Cougar

To Hops: In answer to your question about replacing the 20 amp relay with a 30 amp relay and causing an extra load to the system. The higher value relay should have better switch contacts to carry the load current but that current will only change if you add more load to the circuit the relay is controlling, like more lights. The amp rating refers to the contacts in the relay. The relay coil, that operates the relay, only requires a very small amount of current to make it operate.

So a screw short circuited the switch. Thanks for the update and glad you found the problem.

According to my manual the wiper intermittant unit should be behind the dash around the heater control area or above the radio area. Look for a blue 8 pin connector. Sorry about not getting back sooner on this.

A factory manual is best. They appear on Ebay at times.

Well you didn't have to look for a bad wire connection at least.

Since the headlights use a switched ground you may need to ground the dash area better. It would be good to make some checks with a voltmeter to locate the problem. I would tie the common lead of the meter to an extended ground lead from the battery and then check suspected bad ground areas with the various loads on. If there is a bad ground then there will be a voltage of some sort there.

I am curious to know what you did to disengage the shift lock.

Welcome to the forum. I don't think you will find anything real difficult to work on with this car. They are easy to care for. Having a good manual for reference though is a must in my book.

I would check the dimmer control with a test light to see if that is working ok first. If that is good then check the lights. I doubt that all of them are out so it may be the wire to them has a problem.

I may be the only one that thinks this, beside the Subaru inspector, but it seems to me that what they offered to do on this incident seems pretty fair. The car is way out of standard warranty, so it seems to me Subaru really didn't have to do anything in this matter. Even though all the maintenance was done it still was way beyond the normal warranty period. What other car company would have an inspector take the time to look at a car so far out of warranty. The fact that they did this speaks pretty good in my book. I don't see how they can be made to pay for this problem even as sad as it is. If there was an extended warranty then that would be different. You take your chances when you don't purchase one. By the way, you can get a policy from your insurance company usually for a lot less than the dealer charges for one. Put yourself in their shoes, would cover your product when a problem occurs almost twice the normal time limit. Again Suzie, I think you should reconsider the CCR engine but that is just the opinion of an avid Soob owner. Whatever happened to the engine is not real common. To get to the Marketplace, just click on the arrow in the box below these posts, titled Forum Jump. The list of areas to choose from will pop up. P.S. Look how much interest this car is getting even broken. This wouldn't happen with a Ford or Chevy.

I've had to replace ones on my '83 and '88 models. Hopefully just replacing the gaskets will fix things up. I would also think that you are seeing just some dripping from the leak.

Up here in Alaska that car would be worth at least $1,000 dollars. I had two of those same cars, also the same color. They were great to drive. With the turbo you had enough power to get you moving when you needed it.

If that is true, it is news to me. I don't see why this would be needed. It's just a spark wire and the resistance between the wire lengths would be pretty small compared to the wire resistance.

Oh boy! The birds are circling overhead.

Sorry to hear your giving up Suzie. I know this has to be pretty hard to take. Did you think about the rebuilt engine from CCR? You wouldn't have a problem with an engine from them I don't believe and if there was a problem you have a 3 year warranty. This is like a new car warranty for the engine at least. It might cost about $4,500 dollars to do this but you will have a new engine in the car basically. Where could you find a car with that kind of warranty for that amount of money? Since the rest of the car is in great shape I think you would be ahead of the game going that route. I imagine your frustration about the car is really high about now but I think you should give it a second chance. Perhaps if the Subaru rep help pay for some of the repair costs and threw in a couple dozen red roses, would that help? I hate to see a dissapointed Soob owner.

Here is a link that will help you read the codes. The LED on the end of the ECU unit will show the codes. http://www.troublecodes.net/Subaru/

It would be best to get the code read to see what is going on. A good parts store may be able to do this for free. Don't ignore the warning light, it is trying to tell you something about the engine condition.

You could try replacing or swaping the plug and wire to 3 from another spot and see if that helps. If that doesn't work I would swap coils next.

You don't have to pull the fuse to check for power on both sides of it. A while back I found out there are small access holes on the top of the fuse to test for voltage. Pretty neat, huh!

I agree with Shawn. If you have engine damage and want to keep the car, get a rebuilt engine from CCR. They know how to do it right and you will have a new engine warranty to boot. Check out the link that Shawn gave you if you haven't done so already. This failure really puts a crimp in your travel plans. I also think there has been some compensation from Subaru on '99 models and newer for incedents like this. Hopefully the inspector will help you out. Please keep us posted on this Suzie.

I believe the pattern is like this: Front of car 2-1 4-3 Rear of car I assume you have the 2.5 liter engine that is more prone to head gasket problems. It would be good to know what the code is that is setting the warning light off. I would have a block check done to see if exhaust gases are getting into the coolant.

When you can't get a fuel injected engine going in the cold normally, it is better to hold the throttle to the floor and crank the engine. This will help clear out excessive fuel by opening the throttle plate. There are some things that can effect cold starting the engine and it sounds like they need to be checked. Going by your statements, your dealer service shop doesn't sound very competent, sorry to say.

I agree with TC. Check the intake manifold gaskets. I had such a bad leak with mine that you could hear it without the aid of a hose.

I have a manual for an '88 that I will check an let you know what I find. I think there must be a module somewhere since it has to control the delay circuit also.

Lets deal with the most important problem first. You stated the engine doesn't run. Have you checked the ignition system to see if spark is getting to the plugs? If not, you need to do this. If you have spark then try spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the intake to see if that will help get things going. The constant 12 volts to the radio is not there to power the radio as you may well know. It is for the radio memory. The power for the radio is normally switched on via the ignition switch. You stated that the warning lights came on as they should so the switch sounds like it is ok. The switch also turns on some relays that supply power to various accessories but it appears other things are working, so that seems ok. There may also be an inline fuse near the radio that has blown. I would look for that. If you don't find one then I would get a service manual or go to the library and find one there to get a wiring diagram for the car. This will make things easier to locate. There is a break in the power somewhere and it may be at a connector.