Subaru Outback won't start after engine is heated

Asked by Isaacjam Jan 25, 2017 at 11:28 AM about the 2002 Subaru Outback L.L. Bean Edition Wagon

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

So I have been having this problem on and off for
the past few months. It seems that the car is having
a no start when the engine is heated only after
driving for about 30minutes or more. I'm able to get
it to start with a jump. The only other option is to
wait. If I wait it out the car will start up right away! I
have replaced the starter, battery, alternator, engine
coolant senor, cam shaft sensor, and replace to
battery post connection on the battery. I took it to
the mechanic and he thinks my alternator is faulty.
Although, this issue was happening before I
replaced that. I'm tired of replacing parts with no
resolve. Does anyone have any suggestions?

1 Answer

48,700

I would've guessed the alt too, as their internal voltage regulators can get intermittent (shut off) when heated, "forgetting" to charge the battery at lower rpm. Rebuilt alternators get new regulators, but the failure rate is still higher than average. Since they're cheap ($125-ish + 1/2 hr labor) I'd recheck this end of it. I trust by "no-start" you mean NO CRANK? If you mean that it cranks but won't start look again at the OTHER cam/crank sensor too.

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