westend

Old thread here but I thought I'd try to fill in some blanks about fuel pump operation as I have recently gone through a lot of steps. Vehicle: '95 Impreza base sedan w/1.8l automatic Symptoms: Car has been starting hard and finally failed to run. I was able to start and run it for a few seconds. Pulled the fuel line at the fuel filter and observed that a small amount of fuel would flow (a few ml's) when ignition switch was turned on. No fuel was delivered after that. I replaced the fuel pump with an aftermarket pump. Note: there are many available and it isn't necessary to replace the whole assembly. The same symptoms appeared. Pulled the fuel pump relay. Note: The relay is located under the dash, way up almost against the inside of the dash top cover. It is on the driver's side. It is clipped in a bracket with two other relays and is connected with a green wire connector. I found it impossible to remove without unfastening the relay bracket. Previously, I had removed the main fuse block, the fuse block bracket, unmounted the ECM module, swinging it out of the way. The relay bracket is fastened with one philips screw. I bench tested the relay and found it was operational. This leads me to believe that the ECM is not getting a proper signal from another sensor (Camshaft positioning, crankshaft positioning, speed, or other sensor) and doesn't pull closed the relay. Since this vehicle doesn't warrant too much further diagnostics or repair, I plan to wire the pump power through a separate switch. This will also result in an anti-theft feature but who would steal this anyway, lol. Good luck to other Subaru owners with the electrical part of the fuel system. It is not that complicated but device locations and diagnostics can be troublesome. Edit: Just for shits and giggles, I removed battery power for a minute to see if the ECM needed a "burp". Turned the key and it fired and ran fine. It may have been the pump on it's last legs offering too much resistance, a bad connection being manipulated, or the ECM may be getting snafued. I'll post back if results go South.