1990 Subaru Loyale Wagon Spark Problems

[eldonko]

Car died while driving. Power in battery, engine turns over,
alternator new, starter moving. pulled into shop and got no spark
tested ignition coils, replaced coils and high tension wire.
Still, no spark.
So no electricity going to the coils, when I get back to the car I’m
going to check and clean the connections and the wires but at a loss
really.

What to do next?
Thanks

 

[bkeller13]

I’m having the same problem with an 88 DL wagon. I’d appreciate any
help. Thank

 

[strchild]

tested ignition coils, replaced coils and high tension wire.

I don't know what year Subaru finally rid their motors of the distributor
cap, but that's near enough the '89's I've owned that maybe you could pop
the distributor cap and see that everything is in place and going round
inside when you crank the starter, although "coils" plural makes me think
you're application is coil pack here.

Have you tried getting spark with known good plugs, for maybe yours are worn
and the gap is too far out of spec? Seems however odd that none at all
should spark.

What else is there?!

Should be an ignition module somewhere, if I remember correctly, that tells
the whole setup to let loose the actual spark. But I forget at the moment.
Is the ignition control module only on the coil pack variety?

How is the coil pack timed, the crank or cam sensor? Anybody? If that
fails, might not get the go ahead to spark, right?

How are you testing for spark, anyways? Maybe somebody in the group has a
different method you could use?

Any trouble codes from the computer? Might check them just in case. You
can search this newsgroup for instructions, or here's a handy site to
bookmark and reference if you seek Subaru trouble codes:

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

Just stuff I would look into, if given the same situation by my own Subie.
But as always YMMV.
~Brian

 

[Joe Kultgen]

I don't know what year Subaru finally rid their motors of the
distributor cap, but that's near enough the '89's I've owned that
maybe you could pop the distributor cap and see that everything is in
place and going round inside when you crank the starter, although
"coils" plural makes me think you're application is coil pack here.

The '90 Loyale used a coil/distributor setup while the '90 Legacy used the
coil pack with the crank and cam angle sensors.

Most likely failure on the Loyale is a busted timing belt. The 1.8 used in
the DL/GL/Loyale series is a non-interference engine and busting a timing
belt is no big deal. If the rotor turns when you crank the engine hook a
spark plug and cable directly to the coil tower and ground it against the
engine block. If no spark the next thing I'd check is all fuses and the
module right below the coil. Then check the ignition relay located under
the dash above the ecu on top of the steering column, next to the fuel pump
relay.

If it's actually a Legacy with the 2.2 that uses a coil pack the easiest
way to check the timing belt is to run a compression test. Then check all
fuses and relays, the crank and cam angle sensors, and the igniter pack
mounted on the center of the firewall.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[eldonko]

Thanks so much,

Checked it all out and it was the timing belt, a good friend and I
changed the belts, works like a charm

much thanks and respec