What and where is the controll box for the ignition sys. on an '85 turbo? I think mine is going out.

Iv'e got good fule presure @ the rail, but it's cuting out while I'm going down the road, and some times it will just die on me. It's getting worse EVERY time I drive it. I wasen't sure it would get me to work today:eek:

Soobu, your spark box? well your car has an ignitor in the distributor, it also has a knock control unit and it is tied into the FPCU and ECU - which one do you call a spark box?

What is the tach doing when it starts acting up?

Just falling to zero?

Bouncing around?

Slowly falls as the engine RPM go down?

The tach stays with the engine, same RPM as the engine is turning. But it's also the digi tach, so if it was "bounceing" it wouldn't read quick enough to show it I don't think anyway.

I don't see how it could be a fule problem, it has presure @ the rail, it smells rich when I floor it and it's not runing right. And if i dies and I have to hold it to the floor to get it to start agen it pufs out a little black smoke:rolleyes:

The ECS light is on and off all the time.

check the temp. control sensor. and also the plug on the knock sensor.. the knock sensor if not working or unplugged will make it run like ****.. and the temp control sensor will make it hard to start and run like ****..

 

just been there done that on the 85' rx.. found that my knock sensor was broken, due to age and heat ... and my disty had mechanical problems.. so i swapped that with a good one for safe measure...

Where is the knock sensor? What will it look like?

Soob, Tony is correctly pointing you to the FI thermosensor which is in the general location of the KS

Hope this helps find it. This is a hot wire MAF manifold but yours is similiar.

it will be inside the fender on the other side of the battery(at least that's where it is on an ea81t, 85 mpfi is about the same system as an ea81t)

Soobme, just so you are not confused too bad, I think Donald mis read your question. He is refering to the knock control unit itself, not the the knock control sensor you ask for.

OK, the knock controll unit, I'm gessing that is what runs the ign. sys? Can I put a dizy from an EA82 NA carbed car in and let it run stand alone to see if the problem is in the ign. sys.?

knock control unit retards the timing when the knock sensor outputs a voltage signal to it. the knock sensor is a signal generator so just disconect it if you think that were it.

 

I would be looking at the temp sensor circit really close they are prone to corosion ect. and can cause the symptom you describe.

if you have a volt meter take a look at the voltage out puted by the o2 sensor when the high voltage (.9v) means rich (.1) lean steady.5 is the referance voltage sent out by the ecu. check hot .

 

I think you will find high resistance on the cooling temp sensor circit. that tells the car that it is frezing its bearings off cold and needs more fuel.

I recently was working on my toy pu and forgot to reconect the temp sensor. ran so rich that it would barely idle.

Russ has a good point (as Tony did) but you say the CEL is on and off

Why not ask the ECU what it thinks the problem is?

Here is a link to the instructions and a chart

http://www.troublecodes.net/Subaru/

If you can find time to do this please let us know what you find

Gotta give a BIG THANK YOU! to U guys about that coolant sen. The plug for it was coroded as some of U gessed, so I cleaned it up, put some dielectric grease on it and put it back on. I did all this @ work, and I just drove it home with NO INSIDENT:clap: 1st drive Iv'e had like that all week! In a week of trouble shooting I wouldn't have EVER thought to check that:rolleyes: