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I looked high and low for the ignitor. I have not found it. This leaves me to believe my 99 has the ignitor intergrated with the ignition coil. Also stumbled across this very interesting site: http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/pdf/electrical/ignition.pdf Not all vehicles have an ignitor seperate from the ignition coil (coil pack). I think if the ignition coil has 4 terminal connector it is ignitor and igniton coil combined. If the ignition coil has 3 terminal connector it is used in conjunction with external ignitor. From my understanding the ignitor is an amplifier that bumps up the pulses to the ignition coil. Since I am getting a pulse only to 1 coil this leads me to either the ECM is shot or an open circuit from the ECM to the coild pack wiring. According to the above link note that both secondary windings (high voltage) are completely floating from ground. Therefore measuring the hv output of the coil pack with an ohmeter to ground will show infinity. The ground is artificially obtained by the opposite, nonfiring spark plug, soft firing, simulating a ground. Neat, Huhh? Or am I missing something? My attempts at getting an accurate schematic of my 99 forester igniton system failed.

humm. Looked long and hard for the mysterious transistor unit. Tommorow when I get the garage thawed out, I will look again. I can't imagine a module with a couple of transistors being large. This definately is not incorporated with the ignition module itself?? I need to wade through the schematics more to locate it. Thanks for the help. rick

1999 forester manual Went out to start a couple of days ago and only cranks. Good and strong. The long and short of it is no spark from the back 2 terminals coming off the coil pack. cyclinders 3 and 4. Front 2 jump 1/2" or more to ground. I don't have a code reader nor a full blown schematic. The coil pack has a 4 terminal connector. Using an oscilloscope I found the front most terminal on the coil pack jumps from zero volts to 12 volts in time with the cranking. I assume this drives the functioning half of the coil pack. I found no other terminal doing this. If I knew which pins from the ECU fed the coil halfs I could at least cut my troubleshooting in half. I read somewhere about an intermediate ignition driver module but not sure my 99 has such a thing. If it does, I did not locate it. Can anyone recommend a good source for an official full blown shop manual?. I used to have this info but my old laptop died and darned if I can now locate a source. If worse comes to worse, can I order an internet copy somewhere? thanks rick cold and snowed in west michigan

Battery voltage hangs around 13.8 to 14.2. No am radio noise. Haven't checked what effect the defroster has. Maybe tomorrow. How does that figure in the scheme of things? rick w/mi

My wifes 2000 Forester, manual transmission with 175k miles run fine unless the blower motor is on. The idle jumps up to 3000 to 400o rpm and will drop to normal when switching blower off. As winter approaches running without a heater/defroster is hardly an option. Any ideas? rick w mi.

press some window screen mesh into the Jay Bee. I bet the radiator would outlast the vehicle.

I am confused. Idle air control valve or idle air control sensor? I'm trying to understand how this all works and the terms used mean different things. My old ea82s all had idle air control solenoids if my memory is right. Same on my wife's 2000 Forester? 5 speed manual transmission. Months ago it was idling near 300 rpm (no continuous cel) and not knowing what I was doing, I adjusted the positioning of the throttle position sensor (it is slotted) and the idle came up nicely to about 800. She was temporarily happy. After a few days the idle again returned to very low, both hot and cold and frequently stalling. This weekend I tried the same thing and again the idle speed was set at 800ish. And after a few days it dropped down again. Does the ecu relearn the relation between the new tps feedback and idle speed and then compensate to a lower idle? Possibly based on some other faulty sensor or solenoid? Or back to the top of my post. Try changing the idle sensor or solenoid or whatever it is called? rick w mi

If you don't have a milliamp mode on the meter use a small taillight in its place. As you remove the fuse with the major current path to ground the light will dim or go out. Won't display milliamps but will give you good idea where the trouble is.

Lucky you. Hang on to the 1.8. I've had 3 in my 'fleet' and they have all gone a long ways. Still are in fact. r

In need of go/no go thickness spec for clutch. As title says, 2000 Forester. 130k on vehicle. I don't want to spend $175 if not necessary. Did a quick archive search and found nothing firm. thanks rick w mi

Upon further review, discovered this is a 2002 and not 2004. Replaced the slave cylinder with a used unit just to check things. Could not get fluid flow. Replaced master cylinder with the mate to the used slave cylinder. Still no flow. Tried pumping fluid through the original master while held in the vice and appears as though the check valve (must be one in there some where) is not allowing a draw from the reservoir. This one had some nasty build up on the bottom of the reservoir. Ordered new from Advanced auto. Be in tomorrow. Are either of these units rebuildable? If so, is it worth the bother? Thanks for the info. rick w mi

Will try the slave cylinder. I hope it is not a fork spring as mentioned. That is a big job for a small problem. Thanks for the help. And sorry about the double post. I am not sure how to delete it but will try.

2004 impreza. 120k miles. 5 speed. My daughters car. 2 problems that may or may not be related. #1 She complains of troubles shifting when cold. Michigan cold. When fully depressing the clutch peddle cold the clutch is not quite disengaged as indicated by some grinding going into reverse or 1st. After 15 minutes of warm up time it is ok but the peddle still needs to be near fully to the floor. I am not sure if the warm up of the engine compartment or the interior is significant. This leads to #2. #2 With interior cold, and releasing the peddle it will only return up about 3 to 4 inches and requires snagging the peddle with her shoe. It then snaps up clipping her ankle on occasion. When warm the sticking tendency is still there but seems to be overcome by the additional spring I Mcguivered to help. It is very difficult for an old guy to see around the clutch peddle linkage while upside down, very uncomfortable, and with bad eyes. I know there has been 2 engine swaps so things under the hood are not virgin. If this was a cable operated clutch I would adjust the problem away. I think. Ideas?? Thanks all rick

2004 impreza. 120k miles. 5 speed. My daughters car. 2 problems that may or may not be related. #1 She complains of troubles shifting when cold. Michigan cold. When fully depressing the clutch peddle cold the clutch is not quite disengaged as indicated by some grinding going into reverse or 1st. After 15 minutes of warm up time it is ok but the peddle still needs to be near fully to the floor. I am not sure if the warm up of the engine compartment or the interior is significant. This leads to #2. #2 With interior cold, and releasing the peddle it will only return up about 3 to 4 inches and requires snagging the peddle with her shoe. It then snaps up clipping her ankle on occasion. When warm the sticking tendency is still there but seems to be overcome by the additional spring I Mcguivered to help. It is very difficult for an old guy to see around the clutch peddle linkage while upside down, very uncomfortable, and with bad eyes. I know there has been 2 engine swaps so things under the hood are not virgin. If this was a cable operated clutch I would adjust the problem away. I think. Ideas?? Thanks all rick

Lots of good ideas. The link on testing OBDI I will forward to her and save for myself. The article refers to 90 to 94 Legacys. 95 Impreza falls in that group too? We just chatted a minute ago and again she said the CEL is not on when the motor is running. If there is a code I am thinking it will be stored. Yes, no? Will a bad crank or cam sensor throw a code that will be retrievable? Kate, "If you are reading this, get a can of starter fluid for the next failure. Study the link below also." http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/engine.html I plajurized from above. Thanks for all the help.

Sorry for leaving things out. I listened via her cell phone last night and it is cranking strong. I am suspicious of a loss of fuel pressure. Can she verify by ear that the fuel pump is working? I have a Forester but my ears main use is to hold my glasses on. I haven't heard a fuel pump running in years. If I was at the car I would pop the line off and check for gas pressure. I don't think I will recommend that to her near a hot engine. From what she has told me it runs fine all the rest of the time. The cel status has not been established yet either. I will suggest she verify spark during the next no start. A google search on sube/phoenix is my next step. I told her I was posting her problem here and hopefully she will chime in with direct info soon. Thanks rick

My daughter drove her 95 1.8 L Impreza manual tranny, 175 k miles to Phoenix 1 1/2 years ago. It has done very well until recently. She drives for 45 minutes, shuts off the motor and climbs back in 10 minutes later and it won't start 1 out of 20 times or so. If she wait another 10 to 15 minutes it fires right up. Any thoughts? She is not clueless about whats under the hood. Maybe more important, any recommended Sube repair guys in Phoenix area? She sees very few subes out that way. Thanks Rick

try a few drops of brake fluid on a soft rag. test on a small spot first. seems like I would then finish it off with a bit of wd 40. this does a pretty decent job and is very easy and cheap. it will need to be redone every now and then though.

yup. It is not as bad as it looks. After doing it a few times, 2 guys in an hour and a half is not difficult. (If everything goes right.) r

Won't a bad rod bearing become louder under load? Idling is the least stressful on it. When this thing was dropped in gear the clattering did not become louder. My daughter's recently purchased 2004 Impreza lost a rod bearing. I tore it apart Saturday night just to make sure of the diagnosis. #3 cylinder. 110k miles. 2.5 L Oil change history is unknown. Subaru bottom ends are about bullet proof I told her when she first described her problem. I'd sure like to find a fleet of low mileage Gen 1s somewhere.

I just got off the phone with my Sube salvadge man. He has a small handful of alternators from 1995 to 97 or 98 ish. With the associated connectors. Can we make one of these newer alternators work on the Gen 1 Sube we have? Any guidance on the wiring mods? I am not afraid of electrical work if I have schematics so I know where everything goes. (or solid advice) The alternator should be in today but we can have them send it back if need be. $120 vs $20 for a college kid (and his old man) is a big difference. I too have had issues with Autozone parts. In particular axles. But they do stand behind them. If this alternator comes with a warranty, and I am sure it does, I am not so concerned. For us, Autozone is close and for the most part the guys are real helpful. Our Subaru dealer is 20 miles away and seems to look down there nose at guys who try and keep the good old ones running.

90 legacy 5sp fwd. 225k pretty dependable miles. My son drove home from college and next day it would not turn over and no radio etc. We put the charger on for 3 hours and no juice. I noticed the key chimer as the only sign of life. Opening the under the hood fuse box I smelled plastic that had gotten hot awhile ago. Probing around with a volt meter in the fusable link slot things came to life. Headlights, radio, all things. The male spade lug in the box had gotten hot and lost continuity. Change the fuse box. No way! Big job. We jury rigged a 16 gauge wire to the positive battery post including the fusable link and things seemed fine. Noticed the new wire getting hot. Jumping ahead, we held the engine speed high enough to keep it running and removed the negative battery connector and measured over 18 volts coming from the alternator. Can we expect more damage down stream from the alternator? A new alternator should arrive to Autozone tomorrow. My other concern is smoking a $120 alternator. Depending on how long this has been happening the battery could be kaputt? Was the alternator volts being held low and the battery drawing excessive current have caused the link over heating? With some Mcgivering can I put in a more recent model alternator. My sube guys has lots of newer alternators but fresh out of 1st gen. I have a set of Sub shop manuals for the the 1990 year but wouldn't you know the electrical book is missing. Sorry for so many words. JZ

Find a trailer with lights that work on a different vehicle. Hook the trailer up to your vehicle and verify the converter and your car wiring are ok. Hook your trailer to a known good vehicle. Is the trailer ok? I have been troubleshooting electrical problems for many years. Cut the problem in half over and over. Soon there is one thing left. (normally) Good luck Sometimes beer helps rick

I bet there is a way to post a recording of the noise. While revving the motor. Seems like that would be a great help. Better then Shakespeare could convey with words.

This message board is amazing. I just came in from the garage after working on my daughter's 94 1.8 L Impreza. My 'relative' was working on the car while I was being the assistant. It seems the bolt holes at the 5 and 10 o'clock position were stripped. Too much torque. We retapped both. Purchased 2 slightly longer bolts to squeak an extra thread or 2. 10 o'clock thread seems fine. The 5 o'clock hole is not a blind hole as the other 5. Opens to the back above the thermostat neck. When the bolt was over-torqued the 'ear' cracked allowing coolant to leak badly. At this point we grabbed a beer and sat back. Planning on using a die grinder to enlarge the crack slightly and fill with the magic juice (JB Weld). Our fingers are crossed. Small crack=big problem. Reminds me of marriage. Sheeesh. rick