OldSubaru1
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Everything posted by OldSubaru1
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Subaru Nut: I looked in the owner's manual under fuse box, and I don't see anything on the list of fuses that relates to a door ajar light. The only thing on the list that I see that I think may control the light on that door is something that says "hazard light". I am considering pulling the "hazard light" fuse and seeing if that makes the door light stop coming on, but when I think hazard light I also think about the light that blinks constantly to indicate that you are having a problem when you push the triangular button, and I would not want to potentially disable this. I am not sure if there is any other fuse that I could pull or attempt to pull to get that door light to turn off, or without potentially affecting something else. It is also difficult to see or access the fuse box, because it doesn't appear that it can be removed from under the steering column. The door can be locked, however the open door indicator light remains lit constantly when the battery is charged.
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I have a 91 Legacy wagon and I purchased a new battery in March. After purchasing the new battery I drove the car daily for awhile, but about 2 weeks ago I stopped driving it and it was sitting for about 4 or 5 days. After those 4 or 5 days I tried to start it again and it would not start and none of the lights would come on either. I do know that one of the car's back doors will not close properly, and this causes a very small dashboard light to remain lit constantly when the battery is charged. Could it be that this very small light caused the battery to drain over time? I am guessing that doing a jump start will recharge the battery at this point since the battery is brand new. But do you think that small dashboard light is what caused the battery to die in the first place? Do you think it will eventually die again due to this light even if I am able to get it started by jumping it? If so, is there an easy way to disable this dashboard light without having an effect on the vehicle? I had planned to sell the vehicle since I was no longer using it, but this may not be a possibility unless I can get it started by jumping it. Even then, I would hate for the person who purchased it to have the battery die on them for any reason like it did on me.
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I just went out and inspected the air intake hose because I was told this may be an issue, but it looks secure and I didn't see any visible cracks. Could a very small leak or crack be a problem?
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I have a 91 Legacy wagon which constantly has issues with starting. Normally if it has been sitting for a few hours without being driven then it will start up just fine, but if I drive it somewhere and then turn it off and try starting it again shortly afterwards, it will not stay started. The only way I have found to make it stay started when I am having trouble is to press on the accelerator as I am starting it, and then I have to leave my foot on the accelerator for a few minutes to keep the car from turning off again. I recently got a new battery, had the alternator checked (it was said to be fine), new fuel pump, ecm repaired, fuel intake system cleaned and new fuel filter, new air control valve, and plenty of other repairs along with it. Everything is perfectly fine with the car as far as I can tell, so unless there is something else that someone can think of which may be causing the issues I am having, then I have no idea what could be wrong other than it is simply an old car and that alone could be causing problems. I have already put over $1,500 worth of work into this vehicle since the problems started, and I am not ready to try anything else unless it is cheap or easy. Can anyone can suggest anything that I can possibly try to fix the problem which may be cheap or easy to do? Aside from that I will probably unfortunately just have to cut my losses and get rid of the car. The air intake hose was replaced in October, so I doubt if that is the issue even though it sounds like a likely culprit.
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1991 Subaru Legacy was sitting for 2-3 weeks and would not start. I got the battery jumped and it started and I was just going to drive straight to the shop, but when I got to the end of the road the car shut off and would not start again. Also prior to it sitting for 2-3 weeks it would start when I left from my residence, but if I drove it somewhere else and tried to start it again then it would not start. I have the following details: $1,500 worth of work done on it in 2015 including O2 sensor, ECM, fuel pump replacement, and new battery. The battery should still be under warranty. The car has an after market digital CD/cassette player, so I m not sure if that draws more energy than the car can handle. Also until recently one of the doors would not close completely and a little red light would be on constantly to indicate that the door was not closed. I m not sure if this light could have slowly been draining the battery/alternator or if this is even an issue. My question is based on the vehicle starting but not staying started, is this likely a problem with the alternator? Do I need a new one or could the current one be repaired? Cost estimate? I will have to get it towed to the shop because obviously it can t be driven in its current state, but I would just like to have an idea of what may be wrong and what would be the cheapest route since I have already spent so much money on the vehicle.
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How would I check the ECU codes? I am not a mechanic, so I don't want to do anything that could potentially cause a problem or make things worse. The truth is I have already taken it to the shop three times and paid over $1,500 since this all started, and each time I have gotten it back there has still been something wrong. I know this sounds silly, but I am honestly afraid to even look at the car, let alone touch it at this point. I am so afraid that if I attempt to fix this issue myself that I will screw things up even more and that the car may not even start at all. For now it will at least start and stay started if it has been sitting for awhile, but if I drive somewhere and cut off the engine then it won't stay started when I try to start it again unless I give it gas and leave my foot on the gas for about 5 minutes. If I do this then it will usually stay started, but otherwise it will just shut off when I attempt to start it.
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I have a 91 Subaru Legacy and it will not stay started when I start it unless it has been sitting for awhile, for example overnight. But if for instance I drive to the store and then shut off the engine and go inside and then come back out and try to start it again, then it will not stay started when I try to leave unless I give it gas at startup and I also have to keep my foot on the gas for several minutes to keep it from shutting off. I just had the following work done on it among other things: engine control module replaced, o2 sensor replaced, fuel pump replaced, fuel filter replaced and entire fuel system cleaned, air intake system cleaned/repaired. This along with everything else that was done came to over $1,500, and the car was in the shop for well over a month. Needless to say I do not want to take it back to the shop or invest any more money in it at this point. However I am curious to know what else could be causing it to not stay started aside from the things that I have already had looked at/replaced. I realize that it is an older car, but up until a few months ago I wasn't having any issues at all with it. I initially took it to the shop only because sometimes it wouldn't start at all unless I started it with my foot on the gas, but that only happened sometimes (though it did begin to occur more and more frequently and had gotten pretty bad by the time I took it to the shop). Is there something else that I could possibly do myself to fix the issue that I am having without spending an insane amount of money? Also, is it hurting the car to keep driving it even though it is doing what it is doing? I only still drive it like that because I have no other transportation at the moment. I also know it isn't the battery because I just had the battery replaced earlier this year, and all of the lights and other functions (radio, e.t.c.) work just fine. Side note: Not sure if this is an issue either, but if I turn the engine off and just sit with the key turned in the ignition (in the position just before starting the engine), then I hear a humming sound coming from the car which usually only seems to stop if I completely remove the key from the ignition.
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I paid $1,000 for the car when I first purchased it used, and I was aware that it would need some work to pass inspection even though it ran well. As it turns out, it cost $2,500 to get it to pass inspection, and after that it ran fine for a little over a year until I began having the current issues. I also had to pay $600 for new tires a few months back. I probably wouldn't mind letting the shop take another look at it except that this shop gets a lot of business and it always seems to take several weeks for them to get to my car. But I don't necessarily want to take it anywhere else because it is already under warranty at this shop. However I also can't afford to be without my car for more than about another week because I need it for the holidays. I'm not made of money either, and I can't afford to keep paying for repairs especially if I am going to continue to have problems even after the repairs are made. It might be different if I had more time or if I knew the repairs would make a difference, but as you can imagine I am just a little bit of a skeptic at this point, and I'm also frustrated because I need my car and have already been without it for about a month. Hopefully this makes sense.
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My 91 Legacy wagon had what seemed like a failing fuel pump, and I took it to a local mechanic that I have gone to for years and I completely trust. The issue I had was that the car would not start normally, but when I tried to start it with my foot on the gas then it would start, and white smoke came from the tail pipe. The mechanic replaced the O2 sensor, did some work on the electrical system, replaced the AC belt, and may or may not have replaced the fuel pump among other things. Unfortunately I am relying on memory since I don't have the service paper in front of me. The car was in the shop for well over 3 weeks, and the repairs, parts and labor all came to around $1,300 in the end. I drove the car for almost a week after it was out of the shop, and then it began to shake a great deal whenever I would drive it. The engine also shut off completely once while I was attempting to park. It also did not do this before I got the previous work done. The previous work that was done is under warranty, so I took it back to the same shop, but I am not sure if the shaking is even related to what was done previously. Moreover, the car has already been back in the shop for another week and they still haven't even looked at it yet. The car is obviously pretty old, and I am wondering if I should even keep investing in it. Currently it does run aside from the shaking, so should I possibly just go to the shop and tell them not to bother with it? I just really need to have my car, and it's been a week and they haven't even looked at it. Also, does anyone know why the car may be shaking based on the work that was done previously? For example could the previous work somehow have led to the current shaking problem? The mechanic mentioned that they had to remove the dashboard in order to perform the previous work. I just want to know what could be causing the problem and what my best course of action would be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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I have a 91 Legacy wagon which has been having startup issues on occasion. I usually manage to get it started by attempting to start it with my foot on the gas pedal, but when it starts it usually sputters for awhile and often turns off again. When I just turn the key in the ignition prior to starting it, I always hear a humming sound, and I wonder if that sound is related to or indicates the fuel pump may be going bad? Also whenever I drive the car it often has trouble accelerating especially after I've stopped at a stoplight. I just had the oil changed and had the fuel filter replaced and fuel system cleaned at the shop 3 days ago, and they also did diagnostics. But they didn't say anything about a faulty fuel pump, or maybe they didn't even consider it. Either way this all cost me over $300 already, so I just wonder if anyone has any ideas or suggestions before I spend any more money. Thank you all.
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I'm not sure about the spark plugs/plug wires. Do these have to be in good shape in order for the vehicle to pass inspection, and also how long do they typically last (in this type of vehicle) before needing to be changed or replaced? The reason I ask is because I just took it through Maryland state inspection when I purchased it in June, and I had $2,500 worth of work done on it at that time. If the plugs are required to be in good shape, then they must have been in good shape at that time when it passed inspection. But again I am not sure if this would have been a requirement. I will have someone take a look at them, but I am just trying to get an idea of where things should stand for the time being. I don't recall being told anything about the spark plugs being or needing to be replaced when I took it in to get the initial work done. I also looked at the paperwork, and I don't see anything about it on there either.
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I purchased the car used about 6 months ago and had $2,500 worth of work done on it to get it through inspection. It seemed fine after that other than the shaking issue, but a few months later I also began to have acceleration issues. I had an oil change done in October at which time I also paid $50 for a diagnostic test and was told that I needed a new battery. But other than that I was not told that there is anything wrong with the car. I assume that the mechanic probably thought that my issues were linked to needing a new battery, and I honestly thought the same. However I basically continue to have the same issues even with a new battery. That being said, does anyone have any idea why the car may be shaking while idling, for instance while stopped at a traffic light, or why it may have trouble accelerating, and/or should I even bother to have it diagnosed again? Note that the car does have about 177,000 miles on it. If any more information is needed let me know.
