Hi Guys,

 

My Outback is acting strange lately. Seems to be running fine & starts cold fine. But when I drive 30 miles down the Hwy to work & park it for a few hours then go to start it turns over fast but nothing. I tried jump starting just to give it a bit more power but still nothing. Got a ride home & then back to work the next morning & after sitting over night it started right up.

 

I know it's either spark or fuel delivery but any preliminary guess where to start?

there were some intermittent crank position sensors on older soobs that would fail with temp.

 

 

any codes stored? post any set or 'pending' codes if you can scan the ECU. Or, swing by a parts store and have them scan it - maybe a useful code is recorded.

Thanks for that, actually that happened to me on my old EA82 Loyale... similar symptoms too. Just thought the EJ25 might have different issues. SO where is it located on the EJ? I think it was under the disty on the Loyale but Ej has only a coil.

there were some intermittent crank position sensors on older soobs that would fail with temp.

 

 

any codes stored? post any set or 'pending' codes if you can scan the ECU. Or, swing by a parts store and have them scan it - maybe a useful code is recorded.

+1 on Lucky Texan's post. I had the crank position sensor go bad. It did throw a code, that the parts store got a read out on. Bought a new sensor, had a devil of a time replacing the sensor, as old one was so corroded in place. Practically had to drill it out. New one fixed the problem immediately.

On the Outbacks the crank position sensor is located on the crank sprocket at the front of the engine.

 

I tend to think that your issue may be due a problem with the power to the ignition system possibly. It would be good know if the ignition system is working when this problem happens. Spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the intake might help figure it out. If you get no response from that then the ignition system is suspect. Possibly the ignition relay has a problem.

Thanks all,

 

Have a friend with code reader, so will try that after work this evening. Will check out the ignition relay as well - had a Toyota with similar issues & it was the EFI relay.

If power is getting to the coils then the ignition relay is most likely okay. Another simple test is to see if spark is getting to the plugs. You need to do the testing while the trouble is occurring.

Sounds more like symptoms of a bad ECT sensor.

ECU thinks the engine is cold so its flooding it with fuel. Try starting with the gas pedal on the floor to clear the cylinders.

Thanks for all your suggestions, after checking power to the injectors & spark, it was narrowed down to the fuel delivery. So it ended up being the fuel pump.

 

Thanks again!