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I'm still concerned with the "sudden" death. The car, since forever, has started just fine- then all of a sudden boom, like someone left the lights on overnight. Even then dying batteries have always been symptomatic, hard starts, needs an occasional overnight deep-cycle charge, until finally it just dies. I've never had one just quit...

Problem is now, the car wont start so I'll have to get a jump here at work and then it's a one-way trip to the parts store. I'd need to get another jump once I'm at the store for them to test the alternator as pulling it out is not an option at this point. BTW what's up w/ the edit function? It's all wacky and html lookin and half the time it wont save.

2000 Outback WagonI really hope the alternators not toast- those things are like $300.00Oh, also a couple weeks ago I took the car into the local oil service joint (Jiffy Lube type place), they did the usual oil change and multi-point inspection, the guy said they added water to the battery because it was low. Not sure if that could be related but it's the only thing that's ever happend to the battery recently.

This car has been extremely rock-solid and suddenly this morning it wouldn't start. Typical low battery symptoms; dash lights dim while trying to start, no engine crank, etc. So I cleaned the battery terminals, re connected the leads, still nothing. Jumped the car w/ wife's car and of course it started. Noticed though that every time I step on the brake the headlights blink (probably a drop in voltage due to the brake lights coming on). Thought the drive to work would be plenty to charge the battery but several times I had to play the heel-toe game trying to keep the engine idling otherwise it would die. Pulled into work and the car wont start still...The battery is OE i'm sure (2k OBW) but I've never had any issues w/ starting or anything, and all battery failures I've experienced have been progressive never sudden like this. I guess I'm asking if anyone agrees that its the battery and not the alternator, or something worse.

That's what I'm talkin' about! Well, minus the whacked by a Jeep part. I'm worried that mine will go soon although everything's holding up pretty well so far (knock on some serious wood...). According to the 60k sevice report (dealer invoice/receipt) they put the SoobSlime in. I'd be stoked if I could roll 120k on this baby!

I want to throw a poll out there and see how many miles you've gone without a head gasket issue. Please list year/make/model/ auto or manual. Here's mine: 2000 OBW 5-spd 86,000 No signs of HG issues of yet. Mostly freeway driving (30mi one way to work). Knock on wood!

I know soobs like everything to be OE, tires included, but since I'm getting new tires soon are there any other sizes that perform better than the stock tire size? Like if I put a wider tire on will it handle better? I live in the PNW so it's rainy a lot and sometimes snowey in the winter. I don't have a set of winter rims so these tires will be all season. Also, does anyone swear by having their tires siped? I've heard mixed results and the last car I had w/ siped tires I couldn't really tell a difference.

But he said it happens with both drivers and passenger switch. Which is why I thought it was the motor. Oh, well, I guess basic troubleshooting skills don't apply here.

then I would speculate that the problem is in the motor. The switch only closes the loop allowing current to flow to the motor alternating polarity depending on if your rolling up or rolling down the window. If the motor is continuing to operate after the load increases (IE window can't roll up anymore) there's something in the motor circuit not telling it to stop. Dig that deep but while you're in there take a look at the gears like posted earlier. Perhaps the gears are stripped and not transferring that load into the motor like it should thus not triggering the stop mechanism/circuit. EDIT: Unless there's an electrical switch that's triggered when the window gets to a certain position. It would have to be a "normally closed" switch so when the windows all the way down/up it hits the switch opening the circuit. I havn't had a door panel apart so that's just a guess...

That makes sense. I thought the rough idle cleared up but it started up again this morning. I also disconnected the battery last night thinking that perhaps the reader could not clear the code in the first place. Now, from what I understand, the ECU is compensating and adjusting perameters to function w/ a faulty o2 sensor. I ordered a sensor from 1stsubaru.com. it should arrive tomorrow. FYI I was surprised, 1stsubaru wanted $118 shipped for the sensor. Online they estimated 4-5 day shipping. I called the dealer and they quoted $149, had 3 in stock. Called 1stsubaru to cancel the order because I dind't want to wait that long but he said, "were right here in Renton, I can have it to you by tomorrow". So IOW the dealer was not that much more if shipping delays are not an option. I can wait till tomorrow to save 30-bucks however!

So originally I had a CEL it was a code P1133- original thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80887 Well I read a little bit on this sensor and found that it could be an intermittent connection issue in the harness. So I decided to clear the code (OBDII code reader from Schucks). The reader said all codes were sucessfully cleared so took the key out and returned the reader. When I got into my car to leave the CEL was still on and the car almost died on me while pulling out of the parking lot !!! I literally had to throttle the gas to keep the RPMs up enough to get out into traffic. Within a few blocks the idle issue subsided but now the car seems to run a little different. It seems there's slightly less power under accelleration, It doesn't sound any different just feels like I have the E brake on or I'm dragging an anchor or something. What would the reader do to cause this hiccup!?!

Any way you can share that procedure w/ me w/o too much trouble? I have more electronics skills than I have money at this point, so if I can fix the harness by repairing a connector somewhere then I'll do it. At least for now. Thanks

So in short, should I even bother w/ troubleshooting the circuit and comfirming the proper voltage outputs? Because according to what you're saying it all ends up at the connector which gets replaced w/ the sensor anyway. HOWEVER, in the other post someone mentioned that the fault could be nearer to the relay itself, in which case the sensor harness would be okay. If a voltage check is in order I'd need to know what the pinouts are and what values to check for. Well I guess I'd just need the values, the pinout is illustrated in the attached image. EDIT: I just did a quick search for an OE sensor and I'm seeing prices between 140-170$ !!! Is that right!?! Good God!

can someone suggest a good online place to buy OE parts? and also, I did a generic quick search for Subaru O2 sensors and it doesn't seem to be "front" or "rear" specific. Is this true? it's the same sensor just the front one has to be OE? Oh and also, where is this thing located? In the exhaust path obviously but between the cat and exhaust manifold or someplace downstream?

OE as in I need to purchase it at the dealer or will NAPA have what i need?

yeah, sorry 2000 OBW 81k miles

So my check engine light came on a few weeks ago, stayed on for a half day then went out, it recently came back on and has stayed on for 2 days. I went to autozone and used the reader. The code is "P1133" which was not defined in the reader itself, I had to go online and find out what the code meant- it says, "Oxygen sensor heater circuit malfunction (Low)" Okay, so in layman's terms will someone tell me where this sensor is located, what it does, and how to test it? I know you can do a voltage check but I'm not sure what voltages to expect. Last time I bought a O2 sensor was for my wifes Intrepid and it cost like 40$. I can't afford this this week so will I hurt the car if I keep driving it? Any help is appreciated!

Wheww!!! We dont' have an Autozone here. The closest thing is Schucks. Didn't think to ask them though.

2000 OBW / 5-Spd / 78.5K miles The other day I started my car and out of the blue the Check Engine light came on. At the time I had no choice but to take care of what I had to do, so I ran the car into town (approx 10 miles) and parked. When I restarted the car, about 3 hrs later, the light didnt' come back on. The light remains off ever since, but WTH? More detail: When the light initially came on I immediately turned the engine off, checked the oil and checked anything else obvious (oil level was fine). The night before the car ran fine (like it always has) so it's not like there were any strange signs prior to the Engine light coming on. Also, while driving it with the light on it seemed to run fine too. I'm wondering what I should do at this point? Ignore it till next time or take it in and have the dealer bend me over while they put a code reader on it? Or is there anything I can do from home? I know on my wife's Dodge Intepid if you cycle the key from Off to On ex-number of times the engine light will flash a code that you can cross referrence with a list in the manual. Unfortunately I do not have a manual for the Soob yet.

I had a similar question started a while back. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=78750&highlight=inverter+laptop I had no problems running my laptop while on a road trip. Inverter, laptop, lights, A/C, and stereo. The kids had the laptop in the back seat w/ headphones and I had the stereo playing, A/C on chill, fan on high. I don't think you'll have any charging issues. The car will handle the laptop just fine and with the "occasional" print job, I think you'll be alright. She's not printing out an owners manual or anything right? Simple one or two page printout?

I think this reply answered a lot of questions. So it sounds pretty common that a noticable surge is felt (in engine rpm and power). I'd feel better if others noticed this surge and commented as well, that would make it normal for these subarus. As far as the battery, I should replace it although i'm not 100% sure it's OE, looks damn old though, definately not a "name-brand" on it anywhere. If nothing else I'll have it load tested before I leave for my trip. I'm planning on brining my laptop and dc/ac inverter so the kids can watch movies along the way. That plus the A/C, daytime running lights, stereo, that seems like an aweful lot of juice for that tiny alternator to put out.

Sorry, It's a 2000 OBW manual trans. I guess I'm mostly worried that it's a charging/battery issue. It's the original battery but seems to be fine (have not had any load tests or anything but starts up just fine). Besides it's all alternator output once I'm driving right? Or will a dying battery create loads on the alt causing the alternator to split it's output?? I've never had a car surge when an accessory was turned on. Are these alternators inherantly low output?

I've posted about this before but never really got a solid answer. Plus my issue seems to be getting more noticeable (or maybe I've just become more hightened to it). In my original post I noted how the engine surges when the A/C is turned on. It will also surge whenever the compressor (or whatever is kicking in) kicks on and off. But I'm also noticing it when I turn on the fan (no A/C just cold air). Happens even more in the defrost setting. Now, when I say "Surge" I don't mean the car stalls or want's to die, its just a short "stumble", an obvious load on the engine. I guess it wouldn't be a problem if this is normal but it's annoying because driving on the freeway the fan (defrost, A/C, or whatever) kicks in every minute or so so that "stumble" is felt every time. Needless to say it gets old. anyway, my panic is this, I'm going camping this weekend and really don't need any surprises along the way.

I found it, it's in the back INSIDE the jack storage compartment

Tell me if this is a sign of needing to adjust my clutch: When shifting into 1st and especially into Reverse I have to let out the clutch pedal a little bit in order for it to go into gear. In other words, when I push the pedal all the way down to the floor sometimes it wont engage- I have to let off about and inch or two and the gear drops right in. There's no detectable "free play" towards the top of the pedal either. So my other question is, how do I adjust the clutch? I thought it was hydraulic so it didn't need adjustment. I don't have a shop manual yet for this car or else I'd figure it out myself... Thanks Oh, 2000 OBW