94 legacy problem...

[Al A.]

Hi all.

Haveing a problem with my daughters car, hoping for some insight from
you guys. It is a 1994 Subaru Legacy, 2.2L fuel injected.

Here's the symptoms:

A while back had a bit of a rough idle and an intermittent "Check
Engine" light. First substantially cold day we had (single digits F) she
went out to start it up and no-go. Cranked and cranked, but would not
kick over. I took a look at it later in the day. It acts the same,
cranks but will not fire. I notice that both electric radiator fans are
running in spite of the fact that the engine is stone cold. Hmmm.
Suspecting frozen fuel lines, I spritz a shot of Magic Starting Juice
into the air intake. I crank for a second, the engine fires, runs rough
for a few seconds then smoothes out and continues to run. Idles and runs
OK. The CE light is now on solid. Turn it off and it acts the same,
won't start. I start it again using magic juice, let it warm up, then it
shut it off. Try again, and it starts.

The next morning, it again won't start when cold. The fans are
running. Nobody around here seems to have a code reader for a 94 OBD1
subaru. Again it starts with a bit of ether. I have a Chilton manual,
but it is about zero help with extracting the codes. It does (sort of)
describe a procedure, but gives no pinout of the connector. No help. I
have not fouund that info on line as of yet, perhaps my Googling skills
are slipping. I theorize that the engine temp sensor is bad and the
computer thinks the engine is hot, thus running the fans (fans are
controlled by the engine computer) and NOT suppling the extra rich
mixture for a cold start. I replaced the temp sensor, nothing changed.

Any ideas? Any guidance as to how to read the codes?

I appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance,
AL

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Hi all.

Haveing a problem with my daughters car, hoping for some insight from
you guys. It is a 1994 Subaru Legacy, 2.2L fuel injected.

Here's the symptoms:

A while back had a bit of a rough idle and an intermittent "Check
Engine" light. First substantially cold day we had (single digits F) she
went out to start it up and no-go. Cranked and cranked, but would not
kick over. I took a look at it later in the day. It acts the same,
cranks but will not fire. I notice that both electric radiator fans are
running in spite of the fact that the engine is stone cold. Hmmm.
Suspecting frozen fuel lines, I spritz a shot of Magic Starting Juice
into the air intake. I crank for a second, the engine fires, runs rough
for a few seconds then smoothes out and continues to run. Idles and runs
OK. The CE light is now on solid. Turn it off and it acts the same,
won't start. I start it again using magic juice, let it warm up, then it
shut it off. Try again, and it starts.

The next morning, it again won't start when cold. The fans are running.
Nobody around here seems to have a code reader for a 94 OBD1 subaru.
Again it starts with a bit of ether. I have a Chilton manual, but it is
about zero help with extracting the codes. It does (sort of) describe a
procedure, but gives no pinout of the connector. No help. I have not
fouund that info on line as of yet, perhaps my Googling skills are
slipping. I theorize that the engine temp sensor is bad and the computer
thinks the engine is hot, thus running the fans (fans are controlled by
the engine computer) and NOT suppling the extra rich mixture for a cold
start. I replaced the temp sensor, nothing changed.

Any ideas? Any guidance as to how to read the codes?

I appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance,
AL

Sounds like classic Engine Temp Sensor. NOT the coolant gauge sender. It
tells the ecu the engine is cold so it will send more fuel through the
injectors on cold starts. Probably bad (or broken wire,etc.) Evidently,
it is feeding the ECU infor that the engine is hot - that's likely why
the fan is always on and you have hard cold starting.

carl

 

[Al A.]

Sounds like classic Engine Temp Sensor. NOT the coolant gauge sender. It
tells the ecu the engine is cold so it will send more fuel through the
injectors on cold starts. Probably bad (or broken wire,etc.) Evidently,
it is feeding the ECU infor that the engine is hot - that's likely why
the fan is always on and you have hard cold starting.

carl

Carl,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. The sensor i changed is the one
you mentioned. I verified that it was not the gauge sender. I am hoping
to get a chance to check out the wiring to the ECU today. If that checks
out, I hate coming to the conclusion that the ECU if defective, I'm
guessing that it is expensive. Not sure how to verify that short of
swapping it out.

I appreciate the reply.
Thanks,
Al A.

 

[Michael Pardee]

Carl,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. The sensor i changed is the one you
mentioned. I verified that it was not the gauge sender. I am hoping to get
a chance to check out the wiring to the ECU today. If that checks out, I
hate coming to the conclusion that the ECU if defective, I'm guessing that
it is expensive. Not sure how to verify that short of swapping it out.

FWIW, I have never personally seen an ECU fail except when they got wet. If
you do happen to reach that point, you should find an ECU with a 30 day
warranty (long enough to determine there is no hidden defect) at wrecking
yards for around $100 US.

Mike

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Carl,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. The sensor i changed is the one
you mentioned. I verified that it was not the gauge sender. I am hoping
to get a chance to check out the wiring to the ECU today. If that checks
out, I hate coming to the conclusion that the ECU if defective, I'm
guessing that it is expensive. Not sure how to verify that short of
swapping it out.

I appreciate the reply.
Thanks,
Al A.

I just looked for a direct link to Legacy 777's website and couldn't
immediately find it. But, he can be found on the forums at www.usmb.net
and has procedures for code retrieval on your model I believe. Those
guys over there have much more experience than I do, and if no one here
has more ideas for you, try posting on the forum.

Carl