Cougar

Well, going by your edited post Audio_File I'm not sure about my memory. It looks to me I'm 180 degrees out of phase again. They told me this would happen when I got older.

MilesFox made a comment about the position of the wires. I think he is saying that the wire for #1 would go in about the 2 o'clock position of the cap. Then going counterclockwise the rest of the wires are installed. It has been some time since I have have looked at the disty wires for that engine and I seem to remember that #1 was at about the 7 o'clock position. It sounds like I am incorrect going from what MF stated and I have been 180 out on things before. When replacing plug wires it is a good idea to just transfer one wire at a time from the old cap to the new one. That way you know for sure what goes where.

If there is no electrical power getting to things and the second battery is holding at 12 volts while trying to start the engine check the fusible links for a connection problem.

Cylinders 1 and 3 are on the passenger side.

Most likely, but you first need to make sure that 12 volts is getting to the small wire on the solenoid and to the main battery lead terminal on the starter when the key is turned to START. If both of those points are at 12 volts then the trouble is with the starter. Other possible trouble could be the main battery lead is corroded internally near the battery or the clicking you hear may be something other than the starter solenoid, in which case the inhibit switch may be the trouble.

The click you are hearing may be coming from the starter solenoid. If so, then the trouble may be with the solenoid contacts. They wear out over time and can be replaced. See if there is 12 volts getting to the small wire on the solenoid when you turn the key to START. If that is good and the main battery connections are good then that most likely is the trouble. It could also be the starter motor too. Here is a link to a nice post someone made on how to change the contacts. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1435169

That was a great response Skip. I got a good chuckle out of that. I'm glad I wasn't drinking something as I saw that. It wouldn't have been pretty.

That's a nice looking car for that many miles. It must have had a good home. Enjoy the ride.

Hmmm... I didn't think of that and you may be right. I'm not sure about that.

Since you stated that it did backfire the ignition seems to be working ok but it sounds to me something is still not right with the valve timing, possibly one side at least. A compression test will prove that out.

Indeed, this problem is due to a failure within the alternator. It very well could be due to bad brushes. While I have repaired some alternators I find it is more cost effective, due to parts costs and labor time, to replace it with a good remanufactured unit. The reason that the warning lights glow when the alternator is having trouble is because they are in series with the alternator exciter lead. The exciter is what starts the alternator charging action going by using voltage from the battery to build up the field in the alternator. The warning lights are tested though this circuit when the ignition is turned from OFF to ON.

Doing a compression test may help show what is going on with this.

The fuel pump relay is behind the left side of the dash. I know there are a lot of other relays up there also but that is all my data tells me. Are some of the gauges working or are they all out? If the fuel and temperature gauge is out then there may be a problem with the regulator in the dash.

Thanks for the follow-up Sailhard. Glad to see you sailing well again. It sounds like there was a problem in the area you moved things around.

I'm not sure about the ECU. It may be ok to use one from an automatic. You won't hurt anything at least if you do try it. There may be some folks here that can sell you one. I doubt that you will find a grounding problem but it sure wouldn't take much to confirm that.

I think the throttle body adjustment is a calibrated set point for the ECU to go by. The set screw depth determines how much air gets though I think. I am not real familiar with this area but I think this is correct. Since you had excellent gas mileage on the trip I would suspect everything is ok with the engine.

You're very welcome Ron. You did a good job and thanks for letting us know what you found. Blown fusible links are not usually obvious visually. I like to tug on the ends of them or twist them to see if they are good. With a bad one, the insulation will stretch since they burn out in the middle. For the code 35 problem at least, if you know for sure that the purge solenoid has the proper voltage getting to it, and it is operating as it should but still getting an error code, then the ECU has an internal fault.

As a member of both board sites I have been following this issue on both sides and didn't want to get involved with the issue, especially since I didn't have much to contribute. I have now decided to make some comments of my own on this. I have read a lot of OK4450's replies to folks on the CarTalk site and will say that he always has very good advice for people on the problems they need help with. In regards to the comments you made about the members here OK4450, I had hoped you really didn't mean them and your previous posting proves you didn't. There are a lot of good techs here that know which end is up, as there are on the CarTalk site. With your good background in Subarus and other vehicles my hope is you will stick around here and help others as you have at the other site. We all have the same goal in mind in helping folks with their vehicle problems. So, since you have already signed up why not stick around. I think you may enjoy it. As far as the axle shaft issue is concerned; while I really like to know what the root of any problem is, I am content with knowing that if a certain part has helped others fix the issue or caused a change for the good somehow, then that is good enough for me.

Welcome aboard 8788dyno. Those are a couple of nice Soobs you have there. You're part of the family here now. Enjoy the ride.

You have good trouble shooting skills Ron. You were on to the trouble. You didn't state where you found the trouble. Can you let us in on it?

That link supplies the power to the relay. Check the link contacts for a problem and wire connection under the fuse panel for a break. You need to check continuity between the link contact and the yellow wire going to the relay. Edit: I need to take a break from all this excitment here to run to the store. You will find your trouble somewhere on that yellow wire. Will check back later on the progress.

I think I have the answer here and you are correct about fusible link #2. I think you will find it is blown out. They are in the main fuse panel under the hood. Edit: I see you made a reply while I was writting a reply. Good troubleshooting.

The ignition relay coil is supplied power on a yellow wire that comes from connector pin 4 on the alternator. Be sure to check all the fusible links in the panel under the hood. Especially # 5.

Well if the coil for the ignition relay isn't energizing then we need to see what controls the voltage to the coil. I assume the coil contacts have a good resistance across them.

My info shows it under the left side of the dash tied to a brown connector. After looking at the drawings again it looks like I was not looking at the relay power correctly. The power looks like it comes from the ECU to relay, not the other way as I was thinking. Sorry about that. There are fusible links in the main fuse panel under the hood that need to be checked. There may also be other power sources to the ECU that I haven't seen yet.