Cougar

Well the first thing to do in my opinion is to charge the battery up. Then check the current draw on the battery with everything off. You shouldn't see more than 80 milliamps of current draw. If there is more than that then start pulling fuses to see which circuit is pulling the extra current. The horn problem may be the clue to the answer of the problem and checking the steering column wiring would be good. The horn circuit connection is made by grounding the horn switch lead. The automatic seatbeat may be a problem so check that out also.

I had two of those same cars at one time. They were even the same color as yours is. One was purchased new. I'm sure you will like it. I still have the factory service manual for it in case you have any questions.

I have heard that the '03 and later models are better than the earlier ones.

The fuel filter may be clogged up so you should see if fuel is getting to there at least. You could also try spraying some starter fluid into the intake to see if that will get the engine to run. To check the fusible links all you need to due is make sure voltage is getting to both sides of the connections. They burn open in the middle if they blow out.

The car's ECU should be able to adjust the timing for the lower octane gas and I don't think that will hurt anything other than some lower engine performace along with slightly lower MPG. Of more concern I feel is using a quality gasoline. I have LL Bean also and spend the extra for premium.

One thing that can be tried for those of you with the P0325 error code is to replace the sensor with a half watt resistor. The value should be around 510,000 ohms or 510k ohms. If the problem clears then the trouble is with the sensor output and the sensor should be replaced. If the trouble remains then the wiring to the sensor needs to be checked. A resistor will cost you around 25 cents to purchase. A lot less than a new sensor costs if you really don't need one. I don't recommend replacing a bad sensor with the resistor as a fix, but just for a test.

Larry, I had to replace a title once and maybe this will help you in case you can't get yours squared away. My state DMV required me to get a surity bond from a insurance company and a written quote of the retail value of the car from a dealer, written on paper with the dealers letter head. The bond cost me about $175 dollars for a car valued at around $10,000 dollars.

Places like All Subaru should be able to help you out. Here is a link. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214117 You can trick the ECU until you get a replacement by substituting around a 520 kiloohm (520,000) resistor in place of the sensor. Driving without it won't hurt things either.

You're welcome for the help Steve. Hope they solved the problem.

I agree with you Steve that installing a relay to bypass the inhibit switch isn't the way to fix this. That is the switch I was talking about BTW. I assume the voltage is low on the ignition wire to the starter (the small wire) when the trouble happens since the starter works ok when you jumper that contact to the battery. This means there is a high resistance fault either on the ignition switch start line, which you will probably find in the steering column, or the inhibit switch or the connection to it is bad. This should be a very simple problem to fix. It is basic auto electrical repair class 101.

Looking at my info it shows there is a Blu/Blk wire on pin 7 of the main fuse box that contains the headlight relays. To turn on the headlights all that is needed is to ground pin 7. You can do that by installing a relay where the coil is tied to the accessories power and ground. Then tie the switched contacts of the relay with one side going to pin 7 and the other side to ground. The info shows a pretty big difference between the DRL and w/o DRL wiring. I doubt that you can just plug in a module and make it work that way.

The valve timing does sound like it is way off.

Whatever the error code is it is a seperate issue from the no start problem. I suspect the starting problem is with the inhibit switch or a bad connection to the ignition switch. You could try moving the shifter lever around in the Park position while trying to start the engine to see if that helps.

The shifter light issue could be due to a bad connection or burned out bulbs. Glad you got the dash lights fixed.

Thanks for the offer. It sounds good.

Thanks for the tip Imdew. Bad connections like that to the battery can let noise through since the battery acts somewhat like a filter for the electrical system. Another good reason to keep those battery connections in good shape.

My info says it is behind the center of the dash, in front of the console.

It sounds like the relationship with your landlord is getting kind of kinky. Did you like the spanking? :-p As far as the oil drip is concerned it is too bad that this is still occurring after all your good work. You did do a very nice job. Putting a drip cover down on the driveway would be the easiest thing to do.

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you found the trouble. Hope the rest of the items aren't much trouble to fix.

Good deal. Another case solved.

Check to see if there are more fuses above the fuse panel. I seem to remember there are more there. Also check under the hood for any fusible links.

You're welcome for the help O 97. Glad you got it working and thanks for the update.

You're welcome. If you can get your foot in the door of a shop that does things that appeal to you then you can grow further on with training classes and such. Maybe home study courses. Doing IM work is a challenge to determine what is wrong with a engine I think. There are a number of areas that need good trained techs. Even entry level techs. You start at the bottom and work on up. One of the biggest needs in service shops I think is the knowledge of good electrical and electronic troubleshooting. Cars are using more and more electronics all the time so someone having that skill is a plus. Of course, using your skills at a shop that works on Soobs would be great.

You're welcome for the help.

A bad CAS will cause this problem and you should check the ECU for any fault codes. If the CAS is bad it should show a error code. The CAS lets the ECU when to send a firing signal to the ignition amp and disty.