oog61 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I'll preface this by saying the shop that works on my '06 LGT specializes in Subarus and they are really good. This one has them stumped though...they say they have never seen this problem before. I took the car in there last week for a bad throwout bearing. Because the car has 134k miles and the original clutch, they suggested replacing the clutch and flywheel at the same time since the labor is about the same just to do the TOB. I agreed. That install went off without incident but when they finished and tried to start the car, it wouldn't. They have spent hours and hours trying to isolate a cause. Their read on the problem: "The car is behaving normally... it is just refusing to actually allow a "spark" to the ignition system. The car will crank, we have fuel, etc. Basically, everything else is operating normally we just do not have actual ignition. We believe the car is locked into a security system feature called the "immobilizer"". I took a backup key over to rule out the possibility of a bad immobilizer chip in the key. No dice. They are stuck and now suggest towing it to a Subaru dealer so a master mechanic they work with there can diagnose it. This is going to get expensive. The car is in close to perfect condition. I have never had any trouble with it and have followed the maintenance schedules. It is not modded except for a Borla catback. This same shop is the only place I have had any work done on the car except the oil changes which I do myself. Has anyone seen anything like this? Any ideas? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 check your grounds, i think they may have forgotten to reconnect something- also, the starter should have 3 connections to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeltalin Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 check your grounds, i think they may have forgotten to reconnect something- also, the starter should have 3 connections to it ^^ check this StageIII Cryotune-Kinugawa STS TD06H-20GTX 9 blade turbine, ID1000, DW65c, 73mm MegaMAF , GS EWG up-pipe, Downpipe and EBCS, FMS FMIC, TGV Delete, Brembo swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I thought the starter only has two wires. I thought he said the engine spins over. There are only a couple of connectors that need to be pulled. May be they broke one if the wires in the big connector. I have one wire that bypasses the connector. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 well the starter has its own cable, and then a signal switch cable directly underneath that. and then the ground that is used in conjunction with the starter long bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users paintpollz Posted February 8, 2012 Mega Users Share Posted February 8, 2012 I'll preface this by saying the shop that works on my '06 LGT specializes in Subarus and they are really good. This one has them stumped though...they say they have never seen this problem before. I took the car in there last week for a bad throwout bearing. Because the car has 134k miles and the original clutch, they suggested replacing the clutch and flywheel at the same time since the labor is about the same just to do the TOB. I agreed. That install went off without incident but when they finished and tried to start the car, it wouldn't. They have spent hours and hours trying to isolate a cause. Their read on the problem: "The car is behaving normally... it is just refusing to actually allow a "spark" to the ignition system. The car will crank, we have fuel, etc. Basically, everything else is operating normally we just do not have actual ignition. We believe the car is locked into a security system feature called the "immobilizer"". I took a backup key over to rule out the possibility of a bad immobilizer chip in the key. No dice. They are stuck and now suggest towing it to a Subaru dealer so a master mechanic they work with there can diagnose it. This is going to get expensive. The car is in close to perfect condition. I have never had any trouble with it and have followed the maintenance schedules. It is not modded except for a Borla catback. This same shop is the only place I have had any work done on the car except the oil changes which I do myself. Has anyone seen anything like this? Any ideas? Thanks. this scares me. we'll see what happens when this idiot (me) gets under my car to and tries to do this "Remember Danny - Two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 it simple comes down to keeping track of things you remove. shops usually are in a hurry and dont keep track all so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 well the starter has its own cable, and then a signal switch cable directly underneath that. and then the ground that is used in conjunction with the starter long bolt. I have a ground wire going to the dog bone mount. I don't remember one on the long starter bolt, this is on my early 05 wagon. Paintpollz, if you wait till the end of ski season, I'll help with your clutch. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 the starter itself has 1, the starter bolt has 1, and the start has a rectangular signal wire that slides onto a tab on the starter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 this scares me. we'll see what happens when this idiot (me) gets under my car to and tries to do this the starter itself has 1, the starter bolt has 1, and the start has a rectangular signal wire that slides onto a tab on the starter hummmm, I know if left the push on signal wire once and the starter would not spin over. It was obvious what I left off. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users paintpollz Posted February 8, 2012 Mega Users Share Posted February 8, 2012 I have a ground wire going to the dog bone mount. I don't remember one on the long starter bolt, this is on my early 05 wagon. Paintpollz, if you wait till the end of ski season, I'll help with your clutch. nice thanks! I don't think it will be too hard. "Remember Danny - Two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 If we can, it would be nice to do it at Ryan's, all the tools are there. I have air tools at my house but anything big I do over there. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users paintpollz Posted February 8, 2012 Mega Users Share Posted February 8, 2012 Ya sure thing. I'll have to reach out to him. Too bad he won't be at the Highspeed this weekend. That kid needs to get back on skis! "Remember Danny - Two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oog61 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 So, for the benefit of anyone who might find this in a search someday, here is the answer. After a couple of days of troubleshooting, my shop was out of ideas and had to tow the car to a Subaru dealer so a master tech could hook it up to whatever diagnostic gizmo they have. It took the dealer 4 more hours to figure out that one wire deep in the coil harness had "wiggled loose" and it just happened to be the one that controls the engine immobilizer. The guy at my shop told me that they believe the wire was never properly connected at the factory and just coincidentally it came loose while it was being worked on, although he said they were never anywhere near the wiring harness when installing the clutch. I laughed and asked him if he really expected me to believe that after 134,000 miles, that wire just happened to come loose while the car was at the shop. He kind of laughed and said he wouldn't believe it if a shop told him that either, but they could not offer any explanation. I am guessing that someone there leaned on that cable or dropped a wrench on it or something that caused it to pull out if it wasn't properly seated on the connector. Anyway, I think if I had dug in my heels they would have eaten the entire cost of their troubleshooting labor, the tow, and the Subaru dealer labor. In the end, I agreed to pay the Subaru labor and they covered the rest of it. The nice thing was that after not having the car for 10 days, and commuting in my old Jeep 87 miles each day, it was such a pleasure to have the Subie back. You forget what a great ride it is until you don't have it for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Wow that must have been a good size bill, 4 hours at the dealership. Glad you have the car back and it wasn't anything really bad. I also know what you mean about how nicely these cars ride and drive. I was thinking the same thing today on my DD to work. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazdaslo Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 can you put up a picture of the specific wire, so that we can find it easily in case of a failure, glad to hear your car is back on the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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