just got an XT6 to add to my collection of subarus. great deal due to an electrical problem. the people who owned it made a mess. I have a box of 6 igniters, 3 coils, 2 crank angle sensor distributers from them with the car, and no spark. I replaced the obviously messed up things the crappy plugs, old wires, worn out cap, and replaced the crank angle so the ECU no longer gives the code for no crank angle signal. scrapped the junk yard coils for a new one. still no spark. they had the fusable links wrong and so the one for the ignition was a 1.25 amp instead of the 0.5 so they may have fried the ECU they said they smoked a couple fusable links. I can replace that. they also replaced the fusable link box and I'm not sure anything else didn't get changed since I can't find a wiring diagram or any thing else that could be wrong. So I want to be sure I've fixed everything else so I don't fry another ECU with something they messed up. I'm reading voltage at the coil. I have a couple other codes to fix but I dont think they should stop it from starting. I can't get information on the vehicle speed sensor to test or replace though so I don't know if that could do it.

You should have at least 10 volts on both sides of the coil with the key in the ON posistion. If that is ok then the problem may be the ignition amplifier usually mounted on the disty.

it reads 11v on the positive but only 6v on the negative, I'll try a couple of the other igniters and see what the readings are with those. there isn't anything else on this crank angle dist. just the 4 wire hook up for the internal electronics.

yeah I've got another one that I tried yesterday that reads 12v on both sides so it's OK.

well maybe not any more. gave it another try, now its 11v and 6v just like the other one and hot enough to fry and egg.

do these igniters ground through the bracket also? it would save time testing them if I didnt have to screw it to the frame every time. apparently theres a power problem with the ignition switch or some where else, voltage was 12v untill I tried to start it again.

apparently the igniter on the coil bracket is grounding to the frame. when it is unscrewed I get 12 volts at both terminals, screwed to the frame as before 11, and 6,

It looks like something is causing the ignitor to stay on all the time and damaging it. It may be the ECU is bad.

I just picked up a new (used) ECU yesterday. any way to check out the rest of the possibly messed up connections first? the only partial wiring diagram I found for an XT6 only has 2 white wires coming off the alternator and none of them are supposed to bypass the fusable link box. this has a third and it routs up toward the fire wall some where and like I said before they seem to have opened up if not spliced someother things. ECU is kind of pricy for throw away test equipment if there are other grounding issues. I just can't find a wiring diagram for these XT6s any where

One thing you could do before changing out the ECU is to check the wiring to the ignitor. Disconnect the battery and the ignitor then use an ohmmeter to check each wire in the connector that connects to the ignitor. Reference the other meter lead to chassis ground. Write down the results on a piece of paper. Then place the reference lead on the positive battery (still disconnected from the battery) and measure the leads again. Record those results. Then replace the ECU with the new one and do the same thing again. Hopefully one of the readings at least will be different with the new ECU.

 

It sure would be a big help to have a wiring diagram. You should be able to order a Hannes manual from someone.

 

Here is a link for a CD manual on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6032&viewitem=&item=110162303736

I've been looking but none of thew book stores even list a naynes manual for the XT6, just the 1600, 1800 which I already have. from the 1800 MPFI diagram which is the closest I can get, the yellow wire on the L side of the coil is the one that goes to the ECU, if the XT6 is the same, that would be consistant with the ECU problem since that is the side that is reading 6V instead of 11V.

well with the battery disconnected and just measuring resistance everything measured the same from the old to the new ECU except the yellow lead from the igniter to the ECU, 148 OHM on the old, open on the new. sounds like something cooked in the ECU. question is was fixing the fuasble link and such enough to keep it from frying the new one or do I need to keep looking? this third wire from the alternator bugs me since it doesnt go through the fusable links. for safety I may tie it in after the fusable links for now. then power and recheck the voltage? Ugh. I'll cross reference my various diagrams again for hints and see if theres anything else promising with this new development. thanks for the good advice so far.

turned the range up on the meter, the white and yellow actually reads 1080 ohms with the new ECU not open, and 140 ohms with the old ECU plugged in.

well power on- 12v both sides of the coil, do I try to start it and see if I let the smoke out of the ECU? they can only put it in at the factory and it would be buy another ECU if I didn't. catch everything else.

It sounds like you may have verified the ECU is bad. I would go ahead and try the new one along with a new ignitor.

SHE LIVES! timed and purring away. Many thanks for the help cougar. ECU and the distributer was in 180 backwards. now its standard subaru, oil leaks and trouble codes. ran it around the block seemed to go just fine. now it's on to the smaller details but maybe tomorrow.

If your looking for an XT6 FSM you can find it at http://mshoup.us/docs/fsm/

 

Mega-uber-super points to the guys who debound and scanned these in!

SHE LIVES! timed and purring away. Many thanks for the help cougar. ECU and the distributer was in 180 backwards. now its standard subaru, oil leaks and trouble codes. ran it around the block seemed to go just fine. now it's on to the smaller details but maybe tomorrow.

 

Great. You're welcome for the help on this. Enjoy the fun ride.

OOH! service manual that should help. thanks for the link I'll have a look. thanks again cougar, the debugging can now begin.