Cougar

One thing you could do before changing out the ECU is to check the wiring to the ignitor. Disconnect the battery and the ignitor then use an ohmmeter to check each wire in the connector that connects to the ignitor. Reference the other meter lead to chassis ground. Write down the results on a piece of paper. Then place the reference lead on the positive battery (still disconnected from the battery) and measure the leads again. Record those results. Then replace the ECU with the new one and do the same thing again. Hopefully one of the readings at least will be different with the new ECU. It sure would be a big help to have a wiring diagram. You should be able to order a Hannes manual from someone. Here is a link for a CD manual on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6032&viewitem=&item=110162303736

It looks like something is causing the ignitor to stay on all the time and damaging it. It may be the ECU is bad.

You should have at least 10 volts on both sides of the coil with the key in the ON posistion. If that is ok then the problem may be the ignition amplifier usually mounted on the disty.

Good to hear that you purchased a meter. This tool will save your bacon for many years in the future. I think it's one of the best and most important tools to have in your tool box. The first thing to check for a problem is the fusible links that are in a box that is mounted on the coolant reservoir. Make sure the connections are tight and you have 12 volts on each side of the links. If they are good then move on to the fuse panel and make sure all the fuses are good. Fuses 5 and 12 are very important and I can't remember what others right off hand. You can use your meter to check them without pulling the fuses. You will notice there are small spots, on the top of each side of the fuse element, you can place your meter probe on to check the voltage. One easy test to check fuse 5 is to see if the horn works. Another possible problem area is the ignition relay. If the other things check out then this may be where the culprit is.

It does sound like the lock needs to be replaced. For the electrical portion you need to clean the switch contacts on a switch that is mounted near or on the lock also.

That makes sense Nipper. A diode could be breaking down I suppose or there may be a bad connection inside heating up.

The warning light is supposed to be on when there is a problem with the alternator or it isn't spinning and the key is ON. The circuit provides current to the exciter to get the field coils energized. If the warning light doesn't work then the alternator will not get the needed exciter voltage to start the process. You should see voltages very close to the battery voltage on both leads while the alternator is working. If a lead voltage is low then you need to see why and follow the lead back through the circuit.

Well hopefully this no start is due to the same intermittent problem you were having and by fixing this it will clear up the troubles. If you have some starter fluid try spraying some of it into the intake to see if the engine will try to run on that. If not then check for voltage getting to the coil.

There most likely is a problem with one of the small wires going to the alternator. Check the voltage on each wire with reference to ground while the engine is running. They should be close to the battery voltage. If one isn't then you need to track that wire and look for a bad connection.

You might try replacing the fuel filter. Also check the fusible links for a bad connection. They a in a box mounted on the coolant reservoir.

It's hard to say for sure but I would think a good savy tech could pin down the troubles within a couple of hours. Fixing the troubles may take longer.

Well you are closing in on the trouble.

The voltages now look ok. You may want to now drive the car a little and let the engine get to normal temp. Then see what the voltage of the O2 sensor is at idle and around 2,500RPM. Hopefully it will be about .5 volts. If that checks out then maybe see what the test shows you.

To verify the ECU end of the wires disconnect the sensor and then measure the voltage of each wire but use the car body ground as reference. The sensor voltage should be a small voltage and ground will be zero of course.

Well after looking at your provided print it looks like you need to tie the black wire of the sensor to the white wire coming from the ECU. You could see if the red heater wire on the sensor ties to the body of the sensor using your ohmmeter. Though if you had the heater wire backwards it should have blown the fusible link.

Some TPS voltages are reversed so no problem there. I would have thought the O2 sensor wire would be the white one. Did you have 12 volts on the red and white wires? Edit: After looking into this it looks like the black wire may be correct. The white should be the heater and the red should be ground.

The hardest part about fixing a relay problem is locating it. Yours may be near the steering column under the dash. They are in sockets and just pull out to replace them. If you can catch the problem while it is occuring you should be able to locate the relay by tapping on it and the blower will turn on. I would guess your problem has a 90% chance being a relay problem going from what you say.

It is nice the know about that mod. Hopefullly the sensors will still work as they should in the new locations.

It's nice to know that the info from here helped you out. Thanks for the feedback.

Like OB99W stated, it would be good to know what happens when this problem occurs. Since a short is less likely to happen compared to a break in the power to the blower I think you may be confusing the terms. If the blower just quits without blowing a fuse then you have a power connection problem. If this is the case the most likely thing for this trouble is the blower relay. It is a common point of failure.

The alternator may be causing both problems. There may be some shorted diodes in the alternator causing the battery to drain. When you replace the alternator hopefully that will cure the battery drain also.

Welcome to the forum. If you got a Subaru I think you would like it a lot. We all like ours here. They are great in the snow and on regular road conditions also. It would help to know what kind of price range you are looking at and if you want a sedan or wagon. For the most part all the models hold up well. The engines can have oil leaks and headgasket problems. The newer models after 2000 are less prone to these problems. I'm not saying the '90's were bad, just that they are have a little more higher rate of gasket failures. Newer gasket designs have helped fix this problem. I wouldn't pass up a good deal on a 90's model if you found one. I drive a '01 LL Bean Outback and really like it. Soobs are real popular here in Akaska as you can imagine.

I assume you are saying the starter motor dosen't work when you have the brake pedal pressed. If that is correct then check for a bad ground connection. A bad ground between the battery and frame could cause this. When the brake lights are on and the current is running through a bad ground connection this will cause a voltage drop across the bad connection. When you then try to use the starter solenoid there is too much voltage drop across the bad connection and the solenoid can't turn on due to the reduced current that can flow through that bad connection. One easy thing you can do to prove this is to tie a fairly heavy jumper wire between the negative battery post and the frame. Then see if it works. Be sure to clean the battery post connections also as the problem may be right there.

Good deal. One down and one to go. The AC fan is still going to need some investigation. You're welcome for the help. Thanks for the feedback.

I know the frustration Nipper. I went through this same thing when I had to renew my registration some time back. I wasn't driving the car enough and the battery was dead so the ECU was reset. It took me 3 trips to the shop to get enough monitors set so I could pass the test. During this incident the IM tech told me each model car has a procedure to follow in order to get all the monitors to set fairly quickly. He showed me the procedure for my '01 OB in a manual he had and I copied it down. I left the shop trying to follow the procedure as best I could. There were about 11 steps I had to do that included a number of speed changes along with stops and other manuvers. By the time I got back from my 20 mile trip I had set just enough moitors to pass the test. I also learned that when you clear the ECU error codes with a scan tool that it includes the monitors also. I didn't know that then and though it was just the error codes that were being erased. After learning that I am more cautious now when thinking about resetting the ECU.