Weird Immobiliser Problem

[Sue]

Hello

First forum ever, ever, ever!  So haven't the faintest idea of how this works or what to expect...which reminds me of the Chinese proverb: Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed!!  But may be someone has this same issue and has resolved it so, please help if you can.

Have a Legacy 2004 reg and for the last few years the immobiliser has been pretty sulky!  Sometimes it works instantly as in, key in, turn two clicks, press little button on key fob (that is if the ignition has timed out before starting), turn key and engine starts; on other occasions, key in, turn two clicks (as before), turn key and then nothing....however, if the key is held in the on position, eventually the engine fires up and we're off!  It can be as short a duration as a few seconds or it can take over a minute.  The engine has, so far, always started, however it is somewhat annoying.  I took it to a Subaru garage and, yes you guessed it, the fault did not show despite several attempts to recreate the issue.

I cannot believe our Legacy is the only one with this problem...has anyone else encountered it and found a solution?  BTW, neither my beloved or me are mechanics, so removing steering columns and/or fiddling with the electrics will mean very little to us.  However, if there was a way to reset/or clear the immobiliser then we may manage that.

Thanks for reading

Sue

[Freepost]

Hi Sue,

I can see that your post is over 14 month old but I have just seen the post and have joined subaruownersclub today. The problem you have is, I would say, identical to my own. Did you find a solution?

 My Legacy is also an 04 and I've had this problem for years. I've seen lots of explanations mostly from the US and the solution offered over there is change the starter motor ………… I’m certain it’s not a starter motor problem, It’s as you say a immobiliser problem. To-date I don’t have a solution but have also just seen the post from chevrons2

re

 

                              and although not the same problem but I would hazard a guess of a faulty relay ………………… my legacy almost always starts immediately in my garage but not on the road where the success of an immediate start is probably less than 1 in 10!

If I find that chevrons2 experience can solve my problems I will drop another post!

 

regards

[Sue]

6 hours ago, Freepost said:

Hi Sue,

I can see that your post is over 14 month old but I have just seen the post and have joined subaruownersclub today. The problem you have is, I would say, identical to my own. Did you find a solution?

 

 My Legacy is also an 04 and I've had this problem for years. I've seen lots of explanations mostly from the US and the solution offered over there is change the starter motor ………… I’m certain it’s not a starter motor problem, It’s as you say a immobiliser problem. To-date I don’t have a solution but have also just seen the post from chevrons2

 

re

 

 

                              and although not the same problem but I would hazard a guess of a faulty relay ………………… my legacy almost always starts immediately in my garage but not on the road where the success of an immediate start is probably less than 1 in 10!

 

If I find that chevrons2 experience can solve my problems I will drop another post!

 

regards

 

[Sue]

Hi

Sadly, the answer is no we have not had any success in finding out why our Subaru does not start immediately every time.  We find that on a warm/hot day or with direct sunlight onto the bonnet the engine won't start immediately.  If we hold the key in the fully on position for anything from 5 seconds to a minute and a half the engine does eventually fire up.  On a cool/cold day with no direct sun on bonnet the engine generally fires up immediately.  Which correlates with your on road or garage parking experience (probably).  Have you ever tried just holding the key in the on position for a while and see if that works for you?  It does require some patience, I have to say, but the engine does start albeit sometimes over a minute of holding the key over in the on position.

We have given up a bit on this one...have asked the Subaru garage but they have no idea why and say they would need the car in for investigation.  As the fault does not seem to register on the system this could be very costly!

Good luck with yours...if we ever succeed in sorting this, will post again.

[Jon-anthony]

Umm, does the fuel pressure drop off quickly after the ignition is switched off ..

 

If so, suspect one way ( no return ) valve in fuel pump 😙

( if so ) and fuel pump still pumps plenty of fuel,

No need to replace whole pump ( pain in a** job )

Just fit a external no return valve 😉

[Jon-anthony]

Useful video ::

 

 

 

 

[Sue]

Hello again

So four years on and the problem with the immobiliser has been fixed!  Hooray!!😄

There was an issue with the wiring of the alarm system.  Apparently the alarm/immobiliser was fitted to these older Subarus on arrival in the UK at the dock.  The wonderful garage who has serviced my cars for years told me that whoever had done the installation was an animal!!  I am not technical at all so to try and explain would probably leave everyone scratching their heads.  However, very briefly, the issue relates to poorly wired connections on the immobiliser unit and specifically to the crank shaft (I think).

I hope this helps anyone else facing the same problem.

Sue