Hey I've got a 1995 legacy that the ignition cuts off and then right back on this occurs anywhere from half a second to 2 seconds.

The car has 97,000 miles on it and runs perfect with everything else including idle and shifts gears smoothly.

 

Parts I've replaced, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel module, very clean gasoline, replaced also the crankshaft and camshaft positioning sensors, ignition cool pack, plugs and wires, all oem parts, damn thing still cuts out randomly it's a real problem when idling. I've looked and unplugged virtually everything and checked all the wires but no luck,

Any other parts partaining to the ignition that it could be???????? Ignition module maybe?

How about a faulty ignition switch or relay.

Broken solder joint in the MAF sensor. Pretty common on that year and doesn't always set codes.

 

If you're comfortable with a soldering iron you can pull the square top off the sensor and resolder the joints where the pins meet. That usually fixes it, but if not a used one is cheap and they tend to work fine.

Edited May 17, 201510 yr by Fairtax4me

Yeah I can do anything mechanically or electrically it's the troubleshooting I need help on. Both good suggestions and would a short in the MAF sensor on the intake completely kill ignition or would it just cause a sputter? How hard is an ignition switch on a subaru? And I ordered a used ignition module sense they are so cheap on ebay.

Also the car has no check engine codes

Are all of the lights and everything turning off when this happens?

 

When the MAF signal drops out the ECU cuts fuel so the engine basically stalls. If you're rolling it will come back in a few seconds and keep right on going, no lights or anything because the engine is still being turned by the wheels, even the tachometer will still say the engine is turning because the tach runs on signal from the igniter which will still be firing.

If you're sitting still it will stall and the CEL, oil pressure, battery and some other lights may come on, but no codes because the ECU doesn't alway pick up on the problem. It just sees a drop in the voltage signal from the MAF, and decreases fuel input accordingly.

 

Unless you're losing ALL electrical power ( radio, lights, instrument cluster, etc.), that would be a different problem.

Edited May 17, 201510 yr by Fairtax4me

It still has all the lights and everything working and when rolling it does kick back on and keep driving it just cuts out completely when idling

That's the MAF. Pop the top off and resolder the pin junctions, or swap in a used one.

Well I found a cheap oem used online so I ordered it and the funny thing is I banged on the sensor with a screwdriver and it is working perfectly now lol

I'll let you know when I get the new MAF sensor in