non starting 97 Legacy 2.5 4Cam

[Tom]

I have a 97 Legacy 2.5 4Cam that I have just replaced the head gaskets
on. I did the work myself, as shop prices were too high.

Anyway, got the engine going and ran it for a couple of hundred miles
and then it would not start due to a flat battery. Now it will not even
turn the engine over or start at all, even with a fully charged
battery. Not even a click on the starter motor.

I have checked all the electrical connections and all seems OK.

About 20 miles before the engine refused to start again, the engine
check light came on, and then went off again. I do not have a fault
code reader.

Anyone have any ideas on what could be causing the non starting of the
engine

Tom

 

[Remco]

I have a 97 Legacy 2.5 4Cam that I have just replaced the head gaskets
on. I did the work myself, as shop prices were too high.

Anyway, got the engine going and ran it for a couple of hundred miles
and then it would not start due to a flat battery. Now it will not even
turn the engine over or start at all, even with a fully charged
battery. Not even a click on the starter motor.

I have checked all the electrical connections and all seems OK.

About 20 miles before the engine refused to start again, the engine
check light came on, and then went off again. I do not have a fault
code reader.

Anyone have any ideas on what could be causing the non starting of the
engine

Tom

It has to be something fairly basic, if you don't even hear the starter
'click'. Are you seeing 12V on both starter connections to the engine
body? One leg should have 12V on it at all times.
If not, be sure to check the check the ground connection to the engine
or the battery connection. If you don't see the other 12V when
starting, check fuses, links or you may need to trace it back to the
ignition switch.

Remco

 

[Michael Pardee]

It has to be something fairly basic, if you don't even hear the starter
'click'. Are you seeing 12V on both starter connections to the engine
body? One leg should have 12V on it at all times.
If not, be sure to check the check the ground connection to the engine
or the battery connection. If you don't see the other 12V when
starting, check fuses, links or you may need to trace it back to the
ignition switch.

Remco

Considering it was soon after the engine work, I'd especially check
connections that were disturbed to do the work. That's just about the right
amount of time for something to work loose.

Mike

 

[turkey]

Don't know what you had to take off, but on my Impreza I had a similar
problem after having the clutch changed. I even changed the ground
cable, but the problem continued. Turned out the ground cable connects
to a bigger plate also connected by only one bolt, on which the bolt
had been left out a good half inch. When I connected the ground cable,
it felt good and tight. It worked fine most of the time but sometimes
didn't have a good enough connection to charge or start. I was baffled
for 4 months after that clutch change.