Cougar

I don't think there is any way the engine would run if the disty was 180 out. You may be a tooth off on the disty though. Have you tried lining up number one cylinder to TDC on the compression stroke and see where the rotor is pointing to then?

I would suspect the relay as the problem over the control unit. If you check the wires I told you about with your meter you will find the problem lies.

After looking at the diagram again I saw there is a fuel pump relay also and suspect that may be the trouble since it is a common problem. My manual doesn't give the location of the relay but it may be in the console area with a number of other things. The wire colors shown to the relay are Blk, Blu/Red, Wht, and Blu. The Wht wire provides switched power to the Blu lead. The Blu lead then goes to the control box. The Blu/Red wire from the control box provides power to the pump. Power is provided through the Wht/Blk fusible link which goes to the relay so check the link and make sure you have power from there.

It may be blue. My manual dosen't say what the color is.

My manual shows fuse #10 as the supply fuse for the window relay control. The fuse may be blown so check that first.

So, it's some cruzin' you want to do, is it? Well, a quick check with my service manual gives answers to your questions. The GB wire is the common wire for the other two wires. Tie one switch to the WR wire and the GB wire for the SET control. Tie the YB wire and the GB wire to the other switch for the RESUME control. Your on your way to cruzin' with your fine new wheel. Edit: After posting this I realized something that may or may not be a problem. You stated that you only had two wires on the new wheel. The switches in the wheel may have a common tie to ground when they are pushed. If this is so, you will not be able to hook up the system as I stated. The Subaru system does not use a ground to turn on the controls. You will have to make a interface to make it work. I could design one for you if needed.

As it was stated about the voltage at the pump the voltage is supposed to be 12 volts. It sounds like there may be a problem with the fuel pump control unit which is under the far left side of the dash on a American version.

If you look at a electrical drawing of the ignition switch you would see why things turn off in the Start position. The switch cuts power to unneeded accessories to provide extra power to the starter motor. This is a normal operation. As others have mentioned, the problem may be dirty cable connections or possibly internal corrosion in the starter cable from the battery. Hopefully you have tried the test I mentioned in my earlier post to see where the problem is at.

Most accessories are supposed to turn off in the start position while the starter is turned on. To see if you have a low battery you can turn the key to on and then turn the headlights on and the blower to high. If those things are ok then the problem would be either no voltage getting to the starter solenoid or the solenoid is bad. You should invest in a test light at least to check things like this. A voltmeter is even better and you can even get them for a real reasonable cost starting around $25 dollars.

Your welcome.

Welcome to the forum. There are many faithful Soob owners here and some real good troubleshooters also for when there are problems with the car. It looks like you won't need to worry about any serious trouble for a long time. Enjoy the ride. If this is your first Subaru hopefully you will see why we like them so much. As far as your question goes I think you just need to take reasonable care when driving it. Don't over rev the engine and make normal starts when moving from a stop. Take a nice ride into the country on a nice day. Your in Soob country now.

My manual shows that pins 56,57,60, and 61 of the ECU all tie to ground up by the radiator.

Thanks for the feedback. If you need more help on the other story let us know.

Check your brake light switch and fuse for the brake lights.

Have you checked the fuse for the brake lights to see if it is ok? Also use a test light to check for power at the brake switch. If those things are ok then check the flasher unit for a problem. The brake light circuit runs through that.

It may be enough since you have a carburator. If it was injected I would suggest measuring the pressure as the pump can be intermitant. The pump on my MPFI car would cause problems when going up a hill. The engine would jerk. Replaced the pump and the problem cleared.

You didn't state how you checked the fuel pump. They can be intermittent and cause this kind of problem. If you just looked at the pump without checking the pressure while the trouble is happening then you should check that out.

I don't know if you removed the distributor or not but if you did then it may be 180 degrees out. To check that you can make sure that number 1 cylinder is at TDC on the COMPRESSION stroke and then look to see how the rotor is pointed in relation to the plug wires. It should be pointing to to #1. Since you are not getting any hint of firing it sounds like there is a timing issue of some sort since you have spark. If spaying some starter fluid into the intake doesn't help get any life from the engine then you have to have something wrong with the T belts or the disty timing. Check your compression also. If that it is low then the T belts are most likely out of correct time. One common mistake that is done when changing the T belts is not turning the engine crank 360 degrees before placing the second belt on.

I doubt that this problem is caused by the ECU. There may be a problem with the ignitor. I would first suggest using the Seafoam flush trick to try and clean out the carbon buildup in the engine. This has worked well for folks and may be all you need to do to fix this problem.

The sensors may be ok so no code will be set in the ECU. There may be a problem with the ground to the ignitiors through the ECU. I'm not sure if the ground to the ignitor is internal or external to the ECU for this model year. There have been some posters here that have fixed a no spark problem by repairing a bad ground path in the ECU. It appears the power to the ignitor is ok since you saw 12 volts on the input.

You come from good stock.

I would do a compression check to see what that shows you.

You have a great car there and at a great deal. I had two of those at one time and one of them I purchased new. I kept it for 12 years. The timing belts need to be changed every 60k miles so have that done, as Calebz mentioned. I would also have all the fluids changed so you will know where you stand on that. Be sure to use NGK plugs when you swap them. The alternator is a little weak so you may have trouble with that later. I have service manuals for the car if you need some info later on.

From your description it sounds like there is a ground lead problem to the light. The way I understand your post is the light gets dimmer or turns off on high beam. This would indicate that the common ground has a problem because as more current is needed for the high beam then more voltage drop will occur across the bad connection due to the current demand. Since the light and the bad connection are in series, the higher drop of voltage across the bad spot will mean less voltage across the light, so it goes dim or out. An easy way to verify a bad ground is to tie a jumper wire between a good ground point and the light grounding pin. If that makes the light work then you need to trace that ground wire to the light. Check the socket to make sure it is not the problem. A bad connection will most likely damage the socket.

Have you checked to see if the circuit breaker is being overloaded when the compressor turns on and causing this problem? I wonder if the clutch for the compressor has a problem.