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Hi all, got a 1991 Brumby re-motoring effort underway for a while now and have been wondering why my EJ22 conversion seemed to have come unstuck. Put in a good though untested '91 Liberty motor, did all the little fiddly things I have learned here on ausubaru and all seemed fine until it came to the best part... that first fire up. Yeah, right!!! Turned into the worst part. Everything clicking, throwing in, turning over vigorously, no bloody go! Hmmm,... no spark and no fuel. Checked ecu pins for power repeatedly, all earths are earthed and all sensors are good, just won't fire up. Nothing!

Put in a complete uncut Liberty front wheel drive loom to see if it will start on that and it did! Eureka!!!! OK, it works on that so cut that loom down and did a better job of it than the first effort, then installed it again. Wired it in exactly the same as my first effort and no go again. Hmmm. When I used the loom uncut it was using a Liberty ignition switch but when I tried to get power from my Brumby switch it wasn't getting power to the ECU (and hence no power to ignition, pump or ECU itself) in the start position.
I had to put in a relay to switch full time fused power to the run/ accessory position wires in order to use a key start and stop setup. Did try a small diode to do the same or similar thing but that had too much back feed so kept the starter operating, would have been good if it had worked properly though.

I did a search for similar problems that others may have encountered but all I could find was reference to using a separate or remote start button or having a switch on the dash for power to the ECU circuits.

Others must have had this problem with carburettor fuelled cars, either MY or L series versions with an EJ conversion where there is no power (as in 'cut out completely') in the start position but comes back if the key is released? I know why it does this as the starter circuit wiring goes to the bypass setup on the coil to give a solid spark under load on a 7 volt coil and through resistance wiring under running conditions.

How have others got around this problem? Maybe an ignition switch from an injected L series? I'm over it now but would be interested to know other peoples thoughts and experiences in this little problem, may even be able to do away with the relay presently used.

Cheers,... Col.

i got a wrx column in my brumby to match the wiring loom, untested yet tho, and i think there are factory immobiliser issues at around my00 wrx

Hey, that idea got me thinking so I had a check on length, bolt position etc. of the Liberty steering column and it's the same length as a Brumby one, different mounting bolt position is to be expected but certainly a workable proposition with some mods. Same lower coupling spline of course and different spline for the steering wheel too but my Liberty Momo wheel would be good although slightly higher position, that's not so great as the standard wheel is slightly too close as it is. If a WRX column was slightly shorter than a Brumby one (or Liberty for that matter) it would be good to know, mine is 830mm. for the three different ones I have.

I was hoping someone had come across this ignition switch problem and found a good workable solution and after doing a Google check of similar probs found some similar cases on a Sigma-Galant forum with injected motors, the people there had done the same as me with a relay to keep power to the ECU going with a relay while the key is in the start position.

I had a look at a Liberty ignition switch but no go there as the mounting position for it is different to a Brumby, so is a Touring wagon switch and I would bet on an L series being different again too:???:

ive done a couple of conversions onto carby cars mate and didnt come accross this problem?....i dont think...LOL..

as for steering column, the wrx one i put in my brumby was the exact same length as the brumby one, so must be same as liberty too

dave

OK then, that is really interesting. Now you really have me wondering what is what. The actual switching part is easy to remove on a Brumby or non Touring wagon type MY, two screws and the guts of the switch comes off the locking/ key part. I know where there is a 82 model to get a few bits off so if it's different I'll be happy to put everything back to standard.

I would also like to retain the standard column as I've just found a non squishy steering wheel in a GL-5 subie to use, found another in the 82 MY wagon but that was a poor old skinny non padded one, three others in Liberty's were squishy on the top as well! I thought every wheel was stuffed until coming across the crappy GL5 and bingo, pristine one;)

Thanks for the info on steering columns, I suspected they might be very similar in length.

Cheers,... Col.

trying to think back to his conversion.......

i had this problem but only with spark, mine was when the loom was chopped down one portion of the loom lost power (+)

i used the ej ignition relay but had it all wired via orig barrel wiring. from memory there was 2 or 3 wires suplying power to my ej loom (one was constant power to ecu for memory i guess). my fuel pump was wired in by itself with its own relay.

it took me a day but if you keep trying you will figure it out, all i had was a test light.

This was bugging me so with fine weather this past weekend had a good look and fiddle with the wiring again. I found that L series ignition switch (the bit that screws on to back of the keyed barrel) is the same as a 91 Liberty except for a terminal for ignition coil wiring. Tracked the wiring down and found it plugs straight into a Brumby wire for wire in the same plug too. Still wouldn't work so dragged the wiring out for a fresh look, no one else has had trouble with this so went through it again and found I had wired my switched ECU power to the accessories pin of the plug and not the "on" part:mad: As most would know, the accessory side of the switch cuts out on starting, don't know why but it just does. Success this time and sometimes you need a spell to get back to clear thinking, forget what you've done and start afresh. I feel a bit silly now as it all seems very clear so thank you to all who gave suggestions or said they had never had any problem with their ignition as now I know why:mrgreen:

And thank you for telling us of your learnng experience, admitting you can goof up in your rush, excitement or lack of sleep is part of life with cars, ain't it?

Spreyton apple juice, just had some in last five minutes _TOP STUFF

Thanks Steptoe, life is full of little trials and I seem to get everyone else's share of 'em too! I still have a few other problems to track down but getting there.

Spreyton Fresh apple juice eh? Sold in all east coast states as well as S.A. too, a top genuine apple juice. Coincidentally that is who I work for, I work the press so see all the juice Cheers.