Bubonik Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I posted a reply at the end ..... Crap ! hopefully someone can help me ..... I just recently bought a '90 loyale EA82 5-sd push button 4-wd 262,000 K I had asked a few questions a week or so ago about codes and such anyway about two or three weeks ago i went to start the car and it was dead i assumed it was the battery pulled it charged it still didn't work ? tried a different battery still didn't work after about four battery switches and alot of cursing the original battery worked ! and has worked fine ever since ....... until now ..... drove to work fine went to go home .... dead ...... got a jump no problem ran fine now the only thing i left on was the rear defrost {shouldn't matter?} but now it's doing the same thing again won't start with any battery {which i KNOW work} but now the difference .... before the clear memory connector was hooked up so no codes were saved after i fixed that i had no 'check engine' light for about a week when i got jumped tonight the light came on right away when i got home and had it running i could plug in the green connector {idle adjust?} light would go out unplug it it would come back on also when i put in the battery from my other car i could see a small spark somewhere near the battery area {dark and by myself, can't be in two places at once} but still no start didn't even try to turn over clock comes on, then move the key to 'on' everything dies {even with the working battery from the other car} does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of things i could try ?? i know how to use a voltmeter and can work a wrench i'm not an expert in either trade, but i can get around ok PLEASE !! any suggestions would be great ! Thanks in advance !! Kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Starting to sound like a mantra: Check the connections: Batt-cable to batt, batt-cable to starter, batt-cable to ground (starter). Various grounds. Also, orig positive battery cable had a bolt-and-nut to connect power wires to cable... usually under the positive cable's protective "hood"; if the connection is bad here, all sorts of stuff could be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausubaru92 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 As far as your starting problems, it could be the solenoid in the starter motor (maybe) this could explain why it wont work with known good batteries but sometimes just works. try by tapping the solenoid lightly with a hammer while turning the key (you will need 2 people) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Crap ! hopefully someone can help me ..... I just recently bought a '90 loyale EA82 5-sd push button 4-wd 262,000 K I had asked a few questions a week or so ago about codes and such anyway about two or three weeks ago i went to start the car and it was dead i assumed it was the battery pulled it charged it still didn't work ? tried a different battery still didn't work after about four battery switches and alot of cursing the original battery worked ! and has worked fine ever since ....... until now ..... drove to work fine went to go home .... dead ...... got a jump no problem ran fine now the only thing i left on was the rear defrost {shouldn't matter?} but now it's doing the same thing again won't start with any battery {which i KNOW work} but now the difference .... before the clear memory connector was hooked up so no codes were saved after i fixed that i had no 'check engine' light for about a week when i got jumped tonight the light came on right away when i got home and had it running i could plug in the green connector {idle adjust?} light would go out unplug it it would come back on also when i put in the battery from my other car i could see a small spark somewhere near the battery area {dark and by myself, can't be in two places at once} but still no start didn't even try to turn over clock comes on, then move the key to 'on' everything dies {even with the working battery from the other car} does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of things i could try ?? i know how to use a voltmeter and can work a wrench i'm not an expert in either trade, but i can get around ok PLEASE !! any suggestions would be great ! Thanks in advance !! Kyle Great advice from Northwet. That should cover everything. Some experiences I have had, hope they can assist you or anyone else in troubleshooting. Seems familiar to the time my Battery terminals and Cables needed replaced/cleaned. Particularly the cluster of wires on the Positive Cable Terminal. I was broke down on Elk Mountain in Wyoming in the middle of winter and had to shove a piece of a Bic Pen into the Positive portion of the terminal to give it a solid connection. It worked for a short while. Later I cleaned all those wires good and scraped them with my Gerber. I got new terminals, soldered them and never looked back. Another time on an 87 GL Turbo the positive lead (or at least I think it was the Positive Lead- Has a Yellow Ring Terminal on it), on the back of the Alternator got brittle and was only connecting intermittently. I recommend replacing that ring terminal or checking that out closely. Also, those to or three grounds on your chassis right by your Negative Battery terminals should be looked at with a fine tooth comb. Been stranded more than once because of those bad boys. Maybe get someone to crank the key when you are looking under the hood. Besides those obvious things don't forget to check all your Fusible Links. I think there are four of them on your car. If not visually, use a Multimeter to check them out. If you are testing them in place then set your reader to 50VDC. When in place with Juice ( car on ) Touch the needles to each side of the link and it should read Zero . If you take them out to check them, put your reader on Ohms ( make sure the battery is good on your Multimeter if it is Analog) and touch each side with the needles. It should read Zero. ( Disclaimer- I may be corrected on the Zero is good in both cases statement- I asked a Electrical Engineer about this just yesterday, but we were talking on the Phone and I was distracted.etc.. So assume that Zero is good in both cases. Unless some oldtimer with infinite knowledge points out the lunacy of my advice.) Consider buying a Battery Charger made by Schumacher Electric. ( Ebay for like 50 Dollars) This has Speed Charge and Smart Charge 2AMP 30AMP and a 60AMP Jumpstart setting. Best of all it has a Battery and Alternator tester. (This feature will pay for itself) It has a red LED that can tell you alot about Electric Problems. After owning about 12 different Subaru's over the years I wish I had gotten this sooner. I can't tell you how many times I have changed a battery and Alternators in Subaru's just for the ake of testing. I have had pretty good luck with my Alternators lately, but it is not winter yet. I don't know about the 93 Loyale, but if I ran the Rear Defrost in any of my Subes I would have my eyes locked on the Voltmeter while driving. If you add headlights, a Stereo and the Heater you may not be generating enough Power to charge you battery. Worse yet your battery may be charging but have sulfated to the degree that it has no Cranking Amps, or cannot holde a charge. If you can have someone test those battery's with a Load Tester. I dont know your knowledge of batteries but if they dont enough cranking amps then you can get a Smart Charger that sends pulses of high AMPS to recondition the batteries. Anyway sorry about the rant, but I hope you can take somthing useful from it. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canajun2eh Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Since you're new to Subarus: If the car has a manual transmission, make sure that you press the clutch pedal ALL the way to the floor, and that the floor mat doesn't interfere with clutch pedal travel. The starter won't work unless the clutch pedal is fully depressed. If you're doing the fully depressed clutch pedal thing and your starter still won't turn over, you might have either a bad ignition switch or the clutch interlock switch might be bad. The interlock switch is mounted under the dash, near the pedal pivot. Pull the connector and short it. If the starter now works when you turn the ignition switch to "Start", you've found the problem. If your car has an automatic transmission, the neutral safety switch, mounted on the transmission, might be bad. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawnk Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Try to isolate the problem. Jump the solonoid directly. Make sure the car is in Park or netrual (if Stick). I use test kit from my local auto parts store. It has a momentary switch with two alligator clipped wires. the instructions came with the kit. Also try to hook up a volt meter across the battery. If you have 12+ volts when you first hook up the battery then loose it after you try the starter you have arked one of the battery feeds and it has become electricaly detached. Use the Volt meter to check all connections and clean them and retighten. I had a bad ground connection that would carry enough juice for the Headlights but when I cranked it the starter it failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubonik Posted November 5, 2004 Author Share Posted November 5, 2004 thanks everyone i'll try all those things when i get home tonight and let you know how it worked out thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Since you're new to Subarus: If the car has a manual transmission, make sure that you press the clutch pedal ALL the way to the floor, and that the floor mat doesn't interfere with clutch pedal travel. The starter won't work unless the clutch pedal is fully depressed. If you're doing the fully depressed clutch pedal thing and your starter still won't turn over, you might have either a bad ignition switch or the clutch interlock switch might be bad. The interlock switch is mounted under the dash, near the pedal pivot. Pull the connector and short it. If the starter now works when you turn the ignition switch to "Start", you've found the problem. If your car has an automatic transmission, the neutral safety switch, mounted on the transmission, might be bad. Good luck. Sounds unlikely to be a starter interlock problem. He says that dash electricals work before turnign key to START, and then "die" when he attempts to START. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canajun2eh Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Sounds unlikely to be a starter interlock problem. He says that dash electricals work before turnign key to START, and then "die" when he attempts to START. I think you'll find that the dash indicators, etc. all turn off when the ignition key is turned to the "Start" position. At least, that's always happened on my cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I think you'll find that the dash indicators, etc. all turn off when the ignition key is turned to the "Start" position. At least, that's always happened on my cars. Ok, I'll give you 70% credit for being more right than me... When moved to "start", my clock goes out but my idiot lights stay on. And after rereading orig post, he says when he moves key to "on"... maybe just misspeaking, may be accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 The first time I experienced an odd battery problem with our first soob, I learned that the battery cables, particularly ground, were kind of finicky. So I replaced all of the battery cables and grounds, cleaned the battery terminals all shiny, cleaned cable attachment points at starter and elsewhere, and NoCo Sealed the snot out of them. 2nd subaru had similar problems, did the same thing. Haven't had a spec of electrical problems since then with those two. Been like 8 years for Sub1... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubonik Posted November 6, 2004 Author Share Posted November 6, 2004 Thanks lot people !!! it was the positive battery terminal replaced it and cleaned all the connections and it started right away i think i'm also going to replace the negative line just to be sure but it seems to be great now thanks alot for all the input this place has been a great help !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.