Well, it's been a while since I followed up on this thread. I had to leave for parts of three months to help my parents in another state--my dad had an accident and my mom fell and fractured her hip--and they have no internet service. But between tube feeding my dad, taking parents to doctors, takng my brother to work, going grocery shopping, etc., my 17 hour "work" days didn't leave me time to do hardly anything else.
Anyway, yesterday I just got a new battery--the dry cell one--and what a difference! No more starting problems! I turn the ignition key and the engine starts turning over so rapidly that it sounds like it's going to fly through the hood and into space. It has NEVER turned over so rapidly in 11 years!
The car feels really solid and good now.
car won't start
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For anyone's information if you're having similar issues as I have, you may be interested in the following:
A couple of weeks after installing the battery I started having starting issues again. I would have to turn the ignition key several times to many times with no engagement of the starter, then suddenly on the following turn of the key the engine would fire up like nothing was wrong.
But then it got to the point that the starter would engage only once in about 60 to 100 turns of the key (yeah, I kept count). I was finally able to get a used starter at a wrecking yard from off a '98 Legacy. The parts guy said starter/solenoids are interchangeable up to 2003 model. (Just like Lexus and Toyotas using the same starters for mostly all model years.) And for $38.50 that was a good deal.
Better yet, my Suby starts the first time, every time since the new used starter has been installed.
So, I guess my car has had several issues all this time.
A couple of weeks after installing the battery I started having starting issues again. I would have to turn the ignition key several times to many times with no engagement of the starter, then suddenly on the following turn of the key the engine would fire up like nothing was wrong.
But then it got to the point that the starter would engage only once in about 60 to 100 turns of the key (yeah, I kept count). I was finally able to get a used starter at a wrecking yard from off a '98 Legacy. The parts guy said starter/solenoids are interchangeable up to 2003 model. (Just like Lexus and Toyotas using the same starters for mostly all model years.) And for $38.50 that was a good deal.
Better yet, my Suby starts the first time, every time since the new used starter has been installed.
So, I guess my car has had several issues all this time.