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Rockscaler
08-24-2002, 01:36 PM
My '92 svx has developed a weird stalling problem. It runs perfectly 98% of the time then will start cutting out. This happens going at 70 on an interstate or going slowly on local roads. Sometimes the car just misses a few times but usually totally stalls. I then have to pull over and put it in park to restart. It always starts up right away but sometime will stall 3 or 4 more times then work fine for awhile.
My local mechanic couldn't find anything wrong and said the computer didn't show any error codes.
BTY shouldn't I be able to restart the car in neutral? When I to start the car in neutral the idiot lights all go dim and nothing happens.
I was thinking about going to the 10th anv. meet but was afraid I wouldn't make it.
Thanks,
Rock

vkykam
08-25-2002, 10:26 AM
If it's in neutral, and the car doesn't start, I would check the battery as being the cause. Potentially, there could be a short inside of it. It could explain a cut-out at idle, but probaby not at 70MPH.

I had a battery in the SVX that lasted two years, and then gave out. The car would otherwise run fine, but would occasionally stall out near idle, or had problems starting. One day, it just quit, and me mechanic said that it could be the battery, even though it might pass a load test.

Once again, he was right. One new battery later, no problems. :)

Of course, you could be dealing with two separate problems as well... MAF, TPS, and a bunch of other things can cause driveability problems, but I don't think there's much to be able to cause a no-start and no-crank.

VK

Rockscaler
08-25-2002, 01:27 PM
I just tried to start my SVX in neutral again. The idiot lights don't go dim but the radio cuts out and the clock and Heat/AC temperature setting indicator blacks out.
My local mechanic pulled the transmission to repair the speedometer a few months ago and he may have crossed some wires. The car always starts fine in Park. I don't remember ever trying to start the car in neutral until it stalled on the interstate.
Looks like I'll have to take it to the subaru dealership. I hesitate to do that since they always seem to keep the car for about a week 'till they get all the parts and their one SVX guy has time to look at it.
Thanks,
Rock

Beav
08-25-2002, 04:18 PM
I think that if you pay attention you'll notice that those items also 'black out' when starting the car in the garage. This a normal occurence for most cars - there's really no reason that the radio or a/c needs to operate when the key is in the 'start' position.

ehyde111
08-27-2002, 04:40 AM
Originally posted by Rockscaler
My '92 svx has developed a weird stalling problem. It runs perfectly 98% of the time then will start cutting out. This happens going at 70 on an interstate or going slowly on local roads. Sometimes the car just misses a few times but usually totally stalls. I then have to pull over and put it in park to restart. It always starts up right away but sometime will stall 3 or 4 more times then work fine for awhile.
My local mechanic couldn't find anything wrong and said the computer didn't show any error codes.
BTY shouldn't I be able to restart the car in neutral? When I to start the car in neutral the idiot lights all go dim and nothing happens.
I was thinking about going to the 10th anv. meet but was afraid I wouldn't make it.
Thanks,
Rock I had a similar problem last winter. It resolved when things warmed up. We were never able to find a definite answer, but check out the thread http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2349 You might find something useful.

Chris

vkykam
08-27-2002, 07:42 AM
After re-reading it, if I removed the won't-start-in-neutral bit, it would fit the problem I've had for a while. No codes either.

I bought a used MAF from newsvx, and put it on last week. Now, so far so good, but even from before the replacement sometimes I can get two good weeks without a problem, and sometimes it happens 100 times a day.

When I had the problem, it almost seems heat related. It would act up most often after driving on freeway for a period of time, then slowing down, or usually after driving and then parking the car for a minute or two (or idling), then start driving again. The hotter the weather, the worse it got, to a point where I only could drive around with a light throttle and make sure to leave room behind the next car at a stoplight to make sure it won't suck in the hot exhaust.

The weather's cooled off considerably since the day I dropped in the MAF, so I don't know if it's the weather or the MAF, but the longer it works OK, the more confident that the MAF was my problem

VK

ehyde111
08-27-2002, 02:46 PM
That's funny, mine only happened in the cold. How does the engine temp gauge respond? Normal range?

vkykam
08-27-2002, 09:49 PM
Engine (coolant) temp was always OK. Needle never goes above dead center.

I was referring to the temperature under the hood (and environment) as opposed to the temp inside of the engine. :)

VK

Rockscaler
08-28-2002, 01:51 PM
>After re-reading it, if I removed the won't-start-in-neutral bit, it would fit the problem I've had for a while. No codes either. <

Well I've solved the won't-start-in-neutral problem. The neutral safety switch was out of adjustment. I found out that if I pulled the shift lever back almost to drive, the car will start.

The stalling problem was very bad yesterday and the check engine light usually came on before it stalled so I dropped the car off at the shop. Hopfully he'll find a code this time. He's also going to adjust the netral safety switch.

<I bought a used MAF from newsvx, and put it on last week>
Sorry to show my ignorance but what's a MAF?

Boone
08-28-2002, 02:16 PM
<Mass Airflow (MAF) Sensor
Hot-wire type airflow sensor uses heat transfer between
incoming air and a heating resistor located in air intake to convert
quantity of airflow into engine to an electrical signal.> ;)

Rockscaler
08-28-2002, 02:23 PM
Thanks Boone. Your answer is a little more technical than the one I found by searching on MAF:

MAF? what's that stand for?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mass Air Flow Sensor. The little "Pizza Hut" thing attached to the intake hose from the air box.

And, I'm STILL looking for an unblemished cloth sunroof panel.
_________________
Aredubjay



But the Searchable Database is NICE!,
Rock

Rockscaler
09-09-2002, 02:07 PM
So far so good!
I read some of the other threads here about the MAF sensor and decided to look at mine. So I took out the "Pizza Hut thingy" and it seemed fine - no gunk or anything visible. Then I decided to look at the contacts. I took out the 4 small screws and removed the plate where the sensor plug attaches. The contacts looked a little pitted so I sprayed them with TV tuner contact spray, put them back together, and put the sensor back in the car.
That was 9 days ago AND THE CAR HASN'T STALLED SINCE!!!
Thanks guys!

Rockscaler
12-05-2002, 11:51 AM
My stalling problems returned after about a month and I tried spraying the contacts again and that did not help. So I figured what do I have to lose? I broke out my trusty soldering gun and cut 4 six inch sections of wire. I unplugged the MAF sensor, removed the 4 screws on the side of the MAF and carfully soldered a wire from each pin of the cover to the corresponding pin on the MAF sensor body. I tucked the wires back in, replaced the screws plugged it back in and . . .

My SVX hasn stalled since and that was 2 months ago!!!

Update:Still working fine 4 years later (July 2006).