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Old Oct 25, 2009 | 01:16 PM
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Default Car won't start :(

I have a '99 Impreza Turbo that hasn't been started for over a year.

I've put fuel in, I've charged the battery and it turns over ok (not fast) but it won't fire up.

So, I connected the black connectors next to the steering column but the check engine light flashed on and off every 1/2 second indicating no faults.

Is there anything else I can try?

Thanks in advance, Kevin.
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Old Oct 25, 2009 | 01:29 PM
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From: kings lynn
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battery needs to be in top condition.tried jumping it!fuel pump ok?is it sparking?
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Old Oct 25, 2009 | 01:30 PM
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my impreza wouldnt start after fitting a new engine(the car had stood for over 3 years) i charged the old battery,turned over slow but wouldnt start,fitted a brand new battery and fired up straight away,could be a dud battery (i drained all the old fuel from tank also before trying to start)
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Old Oct 25, 2009 | 01:33 PM
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Cheers, I'll dig out the jump leads and try that later.
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Old Oct 26, 2009 | 12:28 AM
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Still won't start with jump leads on another car.

Spark is present on square block on top of engine where plug leads come out.

Could the fuel pump have seized up? This happened on my old 205 when I hadn't used it for ages.

I guess the only way to tell is to remove a fuel pipe from the fuel filter?
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Old Oct 26, 2009 | 12:39 AM
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can you hear the pump priming on ignition ?? if so as you say take a pipe of to see if its getting through i would also drain the old fuel out as it deteriates over time.
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Old Oct 26, 2009 | 06:33 PM
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From: kings lynn
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thats right.unleaded has a tendency to gum up intricate parts of the fuel system when left to stand for long periods.once fuel gets thru it should start cleaning itself.was car left outside?im wondering if any damp/water got into the tank!!
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Old Oct 26, 2009 | 10:11 PM
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Thanks, I'll be having another go at it tomorrow.
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Old Oct 27, 2009 | 01:02 PM
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I have no fuel pressure after the fuel filter.

Behind the rear seat, I removed a round cover and an oval cover.

Under the round cover is something with one pipe and 2 wires - I get 6V with ignition on across the blue and brown wires. No idea what this is.

Under the oval cover is something with 3 pipes and 5 wires. Is this the pump?

I get 6V at the thin blue wire, but nothing from the other 4 wires, some of which are thicker (black and red).

What should I do next?

Thanks, Kevin.
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Old Oct 27, 2009 | 02:27 PM
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Is the immobiliser fob working? You should have a sigma alarm on that model, with a keypad in the glovebox.
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Old Oct 27, 2009 | 03:40 PM
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Kevin
Except for a few of the sensors, all of the electrics on a scoob should be 12v, and I know for a fact that includes the fuel pump. How sure are you that your multimeter is reading right?
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Old Oct 27, 2009 | 06:44 PM
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It's a MY00 which I imported from Holland so it came with no alarm. I had a Clifford alarm fitted nearly 10 years ago.

When you switch on the ignition, everything is dead until you press the alarm fob. Then everything lights up and I can hear relays clicking (but no fuel pump noise like it used to).

Meter reads 12.5V at battery so I'm pretty sure it's ok.

I checked the fuses next to the battery but I can't find any others. There must be one for the fuel pump somewhere?

I've been downloading all sorts of Impreza pdf files but it's all very confusing.

Appreciate all the help everyone.

Last edited by Kevin Greeley; Oct 27, 2009 at 06:47 PM.
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Old Oct 27, 2009 | 07:28 PM
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The pump is under the plate on the drivers side of the car, It sounds to me that you have no live feed there. The 6 volts your getting will be for the fuel gauge as the float is on the same side as the pump> Theres a relay for it under the dash sitting near the steering column.
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Old Oct 27, 2009 | 07:31 PM
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maybe someone could clarify it but can you hard wire the pump to battery to see if it is ok?that way you know pumps ok and you can cross it off the list.could the relay be sticking??
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Old Oct 28, 2009 | 12:06 AM
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maybe someone could clarify it but can you hard wire the pump to battery to see if it is ok
I'd avoid literally wiring the pump straight up to the battery terminals unless you're putting a fuse in line, but it shouldn't do the pump any harm to test-run it like that.

could the relay be sticking??
Based on your symptoms so far, the relay is number one on the list of suspect offenders here. The next thing to check in fact would be whether the relay is receiving switching power from the ECU. If it is, then checking the output pin at the relay would tell you whether the relay is dead or the wire feed to the pump is knackered. If it's not, you'd need to check for switching power at the ECU itself (passenger footwell), and so on and so forth.
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Old Oct 28, 2009 | 01:08 AM
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Hot-wiring the pump would be tricky as I wouldn't know which of the 5 wires to join into.

After much hunting around under the dash, I managed to locate the round fuel pump relay with the green connector. I can feel it clicking with the ignition but I couldn't get the connector off so I gave up for today.

It's really a pain to get to isn't it!

I might try poking my multimeter probe into the back of the connector to try and see what's going on. I should then also be able to check for continuity back to the pump assuming I can get the connector off the relay.

I hope it is the relay although I expect Subaru relays are probably the most expensive in the world
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Old Oct 28, 2009 | 11:48 AM
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If you want to probe the wires going to the pump relay then you are looking for the following readings:

Black/Red = 12v IGN Feed "in" for pump
Green/Red = 12v IGN feed for relay operation
Light Green/Black = Earth (switched by ECU to operate relay)
Black/Red = 12V Feed "out" to fuel pump

If by any chance the colours above do not match your car then it could be that your car has the earlier set up as below:

Yellow = 12v IGN Feed "in" for pump
Yellow/black = 12v IGN feed for relay operation
Light Green/Black = Earth (switched by ECU to operate relay)
Black/Red = 12V Feed "out" to fuel pump

You say that you have an aftermarket alarm fitted..... If you find that you have a 12v reading for the pump feed wire at the base of the relay, but this is not reaching the fuel pump, then you need to check to see if the alarm fitter has cut this wire and run it through the alarm immobilizer.... if this is the case then he has used the wrong wire & the chances are that it has overloaded the immobiliser and burned it out.

The other place to look for a problem in the wiring would be the block connector under the rear seat on the right hand side... There have been problems with bad connections through this connector and you need to concentrate on the Black/red wire as this is the 12v feed wire for the pump.. It is also possible that the feed wire could change colour through this block and change into a Blue/yellow leading up to the pump.

If your problem ends up being a knackered relay, then ask your local dealer for one of these: Fuel Pump Relay 82501GA240. This currently retails at £26.92 inc vat
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Old Oct 28, 2009 | 02:09 PM
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Thanks PeeVee, just what I needed to know.
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Old Oct 30, 2009 | 12:51 AM
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I forgot that the fuel pump only runs for a couple of seconds after the ignition is switched on.

Got somebody to help and I got 12V on the black/red wire pin 1 for about a second so it was the fuel pump after all.

Phoned Subaru but they want £411 !!!! A Walbro 255 is only £90 unless I can get a 2nd-hand one.

Anyone know somewhere near Gatwick? Japanese car breakers?

Thanks again.
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Old Oct 30, 2009 | 01:21 AM
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Got a second-hand pump on fleabay for £26 which should do the job.
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Old Oct 30, 2009 | 01:26 AM
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cool
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