Cougar

Welcome Lukas, it is nice to have you on line here. I live in Anchorage Alaska and there are a lot of Subarus here. You stated that you were going to change the belts. I assume you meant the normal fan belts and not the timing belts. The timing belts are due at 60,000 miles. Enjoy the ride. How much is a liter of gas over there?

Checking the fusible links is a real good idea. I would also recommend you get a test light probe to check for power with if you don't have one already. They are under $10 to buy one. With it, you will know if you have power to the suspect area or not. There may be a fue for the ACC's to check also. To possibly get the cruise control working again you should check the switch for the brake pedal and see if that is adjusted ok. This is a common problem I think.

Try replacing the PCV valve.

Along with checking the the main power lead to the fuse panel also check the fusible links for a connection problem. Since it seems everything powered is effected by this problem it must be in the main power somewhere. It may also be a power relay or the ignition switch.

My suspicion is your original distributor has been changed out and the current one is from a different model or year than your car. Have you tried finding out what years the new one you have currently will fit? Try checking some different years that are not listed for the wrong one to see if you can find a match.

VDC stands for Vehicle Dynamics Control. Here is some info about it. By exploiting an on-board network of motion sensors, engine-management computer, acceleration control, and those anti-lock brakes, the VDCOutback debuts as the most advanced auto Subaru has ever offered in the U.S. The car features no fewer than four distinct, integrated technologies intended to get this car where its driver wants it to go: Active All-Wheel Drive, Vehicle Dynamics Control, Variable Torque Distribution, and a Traction Control System, in their acronymistic lingo. The nutshell version is this: sensors throughout the car monitor the driver's steering, braking, and acceleration inputs. Other sensors document what is actually happening to the car's motions, and a computer continuously compares the two data streams. Is there a disparity between driver intent and vehicle behavior? Is the rear end braking free to the right, for example, while the driver steers and accelerates to the left? If VDC determines the latter is true, it subtly yet forcefully intervenes. First, VDC applies a strong braking force to the outside, or right, front wheel to bring the vehicle back into its intended line of direction. Simultaneously, it lightly clamps the outside rear wheel to retard the "oversteering" skid. In the next microsecond, VTD reproportions the all-wheel-drive system so that the front wheels now have the majority of pulling power. Finally, the VDC computer governs engine output to an appropriate throttle level by manipulating one or more of the fuel injectors. The miracle is that all of this happens faster than you can say, "Subaru." The shame is that what you thought was your own driving genius is in fact acronym-managed reality. At the first wiggle of slip or twitch of skid, the Outback's Motion Goddess gently nudges you back in line as if you were a wayward puppy veering from the dog bowl. Before you know it, you're sailing down the Interstate and schussing along snowy lanes with a car full of sleeping dames while you listen to an Enya CD over the world's first McIntosh auto audio system.

Don't forget about the airbag also. If something happened to cause the airbag to deploy and your not belted in you could be in for serious trouble. You have some good safety devices in the car and they need to be used properly. If a person is not restrained properly the airbag can become a real hazard instead of a safety device. I watched a news segment last night that showed a video segment of a high speed roll over accident. The speed and force of the vehicle was incredible before it finally stopped rolling. It was stated that everyone walked away from the vehicle because they were belted up. If they weren't, bodies would have flown out of this vehicle.

First check to see if the coil is getting voltage while the engine is cranking by placing a test probe on the plus side of the coil. If that is ok then see if the minus side pulses on and off while cranking. If not, then check the distributor pickup.

You can get them on Ebay for less than $20 dollars.

If you disconnected the battery the problem may be due to the alarm system. My sons Jeep does this after the battery is disconnected. To shut the lights off you just press the remote keyless entry button. Not sure if this will work for you or not.

I'm not sure if your talking about the stock system or not. I would check the owners manual if you have it and the stock system.

You stated that you 'tried' to replace the light switch. Do you mean that you replaced the light switch and it did not help solve the problem? It sounds like you did replace the switch but it did not help. If that is so, and moving the switch towards you works, then you may a have a lead shorted to ground. You can verify that by checking for voltage on the control leads. If you tie the meter common lead to ground and check the voltage on the light control leads you will have no voltage on the lead if the lead is grounded. Since moving the switch towards you clears up the problem with the high beams the problem may be near the switch.

I think the sensor you want is in the radiator but I'm not sure.

The voltage from the alternator should not go over 15 volts at any time.

You might try tapping on suspected areas with a screwdriver handle to see if you can find it that way.

Try replacing the sensor with a resistor and see if that turns out the light. If that works then I would guess that the wiring is ok. I don't think an ommeter measurement will tell you much about the sensor being bad unless it is shorted internally.

Your problem may be with the connector or the sensor wire rather than the sensor. I replaced the sensor in my '88 GL-10 with a 560 kohm (560,000) resistor until I could replace my bad sensor and that turned the ECU light off. I suspect that may work for you also.

Thanks for the update. It still seems strange to me that the engine runs fine the day before and then all four injectors go bad the next. I hope it was money well spent.

I agree with the others on the bad ground since you are having trouble with the turn signals also. To check this out you can place the common probe lead of the meter to the battery post ground. Then probe the suspected bad ground points with the lights on and the meter set to read volts. A faulty ground point will show some voltage drop across it while a good ground will have no voltage across it. I doubt the problem is in the light switch.

I used to have a '88 GL-10 also and had it for 13 years. To do it right would mean replacing the old fenders and then they would have to be painted. I guess this would cost at least a couple thousand dollars at a shop. This would be about what the value of the car is, as it is. You would have a good looking car but it would still be a 16 year old car and who knows what will break next. I would drive it as is and save your money for a newer vehicle. The newer Soobs have plastic in the high rust areas.

Check the connection to the sensor. It may be just a simple matter of cleaning it and solving your problem. Using some alcohol to clean the connection should work well.

It seems to me that flicking the throttle cable is really changing something else. Like a loose connection to the ignition system or something like that. I would check for spark while the problem is happening. If you have a spare spark plug you could insert it into one of the plug wires and check for spark. As far as the sensor code goes, I would try checking and cleaning the connection at the sensor to see if that helps things.

I can't help with a price but ECU's can run over $600 dollars from a dealer. The ECU's are normally very reliable. Are you sure it is bad? Even if it is bad, the unit should be under warranty unless someone damaged it somehow.

That should work fine John.

My manual is for a '88 model so I'm not sure how these systems will compare. Since you stated that pulling the relay will turn the fan off and you are sure that the relay is not shorted, then the problem is coming from the control circuit for the relay. Something is turning the relay on, when it shouldn't be. My manual shows a pressure in series with the coil of the fan relay and is tied to 12 volts on the other side of the switch. If this pressure switch was shorted it would cause the things you discribe. It would be worth checking that out. The blower problem sounds like there may be a bad connection somewhere and it is overheating while the fan runs. Then it will cause the blower to stop due to the high resistance.