Crisis!
 

So I had that starting-click-click problem for a while, replaced the relay under the dash, it went away then came back a few days later, decided I should replace the ignition switch but never got around to it.

So I nearly got stranded in a cold and remote place this last Friday night due to this problem and decided that Saturday was the day to tackle it.
So I did, I went through the forums, went to Napa, read/got what I needed and did the relay mod.

Whether this is at all related to the current crisis I am not yet sure, but it's a damn coincidence.

While I had stuff apart, I poked around made sure everything was tight and clean. Car ran great for the rest of Saturday evening.

Here's where **** gets a bit foggy. Saturday night I left home to go see a friend. Now normally I park in the garage at home so I don't have to deal with cold starts. It has been rare this winter, so anyway I end up staying the night and of course the SVX is outside all night long in temperatures colder than 5*F.

Sunday afternoon I hit the auto start and "whoomp", she starts up just fine, thank you starter mod. I let her run for, oh, I dunno 10 minutes. It was so freaking cold the needle was still almost all the way down.
So I got in and rolled it around, got out of the parking spot and pretty much sat there for another 5-10 minutes to let the windows defrost. They weren't covered with ice, but the sun was coming down at such an angle that visibility is seriously reduced if your glass is not almost perfectly clear, so I'd say she ran for a solid 15 minutes at the very least before I got on the throttle.
So I tried moving, and there was some thuds, and clunks, and I could not tell if I was hitting an ice chunk, or if my tires were frozen in a weird shape, or if the clutch was just not designed for this climate, or what. I drove about a block and pretty slowly as I figured maybe something just needed to be worked loose. That's somewhat typical of things in this weather.

So anyway I get going and the drive shaft is making this just horrible grinding sound, or I assume it is the drive shaft because it has been making sounds ever since I have installed it. It was from a scrap yard, had it inspected, was in need of service from the get go. Should have got a better one, but it usually takes events like this to get my ass in gear for repairs.
So I spent the rest of Sunday researching and forum-ing, and I have some leads on drive shafts.

Monday comes and I head into work. Still have that grind-y noise, I didn't exactly expect it to go away. It did get much quieter when the power was on, and much louder when engine braking and coasting, which reaffirmed to me that it was in fact the drive shaft. I ruled out the trans as the noise maker since it seemed to make it's own sounds and has actually been very good to me the last few weeks.
Other than the death throes of the shaft everything else that I expected to be sound did appear to be.

It was when I left for lunch that something went horribly wrong. I started the car and I heard this noise that is just so unfortunate I can not even describe it, but I knew right away that I had a big problem and accepted the vehicle's fate immediately. It sounded as if the main engine bearing had just suddenly wasted away, as little sense as that makes. Could it have been the shaft seizing up? Sure. The car stalled only a few minutes later and plumes of smoke erupted from the engine area and into the cabin. I tried to get a good look at from where exactly the smoke came, I would say it came from the clutch area.
At this moment I recalled something I read concerning the starter mod, that in a certain instance the starter solenoid could be engaged with the engine running. I do not think I caused this to happen in the manner described, but all the symptoms and other factors seem to point in this direction. The sound could very well have been the starter gear clashing with the flywheel. The smoke could have been... what, I don't know, maybe the engine stopping against it's will. Something receiving far too much friction. I checked the electrics, it seemed fine from what I could tell. Only the starter was inoperable. It didn't have any function which leads me to believe it either has no power or has seized, which I suppose is not the worst case of scenarios.

I contemplated unplugging the relay and returning it to factory... well, "stock" config (WRX bits you know), but thought better of it.

Tomorrow I should get a $100 call from Subaru, hopefully telling me that I need a new flywheel, clutch, starter motor, and drive shaft, and not a new engine. :rolleyes:

--

I got a couple rentals for the rest of the day. I started with a Kia Optima. It seemed nice at first, leather seats, smooth ride, but after what my car has been going through a speed boat would probably seem smooth and quiet.
I would not buy an Optima. The coolant temp needle began stretching to the moon so I had to swap it. They brought me a 2005 or so Taurus wagon. Wow, and I thought the SVX was a yacht, there is no comparison. It's like driving a cloth and vinyl turd shat out by the Truckasaurus after a night binging on demolition derby soccer moms.

Re: Crisis!
 

Yowtch! :(

Re: Crisis!
 

Good luck. I really hope its not as bad as it sounds.

Re: Crisis!
 

I hope the engine is alright, that sound was sorta like mine the other night when I killed my celica work car. Mine was making a sorta clicking noise at certain rpms and then just started knocking and quit. I would say, you may be a lot luckier since the starter doesnt work, hopefully it was stuck and that will be it.

Re: Crisis!
 

If I recall correctly, the bosch relay starter mod only has issues with regard to the cruise control. Because the relay is grounded through the cruise, it can get messed up if (assuming I remember right), that the car is in Park and the cruise is on. However, this can be avoided by having a relay with sufficient resistance in the winding. If you check that thread, it has the specific details.

Now, did the car go up in smoke while you were driving or not? If you weren't moving, the drive shaft can't be the issue because it doesn't move when you're not moving (which I'm sure you already know).

Re: Crisis!
 

From what he stated, it really sounds as if his starter didnt disengage, and was oversped by the engine long enough to fry.

Re: Crisis!
 

Which would mean it is my fault, and there is a very good chance it was due to the relay mod. I don't think I installed it incorrectly... still waiting on Subaru to shed some light onto this mystery.

Re: Crisis!
 

They want to charge me $200 to install a new starter so they can continue diagnosis. I'm thinking of towing it home, buying and installing one myself, then towing it back because that is a bull**** charge for what is a half hour job.

Re: Crisis!
 

Thats ridiculous. It's not even hard to get to...maybe they will let you do it in the parking lot with your own tools (if you have access to them). Towing it will cost almost as much as having them install the starter.

Re: Crisis!
 

If I buy a re-manufactured unit I can do it for less than $200. They want $400 alone for a new starter, and are already charging me $115 to say that I need a new starter and until they put one in they can't be sure what the problem is. How hard is it to check the flywheel anyway. :rolleyes:
I have a few things I can check before it goes anywhere, and I will try to reason with them to allow me to do the labor myself without moving it.

Time is a luxury right now.

Re: Crisis!
 

Tell them you are low on funds, and it would help you out immensely if they could just bench test the starter for you. Then when they have it out, they can see if its smoked for sure, and inspect the condition of the wiring.

Re: Crisis!
 

The attached graphic is the correct way to do the add on mod. The correct way would be to replace the Bosch 5 terminal relay behind the dash. Neither of these will create a problem if done correctly.
If you study the original method that I made the graphic for and published on the web, you will see that the security system has nothing to do with it.

It would be hard to imagine the points arching together and sending continual voltage to the low amperage starter circuit, causing the starter motor to continually run after the car starts.

Keith:cool:

Re: Crisis!
 

Years ago a local person bought a brand new Subaru something...:confused:
He had an extra key made (I guess by our parts dept), after starting his car he headed out the highway playing his music really loud.
The key was stuck in the crank position and fried the starter after about ten miles. We covered it under warranty.

Re: Crisis!
 

I wired it correctly. It ran for nearly two days without issue, aside from the racket the drive shaft was causing.

The car only sat for half an hour between running fantastic and making this horrible sound that resulted in a disabled car.

Hmm... this had not crossed my mind. I start the SVX on average 30 times a day, I could see this happening, though I find it unlikely that I wouldn't have noticed the key not returning.
I did turn the key again after it became disabled, it turned normally...

Re: Crisis!
 

They can't diagnose an apparent electrical problem (starter remains engaged) with a meter, but instead they need a $400 starter? That sounds to me like a perfect reason to find another shop. Preferably one that understands basic electrical theory.