Questions and Answers
Subaru Loses Juice Cold
Q. I have a 1983 Subaru GL wagon 4 wheel drive with a 1.8 liter engine and electronic ignition and carburetor, It does not have a computer. My question is, when the air temperature outside gets below 30 degrees, I lose my power to the ignition system, I know this because I used a test light to check it.
I, at first, thought it was a fuel problem, but it does not seem to be. I live in North Dakota so it gets pretty cold up here. The car will start just fine sitting in a 30 to 40 degree garage, or out side with block heater plugged in. I have also replaced ignition switch, coil, pickup coil in distributor and cap, spark plugs and wires, and there is a rotation counter under the dash that is tied in with this some how, I also replaced this.
I have been a heavy equipment mechanic for 20 years, and have always done my own auto work, I am out of ideas. Can you help please. (ne little thing I also checked spark with plug out and grounded, nothing there either.
Thank you,
AllenA. Since it is temperature related and you lose power, the first thing I would do is go over each and every connector and make sure they are clean and tight. I would also check all the grounds as well. Cold will break electrical contacts and many a problem has been fixed on Japanese cars by simply tightening a connection. As a matter of fact, a few years ago loosening and retightening ground connections was part of the pre-Delivery Inspection for most Japanese cars..
What I do is use a spare male terminal and check the female connectors for a nice tight fit. Also, just for giggles, replace fuse 12 - Ignition Coil (10 amp) and fuse 3 - ECU (10 amp) even though they may look good.
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