legacycentral bbs

Hey guys, wondering if I could have some help from someone on this, any ideas would be awesome.

I have a 93 Legacy L, and sometimes (once or twice a week) it won't turn over. Other times it turns over instantly and runs perfectly after started. I thought it was a fuel problem so I had a new Fuel Pump put in, and I've also changed the temp sensor.

I know the MAF needs replacing due to the check engine light, from what my mechanic told me. Apparently the person that sold me this had a MAF from a junk yard thrown in, and they had to rig it to fit or something. This couldn't be the cause could it?

When it didn't start today I tried unplugging it, thinking maybe it was sending a horribly bad signal or something, but that didn't help, sometimes it does.

Basically when it doesn't start, I stop trying right away. Pop the hood, unplug the MAF sensor, go back to the car and hold the petal all the way to the floor (due to it possibly being flooded) and that usually helps. But today it didn't work. So I'm thinking it might not be that.

Any ideas or thoughts would be awesome.

Thanks!
Shawn (DoughtCom)

Doesnt turn over at all? Like, no starter noise (rnn, runn)? That's a high current electrical thing. Probably the battery, but i would clean off the starter wire and the battery terminals just because it's so much fun.

You'd have to sit there and press the pedal 20-30 times to flood a efi car.

search "starter motor solenoid"; it has happened to many folks on this forum. The contacts erode so the starter won't turn over. You can get a rebuild for about $70 or if you are more handy, remove and split open the starter solenoid and clean up or replace the contacts for a few bucks.

Just to make sure we're on the same page... the engine turns.... you can hear the starter turning the motor, it just doesn't turn over, i.e fire up and start running. Just like if you were not getting any fuel or spark. Although I'm pretty sure it's getting fuel AND spark to a certain extent, because exhaust comes out of the tail pipe when you're turning the key, so I'm a little confused, lol.

Now... if I'm reading what you're saying correctly, I believe you misunderstood that the engine wasn't turning at all, like a dead battery or whatever.

As far as the flooding, yeah I figured if I'm trying to turn over the car, not pushing the petal to the floor, that the injectors would be pumping fuel into the engine and flooding it, since it isn't running.

Anyway I hope I'm being clear enough.

Thanks!
Shawn

OK professor, I'll check into that.

Thanks
Shawn

A bad MAF sensor can certainly make the car hard or sometimes impossible to start.

I'm puzzled about how a MAF would have to be rigged in, unless it's completely the wrong MAF sensor for your car. The correct sensor has a black plastic housing, a 5-pin electrical connector, and a green label with the part number 22680AA160 on it.