1983 1800 4Wd dies.......

[Al Blake]

We have a 1983 1800 4WD wagon. It has been very reliable over the last 5
years and only required regular maintenance.
Over the last month it has taken to dying without warning. Leave it for 5
minutes and try to restart and it is fine for a another few days when we
have the same problem recurr.
As you would imagine this is pretty frustrating.
Initially I suspected fuel - but I have tested the fuel pump and it is
perfect in terms of pressure and flow rate.

Last night I was out in the car when it died (half way across the highway!)
and I had some tools in the back. So whilst I was waiting to get towed home
I tested the ignition and found NO SPARK. I had a good battery and the
engine was turning over, I also had 12v at the coil but when I put an
earthed plug on the COIL lead there was no spark (ie I wasnt just checking
whether the spark was getting out of the distributor cap).

So to my way of thinking this eliminates the fuel system (obviously!) and
the distributor cap and rotor?

Here's the thing. I put the car in the garage and shut the door....when I
came to start it today everything was fine again..it started first time .and
when I checked the spark on the coil lead it was HUGE. So my questions are:

a) Any suggestions as to what the problem is?
- ignition coil?
- electronics within distributor?
- ?
b) Has anyone ever heard of an ignition coil intermittantly failing and then
recovering - I mean could it fail when hot then recover when cold?

Any tips would be appreciated.
Al Blake, Canberra, Australia

 

[Al Blake]

Oops,
Should clarify the car is manufactired 11/1984 (not 1983) and has the
electronic Histachi type distributor.
Al.

 

[David]

b) Has anyone ever heard of an ignition coil intermittantly failing and then
recovering - I mean could it fail when hot then recover when cold?

Absolutely. If it doesn't cost too much, just replace it (and and the ignition wire from
the coil to the distributor cap), and hope the problem is fixed.

 

[johninKY]

Don't know if Subaru used this on the 84 models but it was used on the 85
and newer models. Next to the coil there is bolted to the strut tower
something called an ignitor. Small in sixe and I think it has 2 wires.
Anyways when this part fails, or not well grounded to the body, the coil
will not produce a spark. From the description of the problem I would
remove the ignitor, check that it is grounded, and reinstall it.

 

[Ed Fortmiller]

Try replacing the high voltage wire between the coil and distributor. I seem
to remember such a problem on my 1982.

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Ed Fortmiller | (e-mail address removed) | Hudson MA
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[etienne]

I have seen this before, if the coil is not expensive, I would at least
try that first.

 

[S]

Hi Al!

We have a 1983 1800 4WD wagon. It has been very reliable over the last 5
years and only required regular maintenance.
Over the last month it has taken to dying without warning. Leave it for 5
minutes and try to restart and it is fine for a another few days when we
have the same problem recurr.

Most probably it is the distributor (the modules inside, anyway). Coil
is less likely, but possible. 12VDC at the coil pretty much eliminates
every thing else. Find another distributor at a junkyard and see if
that doesn't fix it. Install is casual; pull the aircleaner box, one
10mm bolt, and two wires from distributor to coil. Note where the
rotor is pointed, and re-install replacement with same orientation.
Set timing. IIRC there were two kinds of distributors used on these
cars, Hitachi and NipponDenso (?) 4X4 had one, non had the other (??).
Either will work, but they use a different cap and rotor.
Hope this helps.

ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[etienne]

The fact that there is 12V at the coil does not mean anything. If the
coil starts heating up, that is what the oil inside is for, to cool off
the coil. It will not produce enough voltage to provide spark for the
plug, no matter how much 12V exists on the primary side of the coil.