lights issues UPDATE AUG.27 ALT is out

[iampetro]

so I got in my car tonight and when i started it up all the guages looked too dark, headlights too. so i checked my dimmer switch and it was at full. I drove home fine and then when I got home i turned the lights off before putting up the parking break and they started flickering and making an electrical clicking sound.

I put up the parking break, lights went off and everything seems fine (except dark guages). put down the break and its fast flickers of the headlights with a strange sound. (with the headlight swtich off)

im thinking maybe loose ground? but i dont know what exactly to do to fix this. where is the main ground :?

maybe something completely different so I need some help. If anyones had this before let me know cause i hate when little stuff happen to the car :D

thanks guys

[Navi271]

I had a fun light issue recently, but the only thing wrong with mine was the parking lights would not turn on. Turned out the parking light switch that controls the switch on the left of the steering column and on top of it(the switch that turns the parking lights on even if the car is off) was messing up. The wires that we're soldered on were completely disconnected.

So yours sounds like one of those soldered on wires came loose after years of temperature change and humidity. But it also sounds like it's deeper in the dash than the steering column like mine. Your car is an AT right? Not sure why it's causing the flickering tho. Try to find someone who knows the wires in a subaru like the back of his/her hand!

[httrdd]

I am not sure if there is one for the gauges, but there might be a module in there that is going bad too.

[iampetro]

its 5 speed...

[Huffer]

It's your brake switch or neutral switch... you should also check all your ground points in the engine bay.

[iampetro]

where exactly huffer?
thats what i wanna check, just not sure how.

im scouring older post but if someone can help me quicker that would be greatly appreciated

[iampetro]

so i just got home and it was the same as last night

BUT tonight before i got out of the car i was fiddling with it and notice the battery and emergency brake light faintly flashing in the dash.

i check my manual that came with the car and everything it said about the battery was useless, it mentioned nothing of the light or the light flickering.
and on the page beside it it said not to put engine coolant in your windsheild wiper fluid resovoir because it could damage the paint lol

so im assuming my battery may be crap but can i get it charged? i think i can go to CT to get it checked to see if its still good but can they charge it somehow

right after i bought the battery i saw some talk about costco red and yellow top batteries and wished i had bought one of them. I have a membership so if i need a new one which battery (kind and colour top) should i get?

thanks

[iampetro]

so has anyone got that battery light on the dash before?

i assume it means mines toast, can you re-charge a battery?

thanks

[BG5guy]

just curious, did u check your fuse box. not sure about subarua but i know in hondas when you blow a fuse, the lights in the cluster will act weird, turning on, off, flashing, dimming things like that. Just a thought

[iampetro]

thanks, good idea

[decke48]

battery and brake light usually comes on when the car sees no charge or low charge from the alternator. check with a multi meter. should be around 12.6 volt car off no load, and above 13.5v with the car running

[iampetro]

do you suspect the battery is the cause (its a good 3.5 years old) or the alternator?

[Legacy89]

Easy way to do this. Swap battery with a friend for a couple of days. If it goes back to how it's acting now then you'll know it's not the battery.

[iampetro]

so when i drive it around it doesn't seem to get up to temp anymore...

instead of going right to the middle of the oil temp guage once its warm it only goes up to two fifths of the guage.

[iampetro]

eureka! I think i've got it

so i went to take it for a spin and turned it on and right away i was getting a very bad electronic clicking sound. I pop'd the hood and could tell it was coming from the fuse box. I've had spare fuses in the trunk so i grabbed them and went to take a look.

I didnt know where to start and thought about coming and asking on here but i just went for it. I pulled 1 fuse and swapped it, turned the key and tah-dah! no more sound. I replaced to old fuse to see if it would replicate the problem again and it wouldn't.

so now i have the original fuse back in and the spares in my trunk in case. every thing seemed good, dash lights nice and very bright, no sounds and my TEMP guage is going back up to the proper spot.

my diagnosis was a bad fuse connection.

If anyone has any comments about what i've done here (good or bad) or ideas for why this might have happened (other than age of car) i'd still like to here them.

thanks alot guys

[iampetro]

so driving home tonight my radio turns off, then back on, then off and on...

and while im trying to find the button to turn it off(cause i've never had to before) i notice my speedometer bliping around and my tach is dead. Then my ABS light came on. At least i was 2 blocks away from home and limped it back

CRAP!

so i feel like i read this in someone else's post before but cant find it. I think it was a another BD
Does anyone know the cause of this exact problem?

[Legacy89]

That crap happend to me. That was an easy fix on my car. I just had a bad connection on the battery.

[Okin DaVanh]

battery and brake light usually comes on when the car sees no charge or low charge from the alternator.


This.






Your alternator is about to kick the bucket. Go to you local autozone/advanced and they'll check it for you for free and repeat what Decke and I agree on.

[iampetro]

what'll happen if the alt is gone and i try to drive it to get it checked. I dont have guages so other than that is it safe to drive?

if i go get it checked out and the voltmeter shows low reading, what do i do next?

[jey]

You're going to run down the battery driving it with no alternator charging. Best way is to remove it (it's only 2 wires and 2 bolts) and drive the unit itself out to Autozone to get it tested.

[iampetro]

remove what? the battery? (if so thats easy)

[jey]

The alternator

[Okin DaVanh]

The alternator

and then take said alternator into another car (preferably not your Legacy) and take a trip to your local auto parts store. Where they will check it, and tell you its a gone. If the battery is easy, the alternator wont be too hard. I think there's a DIY (Do It Yourself) here on the site. Good luck and let us know how you made out.

[iampetro]

so the subaru dealership here has the cheapest alternator by far - $95
other prices were, 250, 335, 411, 500+ lol

so im gonna drive there tmw (in a different car) pick one up and do it myself.

any advice before i get out there tmw?
diagrams?links?pics?

thanks guys, i think this will go great i just hope that it is the right thing to fix my problem

[02_Legacy]

Did you test yours first? you might as well, it is FREE. Spending $100 on something that might not be the problem doesn't make sence. I would take the alternator off and on your way stop at an automotive place that offers free alternator testing and have it tested. The dealership is going to want your old alternator for a core anyways so you might as well take it there when you are picking up the new one and save a trip.

[iampetro]

exactly, im gonna get them to test it when i bring it in

[iampetro]

alt is out

old one was tested and toast

bought new one for super amazing price :)

couldn't get back to put it in today so tmw is the day

cant wait