[sk82rave]

I have a 2007 Subaru outback base model which was flooded during Sandy and I've been trying to put her back together. I only had liability insurance on the vehicle a the time so I was not covered. I have been trying to get help from the dealer but they refuse to look at the car, which is ok.

Anyway this is where I am at. The water on the interior only came halfway up to the speakers which are mounted in the door. I ripped out the carpet seats, and sent out the ECM to be rebuilt. I cleaned every electrical connector, and sat a heater inside the car day after day to dry it out. I also replaced the battery. The ECM was not salvageable, and I had to have one rebuilt from a donor vehicle of the same options engine size ect as mine. After replacing the ECM, do I need to have the factory security system reset? Is there anything else I need to do?

Second problem is, the engine does not start. I am not sure if it is solely caused by the security system or not. I do have fuel, the pump turns on as it should. When it comes to the spark, I have spark but only once for a split second when I turn the key to the on position. It will spark once, then nothing. I did test my other 07 Subaru which runs perfect, and it does not spark when the key is just turned to the on position. Any ideas of what can cause this? Is there any other sensors or switches that I should check that are located in a area in which they could have been damaged and replaced?

I know allot of people say once a car has water damage that it is Junk, but I am attached to the car, the body is in mint condition, plus there is too much waste in this world already. I rather not junk it, and give it all I can to try and fix it. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Or maybe if there is a independent Subaru Mechanic located here in Long Island NY who would not mind guiding me in the right direction that would be great.

Thanks for any help, or suggestions you may give me.

 

[plain OM]

Not sure if I can help out in any significant way, but here's some thoughts that come to mind.

If the water was halfway up the speakers, it was several inches above the bottom of the doors. If so, then it was pretty high. All of the running gear underneath would have been submerged including the rear drive shaft, differentials, wheel bearings, steering etc. The impact of this might depend on how long they were submerged. If it was long enough, water could have made it's way past seals (bearings) and through vents (e.g. the rear differential). It's also possible water got into the fuel tank venting system, perhaps into the charcoal canister or the tank itself. The inhibitor switch on the side of the transmission (if automatic) would also have been soaked. So there might be more damage looming than is apparent right now.

The high water would also have covered a lot of the wiring that is on or near the floor and runs from the front to the back of the car. Water, especially dirty or sea water, can leave conductive material in connectors, and this can be causing problems. The spark occurring when turning the key to ON is an example. When the key is turned to On, 12 V goes to one side of the ignition coil. The other side, through an igniter circuit, goes to the ECM. The ECM normally triggers the igniter, which causes current to go through the coil for a short time, generating the high voltage for the spark. When the key is turned to ON, the igniter is normally off, so no current flows until the ECM triggers the igniter. But if there's a leakage path, it's possible that there could be an initial surge of current through the coil and this could lead to a single, perhaps weak, spark.

Does the starter motor work, or is there nothing when the key is turned to Start? If the starter works and the engine cranks but doesn't start running on it's own, I don't think the security system is the reason for the "no-start".

 

[ntippet]

Who rebuilt the ECM?
Does the ECM still retain the correct VIN?

If I remember correctly the newer Subaru's need to have matching VIN's between the different modules or it will not run.

Might be worth having a chat with your local Subaru dealer to find out the details for replacing the ECM on your specific model.

 

[sk82rave]

Not sure if it has the matching VIN. THe ECM was replaced and rebuilt by AES (Automotive Electronic Solutions) they are based out of Florida. They seem to know what they were doing, but the more detailed questions I asked was, they seemed to answer as if they were a politician. They told me I would have to have the dealer program the ECM. I asked it the ECM would be like comparable to black hard drive which needs a OS. HE said every car was different and I should talk to the dealer. Then I was not sure what the replaced/rebuilt ECM would contain, and what did they test.