TROGDOR!

Thanks for the tips everyone. Unfortunately it'll be a few days before I can do anything, as I'm in the middle of getting ready for a move to another state- heading out on Saturday. With the car still running fine, it's low on the priority list right now. Car's getting towed to the new place (driveshaft's already in the trunk, FWD fuse is in), so no worries about breaking down on the way there. On another note, this apparently has nothing to do with the brake pad levels or pressing the brake pedal. This morning when I started the car I made sure to not even touch the brake pedal. As we all know the brake light comes on when you first turn the key, and in this case, it just never went off. I may try the complete brake fluid flush. The car needs a new ABS assembly (been dead for a year, nothing new there) and of course, replacing that thing invovles almost a complete evacuation of the braking system- might as well totally flush it while I'm in there. Ah, the joys of having a car on the verge of 200K miles! I do have to say, everything *important* is working GREAT! Just another testament to the durabilityof a Subaru.

OK... Fiddling with the parking brake does nothing (did that this morning). The brake fluid is full (first thing I checked every time) and the cap looks fine. It's been on nice and tight every time this happened. This car doesn't have a voltage gauge, so I don't know the voltage reading when it's on. I just had the charging system checked last week and it checked out good... maybe I should do it again when it's cold. Which connection is this that I should try spraying?

Well now... seems I've got another little glitch. 94 Legacy AWD wagon. When I drive it to work on a cold morning, the BRAKE light comes on and stays on. When I leave work at 5, the light doesn't come on. It's happened a few times now. Seems to only happen when it's under 40 degrees or so. Even if the engine is totally warmed up, even if I turn the car off and restart it, the light still stays on... until I let it 100% cool down and start it again in warmer temps. Brake fluid is fine, doesn't seem to be any leaking brake lines, emergency brake is definitely off, all brake lights are working, etc. Far as I can see everything checks out. Not like it really affects the drivability of the car, it's just annoying to see on the dash. Anyone know what it could be?

Turns out they were indeed related! Last time I had taillight problems, the problem went away. This time it didn't. After the first time I was blowing fuses, I went crazy checking wires and testing with a multimeter, and never could find anything- but it was a moot point because it quit blowing the fuses for over two months, until today.. I noticed today's problem on the way to work, and checked the fuses when I got to the office, didn't find any blown ones-then made that first post. About halfway through the workday it dawned on me that I hadn't checked that single fuse under the hood for the marker lights, labeled LIGHTING SW. That one was blown! Put a new fuse in, and it blew within a quarter mile. Put a third one in, and it blew when I shut the door. So I put yet another fuse in, and went around banging on all the lights- left front turn signal blew the fuse when I banged on it. It turns out the positive lead for the marker light was chafing on the body of the car, and had rubbed the insulation off. Problem solved! Such a pain to find though, had to get to the point to where it was almost a dead short before I could track it down. I hate electrical troubleshooting. Makes me feel like such an idiot whenever it turns out to be something so obvious.

Hey everyone, This morning on the way to work my dash lights died. After getting there, I noticed the tail lights and all the marker lights are not working either. ALL FUSES ARE GOOD! Headlights are still working. Gotta get this fixed fast, as I can't exactly drive at night with no lights... and the days aren't getting any longer. Ideas?

The fuse positions aren't numbered (on my cover anyway) but this is the third one from the right on the top row, a 10A fuse that controls the taillights and marker lights. Everything attached to this wiring is stock and unmodified. And as far as I know the horn is original.

Hey all, The park lamp/tail lamp fuse on my 94 Legacy SW keeps blowing. Sometimes it'll go a couple days, sometimes a couple hours, but it always eventually blows. Note it NEVER blows as soon as I put it in, it always takes at least a couple hours of running the car, but often lasts a few days. All the lights are working, all the light sockets and pigtails look good. Any ideas? Diagnosing a dead short is no problem, but I don't even know where to begin with this one...

I'd LOVE to. Unfortunately... the insurance companies all have contracts with the salvage auctions, and CANNOT sell to anyone else. So my hands are tied in that matter. We do occasionally buy from individuals, but 9 times out of 10, the price they want for their car is too high to be profitable, and we pass on it. No offense to private owners... it's just, at the price they want, it's only worthwhile to another private owner. And when they call, I do my best to steer them toward that end.

While I only had bits and pieces sun-damaged... I did have some excellent luck by soaking my sun-dried parts in Armor All for a day. Bigger parts, I laid Armor-All soaked rags on them all day. This made an EA82 dash and door handles look brand new for the 2 years I had the car, and they still looked great when I sold it.

Check the XT's at Harry's. Most XT GL's had rear discs. Same exact job as a 4WD disc swap, just make sure your donor is a 2WD.

I work in management for a salvage yard. We very rarely sell vehicles, because... 1) A dealer license costs money. But even more so, you're required to have special dealer insurance which costs a BOATLOAD of money per month- it's required to keep a current license. Unless you're operating a used car lot on the premises, it's not worth the money. 2) Without a dealer license, we're allowed to process 4 titles per year. This means we can either sell or rebuild a total of 4 vehicles. In the fiscal year 2006 my boss bought a wrecked truck and repaired it to use as a delivery truck. He also bought a wrecked Cadillac and repaired it, and gave it to his mother as a gift. As a favor to his best friend, he allowed him to surf the salvage auctions and purchase a car to repair for himself- boss's friend paid for everything, but the title still went through our business. That's three of four. He often lets his employees do the same. In most years, we easily hit our limit without even selling to customers. 3) We're not even required to get titles. At our business, we do, and it requires extra money and paperwork. Many yards don't bother. Most people here have good intentions when purchasing a vehicle, but there's many people out there who don't. If something shady happens with the car, guess whose door the police knock on first? 4) Selling a car without a title is out of the question. Just like in #3, if something shady goes on, we're the first ones the police come to. It's just not worth it. We have sold entire vehicles in the past, and will do it again. But due to the reasons I mentioned above, it's a very rare occurence. And unless we actually post a vehicle for sale, we will never, EVER just sell it to some guy who walks in wanting to buy something. There's just too many crooked people out there, and we've got too much on the line to mess around with getting in trouble over something. Hope that clears things up a bit. And yes, I've been on the recieving end of some very firm "No's" about buying entire cars, and even knowing the facts doesn't make it any more pleasant.

Yes, we checked and replaced. Old one tested bad according to Haynes. New one made no difference.

Considering the car acts exactly the same in neutral, it's most definitely an engine issue.

Per instructions in the Haynes manual, I tested the TPS and knock sensor. They both tested good. Going to try to test the o2 sensor at work tomorrow if my boss will let me use the lift. I have no desire to get under my car on my current driveway, which is shaped more like a ski slope than a driveway.