GorgeSuby

Replaced the relay(what a pain..) put everything back together - so far so good ... diagnostic cycle fires it every time. Starts up every time so far. Frosty morning tomorrow will be the moment of truth.

So I was able to back probe the connector during the diagnostic cycle. When the pump fails to start on the regular cycle the voltage is low - like less than 1v so looks like relay after all.

So followed Rampage's advice & used the test connectors. (Thanks!) After verifying voltage at the connectors, I plugged the pump back in. The pump would cycle with the fans but not every cycle? It seemed some cycles it would run every pulse whereas sometimes it would just click faintly for a couple cycles then run again... So what do you think? Pump failing to start intermittently due to: 1) Bad pump? ... this is about a 3 year old aftermarket - Carter pump. 2) Low amperage? Seems to be getting the voltage but maybe low amps? 3 )Intermittent bad ground? Not an electrical genius, so any help appreciated!

Thanks Rampage. Maybe I will try plugging it back in & cycling the power with ground on connector grounded to frame... will look into those test connectors too.

Thanks, Don't think it would be water... after I pulled the pump & tested it direct to battery, I hooked it back up to the connector & still no hum.... will try the back probing. Thought of relay too but after searching the forum quite a bit, consensus seemed to be they rarely fail & are hard to get to... still could be it though...

Hi, Guys I have been dealing with an intermittent & worsening cold start issue with my EJ25 Legacy OB... So far I have done a tune-up & replaced some sensors: Knock, Coolant temp, Crank position. It was running well & CEl stayed off but last cold snap it would not fire again & it has been getting worse. A few days ago I noticed that when it didn't start, I could not hear the fuel pump kick on, but after awhile when everything warmed up it would kick on & start priming again. I thought I figured it out when I was getting voltage at the pump connector but no pump sound. However after pulling the pump & connecting it directly to battery voltage, it fires up & runs... when testing voltage directly at the pump connector it seems to briefly spike up to 12v then nothing. Is that normal? What do you think my issue could be?

Thanks for all the replies - lots of food for thought... As for manual vs auto I think it is a nostalgia thing for me - my car history: 74 VW Van - manual 94 Geo Metro - manual 84 Toyota 4runner - manual 74 BMW 2002 - manual 91 VW Vanagon - manual 87 VW Vanagon Synchro 4x4 - manual 87 Toyota FJ60 Landcruiser - Auto 91 Subaru Loyale - manual 91 Toyota FJ80 Landcruiser - Auto(still have) 96 Subaru Outback - Auto(still have) 03 Subaru Forester - Auto(still have) So yeah kinda partial to manual, but I believe you are right auto is fine...

Just hate an unanswered topic even if it is 5yrs old... Found this thread when I was doing mine last weekend & dropping the exhaust did not look fun so decided to find out for myself. On my 03 Forester EJ25 you can get to the upstream & downstream pretty easily through the passenger side wheel well. Take the wheel off obviously & its pretty manageable reach. I bought a 12pt 22mm box wrench & cut a slot in it for the wire, you can use 7/8 as well but the 12pt is nice for the tight space & limited throw. Just an FYI for anyone else who was searching....

hmmm... yeah maybe I don't need a manual...

...Like it.. actually was thinking along those lines as Iv'e always wanted the EJ22 but would rather have a manual... how hard to swap to manual? Or maybe just can it & start from scratch an EJ22/manual vehicle?

So I have been chasing coolant issues with my 98 Outback & after searching the forums it seems pretty obvious I have head gasket issues. Coolant overflow reservoir is always full or overfull & it has started missing a bit under load. I was about to do a major tune-up since it needed it anyway, with knock sensor etc to smooth out the miss & was going to run the codes since CEL is on, but thinking it may be a mute point if HG needs done. I have limited funds but am fairly mechanical - though I have never pulled the heads. Car needs lots of other love too - oil leaks, CV joint starting to make noise etc... Not to mention it has salvage title, & body/paint glass is not great... So, if you had say $1000 & this car, what would you do? 1)Fix it? ... 2) sell it cheap as is + $1000 on another beater? 3)Limp it along & save up for something more solid? Just looking for some informed opinions on here.

Awesome! Thanks!

Gotcha GD, Will not replace that coil. I think looking at the wires it is an early 96 EJ25 but here are some pics of the engine & passenger side heads...Also the tranny numbers match so probably not an EJ22?

Thanks! Will take some more pics... quick look on Napa website shows my coil for a 95 Legacy EJ22 so looks like you're right...

Hi guys, I am trying to do a tune-up on my 98 Legacy outback & ordered a wireset & coil from Rock Auto months ago. Finally went to put it in & it was all wrong. I thought it must be a mistake so went down to Napa to get the correct set & the one the pulled up is the same as Rock Auto. Now this is obviously wrong - the coil on my 98 has the female sockets for the plug wires & even the bolt pattern is different than the one I got on Rock Auto so it wasn't just a coil swap. My ID plate says 98' EJ25D which seems correct... Any ideas? ... What gives?