Hey guys and girls,

 

Long time reader, first time poster. I was wondering if this problwm sounded familiar to anyone. I have a '93 Impreza L AWD, auto. I bought this car in the spring, and besides rotors and a bit of body-work its needed nothing. However it occasionally will not start. I'll turn the key and all the lights will come on etc. but the motor won't turn over. I'd hear the starter solenoid clunk at least if it were that right? So besides a starter, (which i dont think it is) are there any other possibilties. This is like having a buddy in the hospital! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm driving a buick until then. Thanks!

If you are getting voltage TO the starter (thus the clunk), 9/10 times its the starter itself. Some people have had luck with cleaning the battery terminal or flipping the contact on the starter somehow but I dont remember where this article is at and dont seem to find it in searches.

Yea, sounds like bad starter solenoid contacts to me. The contacts get burned from arcing. If you can handle it, take the starter out and get some new contacts from a starter rebuild shop. I had a word doc on how to pull it apart, but I can't find it. I think Josh has a link to it on this site, but not sure.

Next time it won't start, try tapping the starter motor with a hammer. If it will start after this treatment, it's the starter for sure.

Starter solenoid contacts.

 

here's tiny clark's document

 

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru/techinfo/starter.doc

 

here's some additional pics (starter solenoid pics towards the bottom)

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/images/swap/13/default.htm

 

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru/images/startersolenoid1.jpg

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru/images/startersolenoid2.jpg

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru/images/startersolenoid3.jpg

Thanks alot for the advice. Those pics are excellent. I'll yank the starter out on thursday and clean/replace those contacts. I'll let everyone now how I made out.

Hey everybody,

 

I took the starter out and took it to the starter repair place. They replaced the bushings, bendex and the solenoid, so its fine as far as I know. I charged the battery and just checked to make sure it wasn,t the neutral safety switch. So I've at least eliminated those three things. But unfortunately, still no luck. I dont have a manual for this car yet, so I'm not sure about where to look for sensors. Is there a crank-sensor or something I could clean or replace? Thanks for any help or advice. And thanks again for getting back so fast last time!

Okay, I still suggest tapping the starter motor with a hammer next time this happens. There could be a burned out coil in the motor itself. New contacts and such won't cure that.

 

If a crank sensor (middle of the engine, front) or cam sensor (driver side front) were bad the engine would turn over, but not start. Your symptoms point to the starter or it's circuit.

Hey guys and girls,

 

Long time reader, first time poster. I was wondering if this problwm sounded familiar to anyone. I have a '93 Impreza L AWD, auto. I bought this car in the spring, and besides rotors and a bit of body-work its needed nothing. However it occasionally will not start. I'll turn the key and all the lights will come on etc. but the motor won't turn over. I'd hear the starter solenoid clunk at least if it were that right? So besides a starter, (which i dont think it is) are there any other possibilties. This is like having a buddy in the hospital! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm driving a buick until then. Thanks!

my legacy had a problem similar to that. it ended up being the camshaft sensor.

Rebuilding the starter didnt remedy the problem, but it needed to be done. I have (had) an aftermarket security system that was causing the problem. It was short-circuiting and grounding everything out. I took it to my mechanic and he said they can really make a mess in subaru's, apparently causing irreparible damage. He removed it without to much trouble and I was back on the road for 1/2 labor. Apparently i got lucky! So to anyone using one of these security systems with a removeable plug be forewarned, they can be dangerous