Help please?

[Foxx]

G'day. Sadly my first post is about my problems with my Liberty. Just can't get her to start. In the 3 weeks leading up to this, she was sluggish cold, but once the engine warmed up she ran fine, with a slight exception to going up hills. I've spent 2 weeks and too much money trying to solve why she won't start. Completely out of ideas.
The engine is a EJ20 turbo, quad cam, 16 valve job with fluid cooled intercooler.
So far the alternator has been replaced and a new battery, as the volt guage was showing low voltage once the light were on and the second thermal fan kicked in.
1 new coil on plug lead
spark tested, new fuel pump and filter, with good pressure at the intake,
replaced cam and crank sensor
replaced airflow sensor
had Subaru diagnostics computer tell me nothing is wrong
new spark plugs
checked all wiring from the tail lights to the head lights for damage
replaced all fuses and relays inside and under the bonnet.
Timing inspected

Really getting annoyed with the car now, as it is not only diverting money from my Chev truck and my Brumby, but public transport is horrendous during peak hour and I miss my climate control
Any suggestion is better than me pulling my hair out.
Thanx, Foxx.

[brainy]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the issues you are having.

Can you please describe in a bit more detail exactly what happens when it doesn't start?
Does it crank?
Does it crank slow?
Have you tried a different starter motor?
Have you done a compression test on the engine?

I hopefully have finished with my curse issue (touch wood) so i'm happy to help if i can.

Brian

[Foxx]

No issues cranking, just won't catch. Hadn't considered the starter to be an issue due to the willingness to turn over and sound like any other car starting. This is why the fuel system got replaced up until the engine.

[jaydece]

are you running a piggy back ECU? aftermarket ECU?

02 sensor?

ground fault?

earthing issue?

throttle body?

solenoid on starter motor?

tune? needs one or needs alteration...

[Foxx]

are you running a piggy back ECU? aftermarket ECU?

02 sensor?

ground fault?

earthing issue?

throttle body?

solenoid on starter motor?

tune? needs one or needs alteration...

Stock Legacy computer, O2 sensor is undamaged, can't find a wiring fault anywhere from tip to tail. Throttle body is yet to be checked. Starter is working fine and last tune was 20km's ago. Never let drop below .25 of a tank of Shell premium fuel.

[dr20t]

Is the engine even remotely sounding like its going to start? ie is it gasping?

Gen 1 RS had ej20g with coil on plug and external igniter I believe? Check your igniter. Whilst you may be getting spark, if its failing or failed, when going into firing sequence, the voltage amplifier may be tripping out and thus spark no where near strong enough to kick over or may even be earthing out

When you say fuel pressure at intake is good, have you checked flow?

Sounds like a fuel or spark issue to me. I don't know about the older ecu's, but I know in gen 4 that if your ecu earth is damaged or interrupted then the starter won't even kick over (canbus related). I would assume however that the older non-canbus ecu's have separate circuits for starter and ecu. Meaning your ecu earth may be causing issues if affected. Either way worth a check of your ecu wiring and pins to see if they're damaged or worked their way loose.

Good luck

Mick

[Foxx]

This maybe a silly question, but not knowing which EJ20 it is, which is the ej20 used in the 98 WRX? That's the one I have under the hood, although I only found this through ordering parts.

[brainy]

The fuel pump primes correct? While you are cranking over, can you hear the fuel pump? You could get a fuel pressure gauge and see if it's got pressure.

You could also check the coils/ignition leads and see if there is spark while cranking.

And maybe try hard wiring the pump and start the car. That would eliminate fuelling as an issue.

All of the above requires caution.

[<GB>]

Does it have spark or fuel?