Cougar

I have a manual for an '88 model. If the wiring for your car is the same as mine I would check the parking light switch on the top of the steering column. Power for the lights goes through that switch even while the switch is off. You can also see if the lights turn on by moving that switch to the 'on' position. The 'on' position provides a different path for the light power. If the lights work then and not in the 'off' position you need to check the connections on the switch. Power is provided to it from the main light switch.

I would recommend you get some NGK platinums for the replacement. Bosch plugs have not worked well according to some previous users at least. I would take the car to a place you can have the codes read for free like Auto Zone and see what the code is that may help with finding the problem. I think some folks have had to replace the knock sensor for this kind of problem. Also could be the O2 sensor.

Checking my manual it shows them to be in the dash as Sister7 stated. The sockets for the relays are black. The other two relays next to them are for the blower motor and the defogger. The socket for the defogger relay is blue. If only one headlight is having a problem on both low and high beam then it may be the red/black ground wire has a bad connection to ground and is causing this problem. See if there is a voltage drop on that wire when the light is on. It should be at ground potential. If there is a voltage on it then you need to find the bad connection.

Welcome to the forum. I had two '88 GL-10's at one time, one since new and kept it for 12 years. They were both very reliable cars. Some weak points are the alternator, various gaskets on the engine. Hope you enjoy the car and the forum.

Yes, the 'L' lead refers to the lamp lead or the w/r wire to the exciter of the alternator. The lead needs to supply voltage to the exciter to energize it for the field windings to work. The rotor passes through the energized magnetic field and then the three phase AC voltage is produced. The three phases are rectified to DC, then regulated to around 14.5 volts for the battery charging. Your alternator had no exciter voltage, so you had no output until you bypassed the bad supply connection.

Old Wal, Please do not start a new thread when replying about the same problem. Just continue the thread by clicking the reply button at the bottom of the thread. This way information about the problem stays together.

The middle two relays on the right strut tower may be what you want, if I remember correctly. I have a manual at home but won't be able to get to it until tomorrow. I will try to check it then. Have you measured the voltage to the lights to see what it is? I think the lights are turned on by the switch making a ground connection. Edit: I think Sister7 may be correct about the relay location and I am thinking of something else.

Check the power at the fuse and relay for the compressor. I think they are mounted at on the right hand strut tower.

The fuses shouldn't be tied to ground. From your previous posts I thought you stated that the black ties to the hot side of the fuse that feeds the 'L' lead on the alternator. According to the drawings that should tie to fuse #13. The fuses may be numbered left to right and top to bottom. The voltage at the battery you saw is normal. There will be more when the car runs and it will drop down as the battery sits to around 12.5 volts and should settle around there. I don't recall any trouble with the lights before. What lights are on?

This problem may be due to a bad ground in the dash area. To prove it you could make a long jumper from the negative battery post and then place the other end on a ground point in the dash area. Another possibility is there may be a problem with the power to the dash area. Checking the voltage to the gauges while this is happening will verify that.

Qman: Thanks for correcting my error on the cylinders. I'm not thinking very good today.

This is an odd problem. The plugs are numbered as follows: #1 The plug on the passenger side at the front. #2 The plug on the passenger side at the rear. #3 The plug on the drivers side at the front. #4 The plug on the drivers side at the rear. Which plugs are not firing? Have you checked the plug wires to those plugs that are not working to see if they are ok?

That is what they look like. I'm not sure if there is more or not but I think there is. I am more familiar with the Loyale version. The problem could also be a relay. If you don't have a test light to check power with, it would be good to get one at a parts store. Don't worry about the lack of experience. We are all learning here no matter how much we have worked on the cars.

Thanks very much for your help McBrat. I see it is tied to power through fuse #13. AKIRA: Did you follow that drawing? The fuse the black wire goes to should be fuse #13. Check for a bad connection to it. I would print this out for future reference.

Have you checked the fusible links for a loose connection yet?

Thanks for the scan McBrat. It shows some of the info but it looks like something is missing, that is further down to the right on the drawing. At the alternator you go from the "L" lead and it goes to the 'A' arrow ( I recently figured out that these arrows point in a straight line to the other end, wherever that arrow points to). Moving down the drawing a little ways you see the other end for 'A' and it ties to #12- a 10amp fuse. On the other end of the fuse there is another arrow 'O' but the drawing was too large for the scan to show the other end. Can you make another scan that shows the other end of the 'O' arrow and what it ties to. Thanks for your time and efforts on this.

I am good at that also. If you can find where that wire goes it would be great. Thanks.

If the rotor is turning fine, another possibility could be the ignitor or the coil failed.

McBrat: Were you able to find your service manual?

Long live the Subaru Brotherhood.....and Sisterhood too.

As you face the fuses from the drivers side of the car how do the colors go from left to right or another way, from the front of the car to the rear? I am curious and don't have my car anymore to check it.

That would be great if you had the info we need here. My '88 GL manual shows there are two regular fuses involved with the circuit also but the circuits are a little different between the two so we can't use it as a guide. Thanks for the help.

Well we need to find out where that black wire ties to. You can at least use the jumper trick until we can discover where it goes to. To McBrat: The wire I had him jump power to is the lamp warning lead to the alternator. There is a break somewhere in the line between power and the fuse that feeds that lead. It is a black wire and we don't know where it gets power from. I just had him bypass the power input temporarily until we can find the problem to get his alternator going. Do you have access to a Brat type 2 wiring diagram?

There is a major problem if you are burning those up. My '88 manual shows a green wire in slots 1 and 3. I think slot 1 is at the front end of the car but I may be wrong, I think that is correct though. Slot 2 is red and slot 4 is black. To help you decide what slot is correct, I am calling slot 4 the slot that has a white wire going to it to supply the accessories. It also has the largest diameter link. Slot 1 has a red color wire for the feed.

The disty does tie to the ECU. I don't think they will be interchangeable due to the CAS's inside may be different, hence the different plugs. The mechanical part may work though.