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Subarururu update,

Car played up a bit last night but before the boy could pull over safely to do the alternator test it had cleared. I tried removing the alternator plug last night at home but no luck so we had another go this morning. Once we got the plug off we found corrosion on one of the pins. Scraped the pins and used some contact cleaner in the plug terminals and then worked the plug a up and down a few times to hopefully clean up the inside of the terminals. Could it be that simple? I guess now it's a wait and see game.

oldn64 wrote:

immortality wrote:Back to the Subaru again...

New/more symptoms.

The boy noted some times it takes longer to heat up than other times which explains the fault coder 128 (thermostat). It's now also throwing a code 15 but that doesn't seem to match anything for this model car?

It's driven fine for 4 days, today on his way home it wouldn't start. When it won't start it's like it has a bad battery, basically it won't turn it over (battery is less than 1 year old and is fully charged). When it was idling rough he checked the fuel pressure which was about 36psi.

I'm starting to think it's a slowly failing timing sensor (cam or crank, not sure what the Subaru has)? Any thoughts or suggestions on how to test or diagnose?

Thanks

Hmmm this is almost starting to sound like an electrical issue. IE a loose ground or resistive connection. Might be worthwhile reseating all plugs to ECU and the wiring loom. I have had a similar issue on my VE SS s2 for the oil sensor. The sensor is find but the plug is not so good. I am almost to the stage of trying to find another wiring harness to swap it over. Dont ignore the fuse block. It is amazing what a reseat of a fuse can do. I know it is a pain but it costs nothing and I have fixed a number of issues this way. IF there is also a perished boot then the connector will not seal from the elements properly either.

Cheers
oldn64

immortality wrote:Subarururu update,

Car played up a bit last night but before the boy could pull over safely to do the alternator test it had cleared. I tried removing the alternator plug last night at home but no luck so we had another go this morning. Once we got the plug off we found corrosion on one of the pins. Scraped the pins and used some contact cleaner in the plug terminals and then worked the plug a up and down a few times to hopefully clean up the inside of the terminals. Could it be that simple? I guess now it's a wait and see game.

In a simple response, yes it can be. Corrosion and resistance can do some interesting things to electrical systems. Clean and keep an eye out. Jaycar does sell a glass pen which can be used to clean electrical terminals quite well. Use this in the plug end.

cheers
oldn64

Fault is still there, unfortunately haven't been able to test the alternator theory as every time it does occur the fault clears before we can safely stop and test

I have a good idea, just burn it!

vlad01 wrote:I have a good idea, just burn it!

It had crossed my mind.

And the winner is, Cam sensor A.....

Will source a new one this week.

immortality wrote:And the winner is, Cam sensor A.....

Will source a new one this week.

You are going to source another Subaru this week, I would have found a different car (ie not a subaru) to put the radiator cap onto.... hehehe.

Sounds like you might have finally found the issue.

cheers
oldn64

The Calais got a new wof today, had to fix a minor exhaust leak but that's it.

Also replaced the cam sensor on the Subaru and hoping that is the end of the troubles there.

immortality wrote:The Calais got a new wof today, had to fix a minor exhaust leak but that's it.

Also replaced the cam sensor on the Subaru and hoping that is the end of the troubles there.

What is a wof ?

Warrant of Fitness. A vehicle mechanical/safety check done once a year for any vehicle newer than 2002 or every 6 months if older here in NZ.

Interestinly, previously it was every 6 months for every vehicle on the road but the last national Government wanted to reduce costs so changed it to 1 year for vehicles new from 2002 onward, also brand new vehicles get a WOF when sold and I believe that as long as the vehicle is serviced at the dealership that wof is valid for a couple of years. It's also interesting to note that vehicle accidents and the road death toll is climbing here in NZ and they can't figure out why. Recently they decided to reduce deaths not by targeting speeding at known black spots, no decided to target speeding at other locations because they say that will have a greater impact on speeding (aka revenuing).... Spotted a lot of cops on the motorway in the last month hiding in new spots with radar guns out...