Okay so we broke the new toy!! We were out driving it on the frozen lakes and it was running great. We switched drivers and when I went to drive the truck stalled out and wouldn't turn over. (Lights, heat everything else worked) after checking fuses and a few other things we called for a ride...just for the hell of it I hit the key just before the ride came and she started!! So we went closer to home and continued to test our new toy. It was an hour or so later and almost the same thing happened...we waited 10-15 minutes and it started again. Same thing happens a bit later...only this time we go to start it and it just keeps turning over with no spark. We replaced the coil and plugs, check the battery cables, the bigger fuses by the battery, the other fuse box, we have power to the coil and nothing at the other end. I was thinking module, but I am not sure where it is! and I was wrong on the coil apparently so I don't want to by a module and have that be a mis-diagnosis too... -you guys seem to really know your shtuff, so PLEASE help me out!
Not very familiar with the subes...but I would check the temp of the coil when it dies..if warm/hot... then it is overheating..could be the air gap on the igniter in the dist. or possibly the condenser is bad...also check vacuum lines to the advance in the dist. ..how does it run otherwise?
-we can't get it running...there isn't any spark right now. We have 12 volts going to the ceramic resistor at the coil and 5V coming out...the coild has power to it but we have nothing coming out of the new coil we put on (same with the old). I was wondering if maybe there is a module somewhere or maybe your onto something with the distributor. I will check that all the lines are in place, I haven't seen anything out of place though (from what I can tell). Do you know how to test the coil? -I'd like to know that we have a good coil before I pull the distributor.
5v is way too low..the current from the resistor should be around 10v....betting thats the prob right there
That's what I was thinking, so maybe I'll try bypassing that resistor just to see if it fires... that wouldn't hurt anything would it? (not running it like that but just checking for spark)
as long as you don't leave the resistor off permanently..it protects the dist from internal arcing (can't remember exactly..) but there is a second ignition wire with full voltage to the coil for cranking...so the full 12v shouldn't be harmful for a few minutes...don't quote me on that....opinions and diplomas are 2 different things
okay so I bypassed that and it made no difference. So if I have power going to the coil and nothing coming out, that would normally tell me I have a bad coil...is there any other way to test that? -would a pickup wire or coil be a possibility? or where do I find the ignition module?
not sure where the ignition module is on the Subaru...if I had an electrical diagram this would be much easier,...does the Subaru use points or a pickup coil?
ahh..points and they look ok, can they be tested? And you had mentioned the vacuum advance, could that be a factor?
advance shouldn't matter until it's running....if you have points the most likely culprit is the condenser ...sorry taking a while to respond... I'm working as well,but it's cool..I check back when I get a second
Okay, can I test it somehow? -or bypass it to see if thats the problem?? and yeah, sorry for bugging you. I am just out of ideas here!
Not a problem at all...testing capacitors (which is what a condenser is) has to be done with a special multi meter..they are basically universal,(again I may be wrong on this)so just try a known good one..should be a ton of freebies at the wreckers...no you cannot bypass it
Yeah we have plenty of fuel coming in...I actually thought of disconnecting it for now until we get spark.
Good news! We got her up and running today. It was the resitor!! I took it off and I was going to remove the condensor, and for the hell of it we bypassed it one more time and it started almost instantly! SO we went and bought a new resistor and put her on and went back to runnin her around the lakes! (found a more sealed resitor that I hope will be better with the moisture.) Thanks for the help Fupabox!!!
MWAlliance, where did you buy this resistor? Was it an aftermarket? Any part #'s? I seem to also have voltage to the resistor and nothing coming out if it. I am about to go bypass it now... Thanks for anything that you can provide.
i know this is an old post but i am having the same issue. where is this resistor you replaced? thanks
Solo, this thread is 9 years old, I don't think anyone who was posting in it is still reading this forum regularly. You should probably make your own thread and give as much info as possible about what's going on with your Sambar and what you have done so far to troubleshoot it. Does a 2005 Sambar even have a distributor, anyway? I would think Subaru would have moved to coil packs by then.
