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#1
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Some Troubleshooting help please
Car hasn't been started for a week. I had noticed it took a few extra cranks the last couple of times I started it.
It rained today after a few weeks of dry weather. I cranked it until the battery started to run down. I thought I heard a couple of intermittent backfires..but nothing of note. All I've done so far is to pull the battery to recharge it... Some suggestions on what to check first please...I'm having brain lock up on this one.
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#2
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
ok....nevermind. Guess she just got mad at me for riding the scooter and cycle so much this year. Damn mild winter let me ride the bikes almost the whole time.
Still.... could I have "flooded" the engine. in my 13 years of driving the SVXii I've never had this problem.... I guess there's always a first time.
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#3
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
Good to see you! I have found that if the battery is down just a little, it will turn over, but if it doesn't turn over fast enough, it will not start. It can get flooded in this case, so if it doesn't start, I charge the battery and usually don't have any problems after that.
I have started to use a great battery tender that is a little spendy, but is the best one I have ever used. It doesn't just keep the battery charged, but sends out different types of power types which keeps the battery in tip top shape. It is called the smartest battery charger made. Here is a link to their site and they cost around $65. to $70. Here is a video about the CTEK chargers. CTEK Battery Charger 3300 Here are some details on the charger at a car site.
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. Earl .... ... .... ><SVX(*> Subaru Ambassador [COLOR=”silver”]1992 Tri Color L[/COLOR] ~45K (06/91) #2430 1992 Dark Teal LS-L ~184K (05/91) #0739 1992 Claret LS-L ~196K (05/91) #0831 1992 Pearl LS-L ~103K (06/91) #1680 1992 Pearl LS-L ~151K (06/91) #2229 1992 Dark Teal LS ~150K (07/91) #3098 (parts car) 1992 White LS-L ~139K (08/92) #6913 1993 25th AE ~98K (02/93) #164 1993 25th AE ~58K (02/93) #176 1993 25th AE ~107K (02/93) #215 1993 25th AE ~162K (02/93) #223 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~124K (1/94) #2408 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~144K (10/93) #1484 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~68K (10/93) #1525 1994 Barcelona Red LSi ~46K (02/94) #2624 1994 Pearl LSi ~41K (12/93) #1961 1995 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~70K (02/95) #855 1996 Polo Green LSi ~95K (03/96) #872 1997 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~55K (08/96) #097 2003 Brilliant Red LS1 Convertible ~29K (04/03) #8951 1999 Magnetic Red LS1 Coupe ~33K (04/99) #6420 My Email | Old Locker | New Locker | Picture of 15 of the 19 Last edited by ensteele; 05-27-2012 at 03:11 PM. |
#4
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
Good info on the battery... and most probably the problem thinking about how quickly she started to slow down cranking. I charged the battery over night ... and after a few cranks and a few backfires (evidence of flooding)... she came back to life...took her for a drive.... and she performed flawlessly...even got better gas mileage today....
I prefer to think she has a become jealous of the scooter and motorcycle, and doesn't realize she's the true love of my life and the time I spend driving the bikes is more time she gets to be with me.... Can you spell anthropomorphizing?
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#5
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
An update for anyone ...but mostly for me so that I can look up this timeline again ....
The car wouldn't start again after a day or two ... battery showed fully charged.. but it just wouldn't fire. not even a backfire this time. Then..after I got to work..and came back she started after about 10 cranks. Something I didn't mention before The CEL has been on... EGR valve solenoid ... Yesterday I had the same thing happen... I cranked it over for about 5 minutes strong steady cranks...nothing....then 4 hours later came back and she started right up. funny thing... the CEL cleared... I cleared the codes and now it doesn't show the failure... oh...she started right up this morning.. (I think she's just jealous of the motorcycle and the scooter.)
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#6
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
What?....no comments about a CEL clearing itself?......
What's happened to this forum?
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#7
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
might be crank or cam sensor going...
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Huck Subaru Ambassador 92 SVX LS-Tour Magnaflow Exhaust, 5-Spd-AWD 88 XT6 AWD 5-Speed "Bride of FrankenWedge" 15 Impreza Premium Sedan 15 Crosstrek XV 5-Speed My 5-Speed "How-To" Write-up 1976 Pontiac Firebird Formula Current Count of Subaru's Owned.... "70" |
#8
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
wow...I hadn't thought that far....but it sounds like something to look at.
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#9
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
ok...this is getting irritating.... HOW can a car run so well after it won't start after cranking for a full 2 min?
Scenario: Drove car yesterday for about 3 hours. Came home turned it off... it started right up... like it always has. Came out about 3 hours later and it started right up ...like it always has. This morning (and this has been the same scenario every day I've started the car this past 2 weeks) cranked...cranked and cranked...a pop up near the intake... crank another 10 seconds and a pop, pop... vroom. it starts... CEL off...and then on... with no apparent pattern... EGR Solinoid failure. Now I've read that some people have completely removed and plugged the EGR... with no problems. The car passed emissions with very good numbers (for a 20 year old car). I'm about to pull spark plugs... but don't know why except to look at burn patterns. any other suggestions? The crank and cam sensors did (back when I did the water pump) throw codes but I chalked that up to cracked and frayed wires..which were repaired.
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#10
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
It's sounding like pretty typical coolant temp sensor symptoms.
You mention that you had frayed wires to your cam and crank sensors. May want to check the wiring to the CTS as well. Or the entire engine harness for that matter... |
#11
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
Thanks Nate! I'll look through that... isn't there a CEL code for temp sensor?
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
#12
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
I know this sounds strange, but have you checked your air cleaner?
The wife drives a 2007 2.0 n/a Forester and the cranking time got longer and longer - especially when half warm. At times all this lead to a no start condition - had to use jump cables. The air cleaner element was a bit dirty, but not bad by any standard (50kmiles). I swapped if for a new one and it fires right up, every time - no variation in cranking time. Also, the stage 2 ECUTune in the SVX needs quite long cranking when half warm (after sitting an hour or two). I think it's a tad rich in that spot. A new air cleaner element reduced this too ! And it wasn't even as dirty as the Forester..... Being rich should not cause popping in the intake, though. Just my strange observations Tapani Last edited by Tapani; 06-18-2012 at 11:02 AM. |
#13
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
Yes there is, but as long as the reading the ECU gets is within the very wide range, it won't throw a code. If you disconnected it it would throw a code. If it's bad it very often won't, but can still cause symptoms. The ECU adjusts AFRs based on readings from this temp sensor, so if it's off by enough, then it could definitely cause this. It's also very easy to change, and available inexpensively from rockauto.
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'94 Laguna Blue LSi ~159k.......JDM ultra short-geared 3.900 STi Version 7 6-speed w/ Cobb shortshifter, ECUtune 244,8.1mm/256,9.1mm i/e cams, group N motor mounts, '97 grille, JDM clear corners, Momo JDM Legacy GT steering wheel, apkarian's LED tails, silver STi BBS wheels, PWR radiator, redstuff pads f/r, drilled/slotted rotors, bontragerworks rsb #18, Koni/GC 450f/375r coilovers, Megan Racing adjustable lateral links, KMac c/c plates, Stebro exhaust, ECUtune 1v5, Optima battery in the trunk where it belongs. Turbo project '97 Ebony LSi ~137k #036.......Power mode mod, JDM clear corners, BBS wheels. AUX/pocket mod Now a mod "over there" ............Photo album |
#14
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
I would check your wiring from the battery. Check the ground to frame, connection to starter. If you have a starter bypass, check the relay.
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Father of 5 sons and 1 daughter Subaru SVX for fun Hyundai Veracruz for the wife. Susuki SX4 for my older son Ford Ranger for work Mercedes Benz Sprinter for vacation trips, EZ GO Golf cart for driving kids around gated community. |
#15
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Re: Some Troubleshooting help please
Now I have a weekend project...I'm pretty sure Nate's hit it on the head as I've already rewired/replaced all grounds to the electric system. Rewired the cam and crank sensors... I believe I just missed (probably on purpose) the wires to the other sensors...
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Mitch Hansen
"uncamitzi" This is a Dark Ride 92 Teal SVX LS-L 128K tranny swap with 4.11's Well.. my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle . |
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