Losing power on Outback

#11

Edward Hayes wrote:

Quote:

Interesting stuff on the coil pack resistance. Why not cool down the
coil pack with ice bags for an hour or so and test with ohm meter to
see if things change vs. warm and or drive when you cool down the coil
pack. This way you could isolate the failure mode and part. Ed

Or spray it with circuit cooler. The cold and
condensation might let you reproduce the failure.

Quote:

"Dave N" <daven (AT) mailinator (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:Xns967E8C1A3D7AAdavenmailinatorcom (AT) 216 (DOT) 196.97.142...

Thanks, Jim, I really appreciate your help. Both of these trips to
the
repair shop cost me $400, and it looks like the coil pack is about
$85.
That seems like a good suspect, so I'll check and probably replace
it.
If it might save me the cost of another repair shop bill, it's worth
a
try. (Of course, now that summer's here, I may not know if that
fixed
the problem until fall.)

Jim Stewart <jstewart (AT) jkmicro (DOT) com> wrote in
news:eJGdnVvHB_4SiibfRVn-ow (AT) omsoft (DOT) com:

Dave N wrote:

Hold on, is the coil pack the same thing as the ignition coil? I
found that in my manual. Looks like I need to check primary and
secondary resistance, and maybe replace it. This could be a cheap
and easy fix! Let me know if I'm on the wrong track...

Here's a picture of my car. The coil
pack has the 4 red wires coming out of
it. It's called a coil pack because
there are 2 coils and each coil is double-
ended, with each end going to a plug.

http://www.jkmicro.com/jim/coilpack.jpg

As the the resistance check, you can do
it, but it may test good and still be
bad. Given that your problem goes away
when the car is warm, I suspect that it
only fails when it is cold and under
load.

Still just all speculation, but that's
about all you can do at this point.

#12

Dave;

Your problem is rather generic, and I wouldn't put too much faith in the
misfire codes. What you really need is a diagnostic check while it's failing.
The diagnostic codes may not reflect the actual problem since the ECU is rather
simple-minded and only checks for a limited number of faults. The check for
high-voltage discharges is quick and easy, but the problem could also be in the
ECU or the wiring harness; reseating the connectors on the ECU, coil pack, and
any intervening connectors may fix the problem. If it fails again, limp to a
dealer if possible and have them check it before it starts to work again.

I had a similar problem with a Toyota that turned out to be the throttle
position sensor. The problem was intermittent (stranding me 3 times) and there
was nothing to be found after it sat for a while. I took it to a dealer while
the problem was happening and they immediately found the bad sensor. I had
similar problems with a VW Rabbit years ago, and it turned out to be worn
contacts in the ignition switch - fortunately, the switch was much easier to
replace than it is on modern cars.

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:31:26 -0500, Dave N <daven (AT) mailinator (DOT) com> wrote:
....<snip>...

Quote:

The symptoms are that in the morning, when the car is
still relatively cold, it will lose power during acceleration (like when
getting on the freeway). Sometimes it will be so bad as to stall out,
and I'll need to pull over and wait for a couple minutes before starting
the engine again. After that, it seems to be ok. Oftentimes, the
"check engine" light will come on for a few minutes or hours, then go
off again.
....<snip>...

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Losing power on Outback

Subaru Subaru vehicles (alt.autos.subaru)

Re: Losing power on Outback - 06-24-2005 , 01:16 PM

Re: Losing power on Outback - 06-24-2005 , 07:33 PM