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'04 Forester - problems with engine flooding?

My 2004 Forester has recently begun having what looks to be engine flooding problems. Three times in less than a month, I have gone to start the car - the engine cranks, so it's not a battery issue, but it won't 'catch' or ignite.

All three were in cold weather (0 deg F), and the first two were after fairly short drives when the car might not have warmed up completely - understandable. Most recently, I made sure the car had warmed up to normal operating temperature, but still no start the next time I tried. New spark plugs were put in after the first non-start.

Was able to get it going after letting it sit overnight the first 2 times, still in the midst of event #3.

Does anyone else have this problem? I've recently heard it's common for subarus to flood... It seems that it shouldn't be happening so often. Anyone know of easy fixes, or if this is a common problem that involves the malfunction of a certain part (that should be replaced)?

Reply to
onceuponawhim25
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Put some gas line anti freeze in the tank? Maybe there is moisture(condensation) in your gas tank. Don't let go near empty in cold weather. It cause condensation build up in the tank. I fill tank frequently in cold winter month.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Thanks, but I don't think that's the issue. I keep it near full at all times in cold weather (never below 3/4s of a tank).

Reply to
onceuponawhim25

I've seen similar problems on other cars. Most likely candidate is your coolant temperature sensor and/or the cold-start injector. Don't think Subaru uses a _separate_ cold start injector (I could be wrong, tho), so that narrows it down even more.

The car's ECU reads the coolant (engine) temperature from the sensor, and determines how much enrichment the fuel circuit needs for starting and cold drive-ability. If the sensor isn't doin' it's thing, it could lead to difficulty starting when cold, or only partially warmed, and quite possibly flooding when starting a warm engine.

I would think that the OBD system would report this; at the very least you would see funny temperature readings (think it's termed ECT on the diagnostic), ie reading cold when you know the engine is warm or vice versa. Anyway, that's where I'd start.

I seem to recall a section in the manual that outlines a procedure for checking the temperature sender. It involves removing it from the engine, dropping it into a pot of water on the stove, and measuring the resistance vs temperature as the water comes to a boil.

Far simpler IMO to simply install a new one, but if you're interested drop me an email and I'll see if I can find that section for you.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101

Reply to
S

You might have a bad crank position sensor. I had an Impreza that had similar symptoms ( would crank but not start sometimes).

Tom

Reply to
Tom

One way to diagnose flooding is to crank it with the gas floored after it won't start.

This clears a flooded fuel-injected car just as good as it does a car with a carb.

Dave

Reply to
spamTHISbrp

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