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[Kiroshino]

My Legacy Outback wouldn't start this morning. Sounds like it tries to turn over, but it doesn't. The last thing we did to it was disconnect the alarm system because it would go off whenever we unlocked the car using a key and disables the ignition. Tested it at least four times without a problem. Could the battery be low enough that it wouldn't start?

Didn't have time to diagnose anything because I had to go. Took my mom's Sienna, which has its own unique problem: on launch, no matter how lightly you press the gas, the driving wheel spins so fast that it doesn't get any grip. You have to either tap the gas pedal or let the car roll forward a little before you can actually move without ruining the tire.

[MetalMan777]

Subaru checklist:
Could be the alarm effing with you, undo what you did, see what happens
Battery; jump it and find out
Fuel pressure: you probably have a fitting that you can hook a gauge up to, check pressure. If low it's probably either the fuel pump or its relay/fuse or the fuel pump. Alternatively you could have a leak in a fuel line.

Toyota: sounds like unintended burnouts.
My guess is it's either the transmission, which probably involve taking it to a tranny shop or dealer, or it's the throttle. I'm guessing it's just sticking open. That can be remedied by popping the throttle body off, probably blasting it with some throttle body cleaner, and putting it back on. It could also be the spring, so check that. Leave the ignition off and bump the throttle manually. Try it with your finger and also have somebody sit in it and press the pedal while you watch.

This post has been edited by Cactus on Mar 22 2010, 07:38 AM

[Kiroshino]

Thanks for the tips, Cactus.

I'll be sure to test the easy stuff out first. Don't trust myself enough to remove anything mechanical from a car, though I'll be doing that soon to my MR2.

[MetalMan777]

The easiest way to get confidence is to just break into stuff and see what's what. I understand your hesitation, but if you take baby steps, you'll be tearing off intake manifolds in no time.


Speaking of taking manifolds off, I found this nasty gunk all in my intake. I just assume it's 135k miles of crap, but I'm going to open it up and go crazy with the throttle body cleaner this weekend. Somebody needs to post in my car's thread before then, so I can do a write up without... I think it's quintuple posting at that point.

[Kiroshino]

A jump start proved that my battery was just drained. Already reconnected the alarm and am charging the battery overnight. Hopefully the battery can still hold a charge and my alternator is fine or I'll be stuck at school tomorrow.

That's why I got my MR2. Since I don't depend on it, I can take my time and do things to it that may take more than one try or take a longer period of time to do right. I intentionally bought it to learn from it. Took that bit off the first post, but the explanation was there.