jarl Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 (edited) Sorry for being vague in the description, but the problem itself is vague as well My soobie is a '99 OBW with a '96 EJ22. It looks like whenever I drive over water pooled by the road fast enough to create some splash, *something* gets wet under the hood, and the car starts malfunctioning. It doesn't run too rough, but it behaves as if I had released the gas pedal or something like that. The few times it has happened before the problem has corrected itself after several miles, but this morning I barely made it to my destination by going faster than usual and keeping the engine above 2500 RPM or so. I checked the ignition and it doesn't look wet at all. Actually I didn't see anything obviously wet under the hood, but then I didn't really know what I was looking for In the good old days the answer was very easy: just dry the distributor and you were good to go. But with these cars, where should I look first? PD: If these cars are supposed to have some sort of OEM skidplate underneath the front of the car, my OBW is missing it. In any case an Outback that can't run over half an inch of water isn't any good Edited November 29, 2011 by jarl added more info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Check all your connectors to ensure that they are clean, corrosion could be compounded by the addition of moisture. You could also have a short of some sort that is only effected when wet. Most likely though, did you take out the snorkus in the fender to make the car "faster" (louder) that helps keep water out of the air filter and it will react as you describe. If your air filter is wet that is your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Check the air filter. If you don't have the inner fender splash shield on the passengers side, the air filter will get soaked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 This car is as far from "sporty" as there might be... I don't think you can use "fast" and "ej22 swap" on the same sentence ...which is fine with me. The only reason I got this car was to make sure we made it through the winter safely. But if the car dies whenever I hit a puddle that's not going to happen Anyway... As far as I can tell the intake is 100% OEM, and the air filter is dry. So... the question is: which electrical sensor/connectors will be most likely to get wet and produce driveability problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbennett2u Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 So it doesnt missfire and have a lopey running characteristic, but it bogs down as if it has no power correct? Since this is an OBDII vehicle, if something controlling mixture or timing was shorted out from water, shouldn't it throw the reading off far enough to throw a code when it is acting up? Just a stab in the dark but worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Well... cross that. Now the car won't idle, and it's running like crap. There are new codes (the CEL is on because of a "O2 sensor open circuit" and a leak on the emission's valve on the filler tube), and I checked the codes related to the throttle, MAF and a couple others, and I can't see any humidity in there. I tried to pay attention to see if there was sparking going on at the high voltage cables, but there doesn't seem to be any. So... hints, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbennett2u Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 You pulled the plug boots out of the spark plug holes and made sure there is no water sitting down in the holes right? I would think a failing MAF could cause some of these issues but not positive. Sorry getting a little out of my knowledge area but that would be where I would look first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Uhm... cross the "cross that". The car doesn't pull any code for "you are being dumb" Apparently when I checked the air filter -to make sure it was dry- I accidentally disconnected the *large* hose that goes from below the MAF to the IAC. No surprise it wasn't idling So... back to square one. I guess I'll have to drive the car again to confirm it's still acting up. I applied some CRC wire dryer to the spark plug wires and inside the boots (although there was no water in the spark plug holes) and in theory it should protect a little bit. We'll see... A few things I discovered today: - Dielectric grease had degraded on the spark plug boots, after just a couple of months - There seems to be some blowback into the air filter. It smelled like exhaust gases and looks much older than it is - Forgetting to connect the TPS makes the "AT temperature" light blink:confused: - '99 Outbacks didn't come standard with an OEM skid plate. What were they thinking??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 We've all made dumb mistakes Hope that's all it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the3rsss Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Get a spray bottle and start misting ignition parts, see if you can replicate it. Also, wasn't there a tsb about water leaking down from the hood scoop and getting into the main elec connections above the trans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Yep... that's my next step. I just need to make sure I won't need the car soon after I drove the car today (dry) for a while and it seemed to run fine. We'll see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
propane Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you still have a code for O2 sensor "open circuit" check the leads of O2 for a mashed wire (one of 3- 2 white, one black) It is low to ground, and I saw one recently -still conducts, insulation open, mashed by dropping the exhaust pipes, maybe when the motor was swapped. yeah, dump a little water on it right by axle to trans..not like it hasn't seen water before... then check the connector to harness see if pins are making contact by looking at it open, BTW for clarification, does the swap (2.2) have a functioning EGR system? OTHER CODES STILL PRESENT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 You, my friend, may be into something I'll check the O2 sensor cable tomorrow (to be honest I had decided I wouldn't even touch it until all the other stuff was working fine). Maybe I can kill two birds with the same stone... (I had thought about the O2 sensor before, but I never stopped to think the O2 sensor damage could actually be OUTSIDE the sensor) The other code from the ECU is from the emissions system (P0440). This is a known issue, though, as I didn't order the shut-off valve when I replaced the rusted-through (throughout?) filler tube. I should be getting it by mail soon, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now