legacycentral bbs

I've had for the 2nd time a problem which seems like it might be ignition related. The first time I thought sure something got wet. I was going through heavy rain for the first time since I bought the car 3 weeks ago and the car started running rough, almost like it was running on 2 cylinders. I realized I was missing the splash guard and after limping home pulled the plug wires off the plugs and let it sit overnight and it started up and ran fine the next morning.

Anyhow, I went to start it last night after sitting for a couple of hours and it started running rough right off the bat. Would hardly idle and it seemed to be the exact situation again, this time it was totally dry out. I could detect no problem under the hood and decided to limp home. About halfway I stopped at a light where I was blipping the throttle to keep it idling and all of a sudden the problem went away, almost like someone gave performed the Heimlich maneuver on it. The exhaust didn't smoke while experiencing the problem.

After typing this up I'm thinking maybe it's the catylitic converter? Maybe it's an iginition problem? Any ideas?

Anybody know how to diagnose for sure?

If it is the cc anyone know where to find one cheap? I'd rather not run without one. It looks like there might even be 2 cc's. Maybe one right in the Y, where the headers come together and one more a little ways back. HELP?

THANKS

Drove into work fine this morning. Maybe it's not the CC either

Any ideas

Codes thrown?

If its having trouble starting up and staying alive just after, you might be experiencing an exhaust problem. Maybe look into replacing portions of your exhaust, it will add to your gas mileage and performance.

No problem starting up, just turned right over but ran super rough. I'm not even sure the engine would die at idle but at 500 rpm's..., like I said it felt like it was running on 2 cylinders. No power either, I was going up a steep hill and could barely hold 2nd gear, I even had to downshift to 1st on a really steep part.

No CEL's even when it's acting up. Any suggestion how to DIY diagnos? I don't know what triggers it to act up I'm confused

I drove the car home 250 miles the day I bought it a couple of weeks ago. Drives like a dream 99.5% of the time. I just got to get to the bottom this. It's my daily driver

it might of been that you maf senser got wet. you car will definetly run like shit. take your air filter out and see if it got wet.


if it starts running like crap again. start the car and let it run, then proceed to pull the spark plug wires of one at a time and put it back. to see if the motor changes idle.

careful, if you pull the wire out and not far enough away from the plug you might get a couple of kisses from your subie letting you know that is workin. lol

I smell a crack in the coilpack. Maybe an overreacting ECU for a cracked knock sensor.

Thanks guys. It just did it again on the way home just now. It's dry as a bone here, definitely nothing getting wet.

Any way to avoid getting popped while pulling the plug wires?

How can I test the coil pack without running the risk of electrical
shock?

If you can't tell I'm a bit phobic about electricity

Where do a find the knock sensor?

I'm such a newbie, I probably should search, huh?

Thanks MUCH, you guys rock

Gloves for the plug wires. Pull them at the coil.

The knock sensor is located on the drivers side at the back of the intake.
http://gallery.discens.org/main.php?g2_itemId=98
It's the black donut thing.

Shoot, started it up and it was still acting up. Turned it off got glove and trouble light. Cranked it up and it's running fine.

ARGH!

Anything I can do while it's not acting up?

Thanks....

Thanks Manarius. I located the knock sensor, it appears to be intact with wire connected. Anyway to test?

what kind of vehicle is this? E.D.I.T. I'm an idiot.

To test it you have to check for resistance between the sensor plug and ground, it should be about 560K ohms.

Thanks AA, I'll see if I can borrow a resistance tester.

Checked and no codes. Thinking about buying another coil pack.

Good idea?

Just did it agiain today when starting cold engine.

Drove it a mile or so, stopped and started pulling wires. Pulled off #4 and the coil was arching fine.

Shut off the motor off and re-connected 4, started it up and it quit acting up

How the he11 am I going to figure this out? Hate to blow the money on a coil pack, especially used and chance buying a bad one but they're high dollar new Hate to waste the money either way. Any suggestions?

Thanks for looking, again

cguzz wrote:Just did it agiain today when starting cold engine.

Drove it a mile or so, stopped and started pulling wires. Pulled off #4 and the coil was arching fine.

Shut off the motor off and re-connected 4, started it up and it quit acting up

How the he11 am I going to figure this out? Hate to blow the money on a coil pack, especially used and chance buying a bad one but they're high dollar new Hate to waste the money either way. Any suggestions?

Thanks for looking, again

I have a spare one that I know is good. It's a Hitachi from my old 1991.

PM'ed

Did you try replacing the plug wires yet?

No I haven't. Not alot of money to throw at it now. Hoping to narrow it down.

Sounds like a timing belt slipping to me. A slightly stretched and/or wet timing belt will do that exact same thing.

Brian

Timing belt very recently replaced.

Now acts up more frequently. Sometimes just for a split second and revert back to running right. Sometimes it'll take a few minutes to but start running right after a mile or two.

Who makes a decent set of plug wires?

Well, that certainly doesn't sounds like a cat... Mine went bad suddenly, but never recovered... Also, I've seen several go bad and at a certain RPM, it'll be just like a semi's jake brake... *essentially just that*

you can also use a multimeter to test your plug wires resistance... but unless you've a really nice one with a high voltage range, don't try to do like my buddy did and check the running voltage from the coil pack.. hehe, he just blew a fuse in his multimeter, but couldn't find a replacement for a long time... For the spark, you should be able to pick up a tester just for that at just about any parts store... It may also be just random if your insulation on the wires is worn or burnt from heat and shunts the spark to ground...

Can anyone tell me if this will work on it. It's a 91' Legacy L. 2.2?




The thing hasn't acted up in 125 miles or so. About 5 days now.
But, I've found a coil pack and this, relatively cheap. The plan, I guess, is to swap these out and see what happens. Plug wires are pretty pricey. Mine are red and from all of seen I'm guessing they're likely the original set. I can get a nice set of blue NGK but cheapest around here are about $45. Wish this thing had thrown a code or something. Could I have a spark plug that fouls out intermittently? Haven't inspected yet.

Anyhow thanks.

only swap one thing at a time so you know what was broken. first rule in troubleshooting. I had something like this happen and it was because the plastic liner was out on the passenger side and the air filter got soaked and fell apart and water got into the maf.

Your right. I won the coil pack and the guy has this ignitor. Super cheap he's tossing it in with the cp for an extra $7.50

Need to know if this part # will work.