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  #1  
Old 06-04-2010, 08:21 AM
Lookin4SVX Lookin4SVX is offline
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Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

Sometimes the car doesnt start, it just clicks.
This never happens on the first start, only after its been driven.

If I hold the key in the start position and I jiggle the shifter while its locked in the Park position, it will start.

If I put it into neutral and try and start, it does not start.

If I just continue to to try and start it without touching the shift lever, eventually it starts, may take 5-10 cranks.

Other things to note:
Also have code 11 Solenoid A Error Code.
RPM flair between 1st and second gear.
Small Car shift Kit installed.
Under my dashboard on the driver side there is a new looking bosh relay box. I think previous owner already did the replace the relay thing.

So what part controls where the shift lever position is? Is it adjustable? is it easy to get to? Seems like its not fully in park, or whatever tells the ignition the car is in park is out of sync with the shift lever position.
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  #2  
Old 06-04-2010, 04:07 PM
gbianchi gbianchi is offline
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

O K I just adjusted this very thing so I'll give it a shot. On the tranny there is a lever that selects each gear including neutral. There on that lever is the neutral switch, so the neutral switch has to be adjusted to the tranny switch so they both have neutral at the same time. Clear as mud??? Well its not to bad to adjust, under the car on the pass side of the tranny is this lever, its conected to the shifter via a cable/rod, this has adjusters on it back by the driveline, more mud??? I sort of went crazy for a little while under there till I had the wife in the car while I was under there adjusting. So I put the shifter in NEUTRAL, so the N light on the dash is lit(important) we had to move the shifter slightly forward or back to get this, key in the on position, then adjust the adjuster till the tranny also is showing NEUTRAL, 2 clicks from PARK. PARK is all the way to the rear of the tranny, the neutral switch on the tranny can be adjusted to the gear switch of the tranny, more mud??? So what you are doing is adjusting the shifter with the tranny switch/ neutral switch. When its all good the car will start in park or neutral, if this is an adjustment problem this will fix it. Good luck with your problem, hope this helps and did not give you a headache, Cheers.....................G
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  #3  
Old 06-04-2010, 04:51 PM
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

You are on the right track in suspecting the inhibitor switch which is cable operated from the selector lever, along with the selector mechanism and is on the side of the gearbox. The previous post provides you with all the clues regarding adjustment.

You advise that the trouble occurs only when the car has been driven so that heat could be a factor effecting the electrical contacts. You will have to follow your nose and look for weak contact pressures, dirt corrosion, whatever. If you have electrical knowledge testing will not represent a problem.

Code 11 indicating a solenoid “A” fault, ties in with low line pressure and the flair you are experiencing. The shift kit is connected in the resistor circuit involving solenoid “A” and could cause a fault code. Check it carefully and rule it out before assuming the solenoid is the cause.

The solenoid is accessible without removing the transmission and if it is the sole cause of the problem you do not have a disaster on your hands. A line pressure test which can be simply carried out will provide an exact diagnosis. Whatever, do not continue using the car as is. Friction surfaces are having a hard time and will wear out.

Best of luck.
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Old 06-04-2010, 06:05 PM
Lookin4SVX Lookin4SVX is offline
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

thank you guys for all the help.

not sure if i can slide under the car, may have to get some ramps or jack stands.

on a scale of 1 to hard where would this adjustment fall?

could someome snap me a pick of this adjustment lever and its location.

if its ez to do i may try it, if its hard the car goes into the shop on tuesday for oil change, to weld on or cut off whatever part is making that buzzing rattle sound under my car, and to fix the air conditioning.
so I may have them mess with it.
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  #5  
Old 06-04-2010, 06:17 PM
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookin4SVX View Post
thank you guys for all the help.

not sure if i can slide under the car, may have to get some ramps or jack stands.

on a scale of 1 to hard where would this adjustment fall?

could someome snap me a pick of this adjustment lever and its location.

if its ez to do i may try it, if its hard the car goes into the shop on tuesday for oil change, to weld on or cut off whatever part is making that buzzing rattle sound under my car, and to fix the air conditioning.
so I may have them mess with it.
Not easy without the car lifted. I would be patient until you can have a good look during the work already organised. In point of fact, removing the front exhaust shields can be an advantage. Treat the throttle gently and avoid transmission slip.
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  #6  
Old 06-05-2010, 12:55 AM
Lookin4SVX Lookin4SVX is offline
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

Ah treat it gently...
so it was probably a bad idea to tighten the small car shift kit to the point where it stopped slipping and now is hard fast shifts?

It hides the issue very well having it set to all the way tight, but i know its just a band-aid.

If its going to kill it faster i will go back the the rpm flair.

Whats the stock resistor without the shift kit?

I happen to have a 25w 10ohm here in the closest from another project, would that work?

What is the average cost of having a 5speed swap done?
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  #7  
Old 06-05-2010, 03:11 AM
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

As a band aid leave the adjustment of the shift kit as you have it. In effect this will be disconnecting the resistor circuit in order to increase line pressure.

The resistor should still be there in the wiring. The early shifts kits did not have a secondary resistor included which prevents a fault code 11 being registered. This could be part of your problem. However the kit gives solenoid “A” a hard time, so that a defective solenoid also adds up. There is data on the kit in the how too stuff.

The additional information you are now providing thickens the plot. Read the following in order to get to grips with the situation. I have explained everything before, now buried somewhere, so easiest to include it again here. Information on the dropping resistor is included.

SVX Transmission Line Pressure Control.

Line pressure is initially controlled via pulse width modulated, (PWM) electrical, normally closed, solenoid valve “A”. When open, this valve bleeds off pressure, rather than interrupts pressure, as a means of control. It provides precise control, but has only limited capacity. Therefore amplification is necessary, in order to achieve final control of the overall operative line pressure.

The adjusted pressure from solenoid “A” is applied as pilot control pressure, to a fully hydraulic pressure modifier valve. The pressure modifier valve, in turn controls the main pressure regulator valve. The result is a system of amplification, in two stages.

The use of a normally closed valve “A”, for electronic control of line pressure, renders the system fail safe. However maximum pressure must be limited and not allowed to runaway at high pump speeds. This is achieved by including the pilot valve, which sets the pressure, and the pressure modifier valve, within a feed back loop.

Solenoid valve “A” is controlled by means of a PWM signal, delivered by the transmission control unit, (TCU) via a direct circuit. This electrical signal comprises a series pulses, delivered at a fixed frequency of nominally 50 cycles per second. The length of the pulses, rather their frequency, controls fluid output from the valve.

The output pressure is therefore delivered in the form of waves at 50 CPS. However, due to the low volume delivered, the high frequency and the reciprocating mass involved in the pressure modifier valve, these waves have little effect. Furthermore, final control pressure from the pressure modifier valve, is smoothed by the pressure modifier accumulator, a device incorporated for this purpose, as is mentioned in section 3 within the Subaru manuals, under the heading Line Pressure Control .

The dropping resistor circuit.

It will be immediately apparent that the sudden on off pulse width modulated duty, to which normally closed solenoid valve “A” is subject, tends to cause what could be called a hammering of the valve seat, even though this is largely reduced/damped by the flow of the controlled fluid.

The dropping resistor introduces a second series of current pulses, applied in parallel with the control signal. These pulses are applied across the off cycles, so as to check the travel of the armature as it moves, thus reducing both shock and noise. These secondary parallel signals mean that in effect, during the closing/closed period, the voltage does not fall completely to zero.

This second series of pulses must be at a lesser level than the control signal, hence the dropping resistor. A resistor with a high current rating is required, which can not be mounted within the TCU enclosure.

Full voltage from the direct circuit operates the solenoid and quickly opens the valve. The low voltage dropping resistor circuit, holds in the solenoid and thus controls the point at which the valve is allowed to close. Therefore controlling the length of the low voltage pulse, sets the overall pulse length.

The full voltage direct circuit signal, comprises a very short fixed length pulse. This is immediately followed by an independent low voltage pulse, from the resistor circuit. The sum of the two provides the total pulse length delivered during each cycle.

It will be appreciated that increasing the resistance in the circuit, or opening the circuit by omitting the dropping resistor, will upset the normal pulse length, thus increasing the line pressure and making shifts more abrupt. Secondly, as an undesirable issue, shock loads applied to solenoid valve “A” are increased.

The resistor should measure between 9 and 15 ohms to be within specifications and is usually close to 12 ohms.
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  #8  
Old 06-05-2010, 01:44 PM
Lookin4SVX Lookin4SVX is offline
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

Information Overload Trevor.

This is what I got from that:
Ok so the resistor works in parallel with the TCU to tell solenoid "A" how much line pressure to give during the low (closing/off) cycle to keep the pressure from being at 0 pressure.

So increasing the resistance would cause less line pressure and dropping the resistiance would cause more line pressure?

So is a 10ohm resistor is less resistance than a 15ohm resistor?
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Old 06-05-2010, 06:06 PM
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Re: Wont start sometimes, but starts if I jiggle shifter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookin4SVX View Post
Information Overload Trevor.

This is what I got from that:
Ok so the resistor works in parallel with the TCU to tell solenoid "A" how much line pressure to give during the low (closing/off) cycle to keep the pressure from being at 0 pressure.
The TCU sends a combined signal via two circuits, one includes at resistor. When, as the means of control, normally closed solenoid valve "A" is energised and opened, this results in a reduction in line pressure. The signal via the resistor, controls the length of time within the pulse width modulated signal, that the valve remains open. Therefore if this signal is upset, pressure will be increased.

Quote:
So increasing the resistance would cause less line pressure and dropping the resistiance would cause more line pressure? So is a 10ohm resistor is less resistance than a 15ohm resistor?
Not exactly so. The resistor circuit holds the solenoid towards the operated position, only after a full voltage pulse from the direct primary circuit moves the solenoid. If the resistance is increased, a point will be reached whereby the voltage delivered will no longer hold in the solenoid, so that there will be a point of cut off resulting in an on/off situation. Therefore varying the resistance can not provide a means of altering/adjusting pressure by degrees.
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