drubiescubie Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I first want to say thank you for whomever started this great web site. It has been educational and fun reading ALL of the posts. I have always been a fan of the Scubies. I grew up in the snow, so there was always someone who had one in my life. My mom, friend, sister and now myself. I just bought a 1990 Legacy wagon. The reason I started looking at this website was to meet other folks that may have tips, mechanics and stories to share. I thought I was getting a good deal beacause I only paid 1G, and it only has 107k. But now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have gone out and financed a newer car. I was just trying to save some money. (My son was diagnosed with Autism recently and I need to pay for his treatments.. pricey.) It was working ok until I went out today to start it. All the dash lit up,windows work, radio etc. But when I attempt to turn it over NOT A SOUND not even a click.. what is this? Any help.. Previous to this it was ok. It shifted from 1st to 2nd after revving up a bit high but ran ok.. I researched this car a lot before buying. I thought I could at least get a good year out of it. Any one out there feel sorry enough to help. STUCK in Texas. I hope to find a mechanic in the Spring, Texas area. If anyone of you old skool folks could find it in your heart to help out a newbie, I would be ever so grateful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sounds like a starter relay either came unplugged or stopped working entirely. Normally this is mounted on the fender of older vehicles, but on that year Legacy I think it's under the dash somewhere. I have a 92 and just went outside to look. Usually you can follow the wires coming off the starter or the (+) lead on the battery to find it but no luck and it's too hot out to go searching. Normally if your car won't turn over and you hear a click, the click is the starter relay. If you turn the key with no click it could be that the starter relay isn't closing the starter circuit. Your battery could also be dead. Try jump starting the car to see what happens. Faulty ground could also be at fault. I'd say clean the contacts on the battery, and follow the (-) lead from the battery, remove the bolt holding the wire to the chassis, and use a wire brush or some sandpaper to clean the wire and the point where it contacts the chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 If you've tried changing the battery, it may be the neutral switch. Put the car in N by using the override button (square button mysteriously postioned at the top left side of the shifter) and see if it'll turn over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drubiescubie Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 Sounds like a starter relay either came unplugged or stopped working entirely. Normally this is mounted on the fender of older vehicles, but on that year Legacy I think it's under the dash somewhere. I have a 92 and just went outside to look. Usually you can follow the wires coming off the starter or the (+) lead on the battery to find it but no luck and it's too hot out to go searching. Normally if your car won't turn over and you hear a click, the click is the starter relay. If you turn the key with no click it could be that the starter relay isn't closing the starter circuit. Your battery could also be dead. Try jump starting the car to see what happens. Faulty ground could also be at fault. I'd say clean the contacts on the battery, and follow the (-) lead from the battery, remove the bolt holding the wire to the chassis, and use a wire brush or some sandpaper to clean the wire and the point where it contacts the chassis. Wow, I am so excited.. I didn't even this I posted my TOPIC cause I couldn't come up with a darn poll or whatever.. Ok yesterday I took off the battery cables from terminals scrubbed w/wire brush and tightened, then jumped it w/neighbors V8..no luck. I just went out to my car to search for starter relay..(kids asleep..pitch dark) and am not finding what I need but resume search in the early AM. I am just so grateful for sum leads to the mystery. I have been scouring the internet every since this car popped into my life for a great Subie site.. found it. I am going to continue this in later Am.. will let you know how it goes. By the way you say it's too hot out were you at are you also in Texas?? I think we had another 100 degree day today. We have had the hottest summer on record. It's unreal, it's too darn hot to do anything unless your up at 5:30 and then it's 85 degrees, 100% humidity... lord help us. Again I will resume in later am.. Thank you for taking your time to help me. I am ever so grateful. Will email ya to let you know how it goes. Muchos Gracias Wendee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drubiescubie Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 If you've tried changing the battery, it may be the neutral switch. Put the car in N by using the override button (square button mysteriously postioned at the top left side of the shifter) and see if it'll turn over. Wow, that's what that darn button is.. I was boggled by the fact it was there and that I had NEVER noticed on any subie before:). Cool, now I know. I will go out in the later AM and give it a try. I am bummed. This little car is the "little car that could". In the short time I have had it it has run so well. I was hoping it would be somthing that relatively easy. While we're at it what it the difference between the "Manual" and "Automatic" dealy on the shifter. I mean is it a speed stick so you can just slide into gears quickly? I tried it and it did not work for me. Any clues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Ah, the famous "manual" mode. It isn't really manual at all, it is more of an early form of traction control. It'll only work in 3, 2, 1 gears when they are selected, so if you pick 3rd gear, and hit the manual button, then the car will cycle only through those 3 gears. Same goes for if you put it in 2, it'll only go through 2 gears, and only one with 1st gear. Great in the snow, I've used it a couple times. The 1st gen's had a lot of attention to detail, which is what makes this car so cool, IMO. Little things, like having an allen wrench key in the center console to use if the sunroof gets stuck open, complete with an access point in the head liner, so you can use that to close it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Actually any automatic car will do that. Manual mode is a little different. Manual on your Subie means that if you put the gear shift in 3rd with the Manual button depressed, the car will begin to accelerate in 2nd gear, skipping first entirely. As soon as it gets to a decent speed, it will shift into third. It will shift into third very quickly, despite how hard you step on the gas pedal. If you have the gear selector in 3rd with Manual mode engaged, and you slam on the gas the car will start off in second gear, accelerate, then at about 20 MPH it will shift to third and stay there. If you put the car in 2nd with Manual mode engaged, the car will start accelerating in second gear, then stay in second gear despite speed. If you put the car in Drive with Manual mode engaged the car will accelerate like normal, but will be less likely to downshift with greater throttle input. The car will also shift through all gears sooner than with Manual mode engaged in Drive. If you shut Manual mode off and put the car in third, it will accelerate from 1st, 2nd, then 3rd, locking out 4th. If you put the car in second with Manual mode off, the car will accelerate through 1st, 2nd, and lock out 3rd and 4th. If you put the car in 1st with Manual mode off, the car will stay in first gear until you reach 6,500 RPM, at which time the transmission will shift into 2nd to prevent engine damage. All cars with auto transmissions will do this, Subaru just took the system one step further by giving the driver more control over the way the transmission does business. Bdubs was close, but all cars with automatic transmissions will do what he describes regardless of a "Manual Mode". Manual mode on these cars is a little different, in that it changes the shift points and downshift patterns, and in that it will allow the car to bypass first completely and start off in second, as if the car had a "Granny gear". This is supposed to increase drive-ability and traction in rain, snow, ice, or other slippery conditions. And most cars with sunroofs have the allen key manual close, Subaru just makes their headliners with an access point so you can use the manual close without taking the car apart. If you want to find the relay it's under the dashboard on the drivers side. There will be a large number of wires coming through the center of the firewall from the battery. Follow some of these leads and one will lead you straight to the solenoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drubiescubie Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 If you've tried changing the battery, it may be the neutral switch. Put the car in N by using the override button (square button mysteriously postioned at the top left side of the shifter) and see if it'll turn over. Wow! my car finally started!!... This after I searched for my starter relay and it appeared to be plugged in and ok. So I just followed the simple process of overriding button and it turned over. I have even h-gone out a couple times and it starts right up.. I am so happy. I just new my car had some special little quirks or way it needed to be started. These older cars are a bit fussy. I am just glad it started. I was feeling like I had "SUCKER" written across my forehead cause I just bought it and it was now not even starting. Thanks you friends for your time and help. I was wondering if ya'll know about the "02 sensor"? And how it can cause your car to run rough? My car runs but seems a bit rough. Although people around here can't believe it even runs. Houston is not the town for Subies.. I have seen MAYBE 3 total since I moved here,let alone 1992 Legacy wagon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 The O2 sensor measures the contents of the exhaust gasses and determines if the mixture of air/fuel is too rich (Too much fuel) or too lean (Not enough fuel), then sends data back to the ECU which decides how much fuel trim is needed to maintain an air fuel ratio of 14.7 : 1 (14.7 parts air to one part fuel - Ideal). If the O2 sensors are old and contaminated, they will report false readings and cause the engine to either run constantly rich, or constantly lean, decreasing performance. They are easy to replace and not insanely expensive for a '92, so it's worth a go. Running rough could be a great many number of things. The first thing you need to remember is these cars (Especially in their old age) tend to have an inconsistent idle. It's not uncommon for the older EJ22's to fluctuate RPM's anywhere from 200 - 900 RPM's at idle. Sometimes this can be caused by a vacuum hose. Spark plugs and wires could make it run rough, but it would be far more noticeable when it's wet outside. There are way more things that could cause your engine to run rough. To better get an idea of how to fix it, could you give us more information about what the car is doing? Does it misfire, does it hesitate when you rev it, does it sound strange in any way (Keeping in mind the way Subaru boxer engines sound in the first place). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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