rb5227

Hi all,

The car is an RB5 WR Sport with after-market ECU, H&S sports CAT downpipe and K&N air filter.

The problem is intermittent, where I drive the car for a while (short or long), stop and turn the engine off or stall it. I then turn the ignition to start the car but the engine will not turn over.

As far as I can make out the problem started after I had the after-market ECU installed and mapped.

Starting system has been checked over and is ok, e.g. no click from the starter when attempting to start the engine. Battery seems to be in good nick, the dashboard lights and headlights do not dim when the ignition is turned to start the engine.

When the engine does decide to crank, the speed of turnover is normal. Weeks can go by with the car starting ok, cold or hot.

So, I am wondering if there is an intermittent immobiliser issue, having had the aftermarket ECU installed and mapped, and the ECU is not playing nicely with the alarm system?

I have the original Prodrive ECU but I'm not sure about putting it back in to test this, in case damage might be caused due to incorrect ignition settings etc.

Any thoughts/suggestions much appreciated?

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

when you stop the car do you arm and dis arm the alarm before trying to start it ?
When you stall it and it wont start, if you press the button on the fob does the fuel pump then prime and allow you to start it ?

rb5227

I turn the ignition key to start the engine. It will not turn over. I try arming and disarming the alarm. It will not turn over. I wait with the ignition on to allow the immobiliser to engage, press the button on the fob, the led on the dash will flash indicating the immobiliser is disabled. It will not turn over. I try all combinations. Sometimes I'm lucky and it turns over, sometimes it can be an hour before it turns over.

Due to hearing aids worn I can't hear if the fuel pump is priming. If priming of the fuel pump does not occur, does this stop the engine from turning over?

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

is there a clutch switch on this model ?
I know newer models need the clutch pressed, even if in neutral, before the car will start.

johned

What is the ID of the original ecu.

rb5227

I don't know if there is a clutch switch. However the car will normally start whether the clutch is depressed or not.

Btw, thanks very much for helping.

rb5227

The label on the top face of the ECU shows a possible serial number: 1001056110
Below that: A18-000 DIX and alongside this: 9401
On the underside of the ECU is a white label which has 6FT printed on it.
A possible inspection stamp: C12
Engraved into the case is: RH

Hope this helps.

rb5227

The car is MY99.

johned

Refit the original ecu and see if it cures the problem as with what you have done to the car it would not in my opinion need an aftermarket ecu as the standard one could have been used.

rb5227

Please see post 7 above where i've detailed all info from the ecu. Thanks.

johned

It has to be worth a try refitting the original ecu as it only takes 15 to 20 minutes.

rb5227

I do agree with you.

Although, I have read elsewhere that an original ECU combined with a sports or de-cat downpipe requires remapping due to possible overboost and ignition issues. So maybe you can understand I'm a bit dubious to do this bearing in mind the problem is intermittent and can go weeks without occuring.

johned

I do understand but your original ecu is the PPP one and was mapped for or by prodrive so it runs higher bhp than the standard rb5 E3 ecu so to put it on temporarily and not drive the car as if you had stolen it would be what i would do but it is your decision which i respect and by the way does the car always act up in the same places say at home in a car park etc.

rb5227

The problem occurs anywhere supermarket filling station, at home if I've popped back for something, in the middle of the New Forest, it seems completely random. Were you thinking of the conflict that has been mentioned regarding the frequency the fobs operate on?

I've contacted Turbo Dynamics asking for their advice on putting the Prodrive ECU back in but haven't had a reply as yet.

I do appreciate your advice, thank you.

johned

Did you sort it.

rb5227

Not as yet. Just dubious about putting the original ECU back in. May try taking the car to an alarm specialist to seek their opinion re the immobiliser.

johned

I understand so have you had no problems lately.

DoZZa

iTrader: (4)

I had a similar problem which I managed to resolve by soldering thicker wires into the immobiliser circuit.

In a nutshell, the immobiliser circuit wires are very thin on some immobilsers, and on occasions, not enough current was reaching the starter motor via the immobiliser circuit.

Read this thread for more info.

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...g-problem.html

rb5227

No, this is the nature of the problem and why it is so frustrating. Weeks or a month or more can go by without the issue occurring. Or it could occur a couple of times within a week. Just completely unpredictable.

Thanks very much for the info, I'll check out that link.

johned

I could not personally stand the frustration this problem is giving and i would have used the original ecu by now and run the car gently.

rb5227

I guess I must have a high frustration threshold.

I'll give the wiring option kindly posted by DoZZa a try. At least that way there's minimal risk of anything going pop engine wise.

Whatever solves the problem, with the issue being so intermittent, I'd need for it to not occur at all for at least two months or longer before I might even think it has been solved.

rb5227

I very much appreciate everyone's patience and help on this.

johned

Did you sort the problem?.

Karen Whitelegg

I had a very similar episode yesterday. Had a new key fob delivered so thought I would quickly pop out and get a new key cut then go to Subaru for them to programme the fob to the car. Well all was going as normal, I got in the car stared it with no problems, drove to the car park and turned engine off got out an tried to lock the car. At this point it all went horribly wrong. The bloody car wouldn't lock, and as I was out of the car more than 30 seconds it also would not restart. Being slightly savvy I thought I will try and disarm it via the keypad, that didn't work either. After a couple of phone calls to my friend and my other half we managed to get it working by turning the key one click in the barrel, pushing the button which set the alarm, then the bloody thing started going off in the car park the fob wouldnt turn it off so iI had to use the keypad, which thankfully worked. I then got out the car locked it and unlocked it a few times which worked ok. I bimbled off to Subaru minus key for now. They programmed the fob and all was fine. Once again on the way home I parked up to get the key cut and it happened again. I managed to get it to work work and thought f this and went home. After an hour or so I got brave and went out and havent had an issue since. Im up and about now but not tried the car yet. to be honest I'm a little nervous to use it now. Everyone who helped me is baffled as to what happened as I did everything as normal. Hope you get your car sorted, its a pain in the you know what when it happens. There was very nearly tears in the middle of the car park when mine did it.

johned

So did you ever sort the problem.

Don Clark

Sounds as if you suffered radio lockout.

https://www.scoobynet.com/security-1...m-problem.html

rb5227

Today I've put the original Prodrive ECU back in the the car to try to eliminate the new ECU as the cause of the starting issue.

Once the Prodrive ECU was in, the engine turned over but was reluctant to fire but caught after the fourth or fifth try. I took the car for a gentle drive round the block during which the Engine Check light remained on. Back at home I turned the engine off and then restarted it. Again it was reluctant to fire but caught on the third try. Now the Engine Check light went out so I took the car for a longer drive and the Engine Check light only came on after I gave the car a squirt up to around 4500/5000 rpm on full throttle. The Engine Check light stayed on for a while but went out after more gentle driving. If the Engine Check light comes on again while driving I'll check the fault codes, but I'll keep the revs down.

I now need to run the car for two or three months or longer without the starting issue occurring before I can say whether the ECU was or wasn't the problem.

I'll update once I have any further info.

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

defo read the code, it may just be for the cat, but could also point towards another problem the after market ECU couldn`t indicate.

rb5227

Thanks, I'll do that and post the info.

Brun

I had a problem with my MY99 which sounds similar. Came to start it one day and it took a few goes to fire. I managed to make it a few miles before it gave up again. Managed to get it home to do some investigation.
Usually you can hear the fuel pump prime on the second ignition click but it didn't want to do it. I ran an ignition live to the fuel pump and the car fired straight away. Cutting to the end of the story, the problem was the immobiliser so I had the fuel pump taken out of the immobilisation equation and all was well