DavieGravy Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 I determined my TPS on my 92 went bad due to fluctuation of the needle on my multimeter while adjusting it. I also had shifting problems. That being the case, I replaced the TPS and now have smoothe movement on the multimeter during adjustment. I also solved my shifting problems. However, I'm experiencing sputter at idle when cold. The sputtering gets better when the car wams up. Additionally, I'm experiencing hesitation on low RPMs while accelerating. Due to these symptoms, am I correct in assuming the TPS is set incorrectly or is the problem related to something else. I'm using an analog multimeter which is difficult to read. There are numerous scales for the voltage. (2.5 10, 50, and so on). I'm using the 2.5v range and assume the needle should be 1/5 of the way up the voltage scale as this would indicate the factory specified 0.5 volts. Perhaps I'm reading the meter incorrectly? Should I just scrap the analog meter and go with digital? Thanks in advance for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 sputtering can be too rich a mixture. Check the O2 sensor and the engine temp sensor. DO you have a manual for this car? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Search over at http://www.subaru-svx.net. This hesitation has been covered a lot. You might find some information over there you didn't know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 After conducting some research, it seems as though a faulty temp sensor causes hard/difficult starts. My car starts perfectly every time. That being the cause, I'm inclined to believe the problem is something eles. I have no check engine light. Woudln't a faulty 02 sesnor cause the check engine light to come on? I verfied the TPS setting with a digital multimeter and it was set correctly. Appreciate the suggestion to search subaru-svx.net for sputtering, but didn't find much. Any other ideas would be appreciated. Perhaps a vaccum leak? I checked all the hoses. Some were held on with electrical tape. I replaced the tape with clamps. However, the problem continues. This started happening when the weather got cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 There are a few guys on the SVX forums (myself included) who haven't been able to figure out exactly why there's hesitation and/or sputtering at cold starts. It hesitates a good bit when the car's cold and my TPS is set to .5v as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted November 28, 2007 Author Share Posted November 28, 2007 Mine was only doing it when cold, but the problem is now occurring when warm. The car also shakes when cold. I'm thinking vaccum leak which would explain the car running rich, or a sticky EGR valve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Mine was only doing it when cold, but the problem is now occurring when warm. The car also shakes when cold. I'm thinking vaccum leak which would explain the car running rich, or a sticky EGR valve?It could be a vacuum leak. A few sprays of a can of carb cleaner should nail down where the leak is if there is one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 It could be a vacuum leak. A few sprays of a can of carb cleaner should nail down where the leak is if there is one. Poked around a bit this evening and sprayed some carb cleaner on various vaccum lines. However, I'm reluctant to spray too much for fear of starting a fire. Is there a risk for this? Anyway, I was not able to get any RPM increases while spraying. The only thing I did notice was a few 1 second, sudden rev increases when I began to close the hood. This is strange since the only moving part on the hood that goes into the engine bay is the hose for the washer fluid. I also noticed a slight hiss coming from the center of the engine. I removed the plate that's held in with 4 allan screws, but this wasn't enough to deduce anything. After a quick test drive this evening, I noticed the car stopped shaking and began to run fine after normal operating temperature was achieved. Any other ideas on where I can go from here? And lastly, does anyone know of a good place in the Denver metro area to get rebuilt high pressure hoses? My high pressure PS hose is leaking on the lower connector that's closest to the bottom of the car. Thanks again for any further advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsSVX Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 does it miss at all or just a hesitation?? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 It acts like it's missing when cold. Engine shaking, sputtering from the exhaust and an extreme loss of power to where I can barely get the car moving. As the car warms up, the loss of power goes away but the shaking continues. Eventually, the shaking goes away with normal operating temperature, yet a small amount of hesitation exists. Spark plugs perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 classic FI coolant temp sensor problem?? I don't know where you live but it sounds like the ECU does not know the engine is cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsSVX Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Can you check the timing?? Just be sure the cams line up with the back covers... Sounds like the pass side cam might be of a tooth or 3 Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 Well I removed part of the cover and the belt looks to be in very good condition. Do I need to expose more to see if there are missing teath? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 It acts like it's missing when cold. Engine shaking, sputtering from the exhaust and an extreme loss of power to where I can barely get the car moving. As the car warms up, the loss of power goes away but the shaking continues. Eventually, the shaking goes away with normal operating temperature, yet a small amount of hesitation exists. Spark plugs perhaps? MAF troubles maybe... Plugs are cheaper though (but more of a PITA to do) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 Manarius, appreciate the suggestion. However in my experience, a faulty MAF simply causes stalling and doesn't produce the sputtering/shaking that I'm experiencing. Could it be a fuel injector? Is it possible to unplug the electrical connectors (one at a time) and start the engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsSVX Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Hey, when you have the covers off your are not looking for missing teeth on the belt, you are looking to see if the timing is aligned properly. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 [...]I also noticed a slight hiss coming from the center of the engine. I removed the plate that's held in with 4 allan screws, but this wasn't enough to deduce anything. After a quick test drive this evening, I noticed the car stopped shaking and began to run fine after normal operating temperature was achieved.[...] You may be hearing a leak that closes as parts expand with increased temperature. A sufficiently long piece of vacuum hose, one end held to your ear and the other end moved to suspected areas, can help pinpoint this type of problem. Of course, a stethescope with just an open tube at the end would probably be easier and more comfortable to use, if you have or can get one. You also might find this of interest: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/LegacyIdleSum04.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 When the hesitation or roughness (missing) occurs, I hear a ticking/popping noise on the AM radio. The frequency increases with RPMs. When the car runs smoothe (like when I'm coasting) the popping on the radio abruptly goes away. Does this shed any light on what it might be? I've also cleared the codes. I'll drive it for a day tomorrow to see if I can pull any new codes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/ you can ask there. They arent the most social people, but they are up on SVX tech. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I have two hypothesis: 1. You have alternator issues. When they would go bad on me in my hatchback, there would be a feedback sound corresponding to the engine RPM's through the speakers. 2. I recently fixed an issue with MAF troubles. It would idle fine then when I began normal driving it would buck and hesitate. Mine did throw a check engine code FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 When the hesitation or roughness (missing) occurs, I hear a ticking/popping noise on the AM radio. The frequency increases with RPMs. When the car runs smoothe (like when I'm coasting) the popping on the radio abruptly goes away. Does this shed any light on what it might be?[...]There's a pretty good chance that it's ignition-related. The type of noise heard on the radio is often from a spark discharge. It could be from plug flashover, leakage through insulation of plug wires, a gap that shouldn't exist (internal break in a plug cable or resistor plug, or even just a poorly seated connection at a plug or the coil), insulation breakdown inside the coil, etc. One thing you can try is waiting until dark and looking under the hood for sparks. You shouldn't see any. You might try spraying down the plug wires and coil with some water, and see if the problem appears or worsens. An ignition system in good condition will tolerate the moisture without problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsSVX Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 problem is, the EG33 has individual coil packs just over the plugs so there is no way to see it. best thing to do would be to take all the coils out, reseal them with some dielectric silicone and replace all the plugs (good idea whiel the coils are out). This will more than likely do the trick if there is spark leak anywhere Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Thank you for the suggestions. I did notice the coil connectors on the driver's side were caked in grease. I cleaned them off but no luck. Where the coils connect to the engine is hard to see and I couldn't see any sparks in the dark. I'll try resealing them and replacing the plugs. I'll post back with the solution once i get around to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Alright, so the problem progressed into constant misfiring and vibration in 4th gear on the highway when throttle pressue was applied. Based on prior experience that made it clear to me the problem is due to the ignition system and most likely a coil wire or coil pack. That being the case, I disconnected various electrical connectors for each coil going to the engine. Disconnecting the white connector on the passenger side resulted in the engine running slightly smoother. Disconnecting the white connector on the driver's side resulted in no noticable difference. Disconnecting the other colored connectors on the passenger side rsulted in worse engine shaking/misfiring. Given that, am I correct in assuming the problem is likely with the driver's side coil that connects via the white connector? And am I also correct in assumming disconnecting the white connector on the passenger side (hence both cylindars on both sides of the engine in the same positionnot firing) smoothed things out? If someone could please help me out with this that would be great. I apologize if these seem like stupid questions but I don't have much mechanical experience. Right now, I'm aiming to replace the questionable driver's side coil and wire. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieGravy Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Yep, that was it. Replaced that igniter coil and all is well :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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