Car refuses to start

imprezed04

New member
Okay.. so I'll start with ALL my modifications, I want to thoroughly express that I've been around these cars for a relatively extensive amount of time, and have modified them repeatedly.. With that said, lets get to what the mods are, and the issue that seems to have decided to start today.

2004 WRB STi
Perrin 3" Inlet
FP Black 10cm hotside
ID 1300cc injectors
TGV Delete / Port and polished
Port matched and polished Intake Manifold
Port Matched Heads (intake and exhaust)
ARP Head Studs
Manley Forged Pistons (99.5mm)
Carillo Forged Rods (factory stroke)
King Bearings
ACL Orbital oil pump
ACT 6 puck sprung clutch
ACT HD Pressure Plate
Comp Clutch lightweight flywheel
Perrin ELH
Grimmspeed Up pipe w 41mm Turbosmart EWG
Grimmspeed 3 port ebcs
Invidia Catless Bellmouth DP
Blitz Nur Spec R catback
Mooresport TopFeed Fuel Rails
Aeromotive FPR
Walbro 460lph fuel pump
Greddy FMIC
Brand new casehalves (6 months ago machined cylinders properly for pistons w/ torque plates)
Engine has ~10k miles on new build. Street tuned by a well known tuner
Tuned with Accessport, on e85, at ~20-22psi

Now.. to the issue at hand..
I started my car this morning, no issues, drove to work, again no issues. However, I turned my car off and realized I had left my window down, so decided to restart the car, to roll it up. In doing so, the car would crank, but will not start. The battery is fine, turns over at normal speed, no noises, does not sound as though there is a "mechanical issue with the motor", it just flat out refuses to start. All electronics seem to work, stereo/, a/c, heat, lights, etc. No, security light on (don't think that is on the 04 STi anyhow).

Time between turning off the car and attempted restart = approximately 5-8 min.
 

imprezed04

New member
No CEL's at all, but after towing the car home, the testing and verification began. Power was getting from the SBF no.5 fuse, to fuel controller, to the fuel relay, to the connector on the lid of the fuel tank. At the connecter, I saw 11.03 volts, which was consistent with battery power at the time. So, I pulled the pump and housing, cut 2 wires about 3' in length and connected the pump directly to the battery (yes, I made sure not to touch the wires, I also made sure not to have any excess fuel in the pump before doing this) and connected + to + and - to -. The pump was done.. it would not turn on even with direct current to it. I spent about 2 hours yesterday swapping the fuel pump out for a new Walbro 450 unit (same exact pump that was in it before). I wasn't aware of how quick running ethanol would shut down a fuel pump... even one designed for ethanol. So, with that being said... I have ordered 6 more Walbro 450lph fuel pumps, will keep one in the car at all times as a spare, and carry the necessary tools (12mm socket, ratchet, 8mm socket, Philips screwdriver, and some needle nose pliers) to swap again, should there be an issue. It seems that a walbro 450lph, while designed for ethanol and pump gas, will only run about 1.5-2yrs on ethanol only. Thank you guys for taking the time to reply to this thread, but I'm glad I have the vehicle fixed, and back on the road. I've been around Subies for a while, and have even used electrical fuel pumps for a long time. I just haven't seen one literally run one minute and stop the next. There is usually some type of sign that the fuel pump is going to fail.. (surging, intermittent luls in fuel delivery, etc.)

Thank y'all again. And Merry Christmas!
 

Alin

Diehard Car Enthusiast!
"I have ordered 6 more Walbro 450lph fuel pumps, will keep one in the car at all times as a spare, and carry the necessary tools (12mm socket, ratchet, 8mm socket, Philips screwdriver, and some needle nose pliers) to swap again, should there be an issue."

This is something I would do! :rofl: Glad you were able to figure it out! :tup:
 

HolyCrapItsFast

Drinks beer!
I couldn't tell you how many times I have run across this same issue with fuel pumps just giving out like this. Not necessarily on Subaru but in general. I'm glad you got it going though!

I also doubt that ethanol had a roll in the pumps demise. I have had a walbro 450lph pump running ethanol for years and still runs reliably. It was probably just its time to die :(

No CEL's at all, but after towing the car home, the testing and verification began. Power was getting from the SBF no.5 fuse, to fuel controller, to the fuel relay, to the connector on the lid of the fuel tank. At the connecter, I saw 11.03 volts, which was consistent with battery power at the time. So, I pulled the pump and housing, cut 2 wires about 3' in length and connected the pump directly to the battery (yes, I made sure not to touch the wires, I also made sure not to have any excess fuel in the pump before doing this) and connected + to + and - to -. The pump was done.. it would not turn on even with direct current to it. I spent about 2 hours yesterday swapping the fuel pump out for a new Walbro 450 unit (same exact pump that was in it before). I wasn't aware of how quick running ethanol would shut down a fuel pump... even one designed for ethanol. So, with that being said... I have ordered 6 more Walbro 450lph fuel pumps, will keep one in the car at all times as a spare, and carry the necessary tools (12mm socket, ratchet, 8mm socket, Philips screwdriver, and some needle nose pliers) to swap again, should there be an issue. It seems that a walbro 450lph, while designed for ethanol and pump gas, will only run about 1.5-2yrs on ethanol only. Thank you guys for taking the time to reply to this thread, but I'm glad I have the vehicle fixed, and back on the road. I've been around Subies for a while, and have even used electrical fuel pumps for a long time. I just haven't seen one literally run one minute and stop the next. There is usually some type of sign that the fuel pump is going to fail.. (surging, intermittent luls in fuel delivery, etc.)

Thank y'all again. And Merry Christmas!
 
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