1995 Impreza Wagon, 1.8 liter - Problems started when wet. Bucking, complete loss of power, intermittent check engine light. Does not do it all the time. Did have low volts (12.1) due to bad alternator ground (Damaged ECU?). Volts now OK. At one point the air intake fell off of the intake manifold ( overheated MAF? ). When I remove the MAF connector I no longer have the wet issue (limp home mode?) Want to check the MAF etc. Can not find the ECU. My Clymer's says it us under or next to the steering column. I can't find it there behind the panel. Is it under the cover on the steering column that houses the ignition and blinker switches? Is it in a different place on this car? What else can I look into? I found that there had been a repair on the wire leading into the MAF, but all looked good. I realize that improved running after removing the MAF connector does not mean the MAF was bad. with the Check engine light on all the time the ECU just goes into a limp home mode. Hell, with the cost of a new/rebuilt maf, it might just make more sense to run it in limp home mode. Any idea as to if this can damage the vehicle over the long haul?

 

Bob

Find a JY MAF, they usually run ~75. Or, source one from somebody on here who's willing to sell it cheap to you.

 

I'm sure that your MAF is toast. Replace it and you'll be fine. Running in limp mode is not an option because the ECU completely retards the timing and adjusts everything (you can't go above 4k RPM).

 

Just FYI, the ECU is under the dash on the driver's side. It's almost directly above the brake pedal (if you're looking from the underside of the dash). It's a silver-ish box with lots of wires coming out.

The 12.1 volts you stated is a good voltage and is no problem. I think you are correct about the ECU being under the plate. It would be nice to know what codes are stored in the ECU. Most likely there is one for the MAF. Since this is a intermittent problem I would guess there may be just a connection problem to the MAF causing this trouble. Be sure the connections to it are clean and snug. Sometimes the sensor in the air passage way needs to cleaned also to stop problems like this.

ANyone replace the ignition wires on this thing? sounds like bad wires.

 

nipper