right up and purr like a kitten before you did anything to it? Or was this a pre-existing condition?

 

Look around at all the cables that are near the one you replaced. You may have bumped a connector loose.

Check the underside of the main fuse box, that's a common spot for corrosion issues. When you replaced the cable ends you might have pulled on the wiring enough to cause issues there

OK. that is a good place to start looking. i did replace the positve lead that jumps of of the positive terminal and goes to the bottom of the fuse box and may have pulled something out. i also will check near where the wiring was placed but i am always careful during the repair.

 

as for the history, this car has been running like a kitten after the new battery and such, but the first time i started it after the new cables it is now garbage.

 

 

thanks for the replies and i will let you know when i get home!

So I went home and checked it out. I don't see or feel anything loose on the bottom of the fuse box. I don't see any connections that I could have bumped. It will then over and put like a kitten but it stalls after about 2 seconds. If I try to keep it alive it races but stalls after I stop pushing.

You more that likely can't see anything without pulling the bolts out that hold the box in place and flip it over. Get a test light and probe the main power wire in to the fuse box. There could be

Corrosion inside the cable that you can't see, if the test light is dim on the fuse box side I would replace the main power wire going to the fuse box.

I would probe all of the fuses and see if they are all getting full power. It could be the chasis ground isn't getting a good connection, get a set of jumper cables and connect negative of the battery to the chasis and engine block and see if that helps

thanks again for the help. i will try the ground test first as it sounds like the most likely thing that i messed with, but will of course check everything when i have a minute. thankfully it is my spare car, but it is the only way i make it to the slopes so i am in a hurry to get it running! when i cut back the cable from pulling the old terminals i made sure to cut back to fresh copper, and the fuse box side looked nice and fresh, but you never know until you look.

 

thanks again

You've got an intake boot or PCV or IAC hose loose.

 

Or you've disconnected the MAF.

 

The fact it runs at throttle but dies when you let off clearly points to an unmetered air leak somewhere.  Did you maybe disconnect or crack the Brake booster hose?  The PCV hose from drivers side to airintake boot?

From what you describe I'm wondering if maybe one of the hoses that goes into the intake came off accidentally while you were doing the work. What year and model soob is it? There's hoses that go from the valve covers to the intake and depending on year for the iacv. Just wondering because of how you say "It will then over and put like a kitten but it stalls after about 2 seconds. If I try to keep it alive it races but stalls after I stop pushing."

It is a 1999 legacy outback ej25. I am about to try the extra ground before tearing back into the engine because I still see no leaks. I did lose one of the screws that holds on the airpod against the firewall above the intake. Doubt that has anything to do with it but wanted to include. Im outside working on it so I will be answering questions in real time. Thanks so much for the help!

It is a 1999 legacy outback ej25. I am about to try the extra ground before tearing back into the engine because I still see no leaks. I did lose one of the screws that holds on the airpod against the firewall above the intake. Doubt that has anything to do with it but wanted to include. Im outside working on it so I will be answering questions in real time. Thanks so much for the help!

Pretty sure I just found it!

Pretty sure I just found it!

 

And????  What was it?

 

IAC hose?  PCV breather hose? Brake booster hose?

I am not sure, but I think it was the iacv. The house just after the maf on the bottom of the breather hose. Back to purring like a kitten

Yes that's the IAC hose.

 

HUGE unmetered air leak.  Glad you found it.

Thanks for the knowledge and trouble shooting!

Ive had that happen before, that can realy throw you through a loop. Glad you got it going! I didn't think about you having to mess with anything in the intake when changing the cables, or I probably would have remembered that.

That is the first thing I check on aSubaru that stalls after starting now. Got me more than once.