Cougar

Check to see if those areas are getting power from the ignition switch and the injectors are getting power from fusible link 1.

The first thing to check is the fusible links and the fuses if you haven't done that already. The fusible links are in a plastic box mounted on the coolant overflow tank. The fuel pump relay might be in a blue socket to the right side of the steering column.

This same thing happened to a friend of mines car. The PCV valve is having trouble. Replace it.

The warning lights are tied to the alternator lamp circuit so they can be tested when you turn the ignition switch to ON without the engine running. When the alternator is working it supplies a backfeed voltage on the lead and the lights turn off until there is a problem with the alternator. From your previous statements about the alternator it sounds like there is an intermittent problem with it. I think if you replace the alternator you will clear these troubles.

The constant power to the clock memory is being interupted. Hopefully resoldering the resistor will fix that but it may not. The clock usually doesn't work at all when that happens. Make sure the fuses and fusible links are ok. If the trouble isn't with one of those things then you will have to trace the memory power lead back for a problem. The horn switch makes a ground connection to sound the horn. There may be a grounding problem with the horn switch or to the cluster. You can use a ground jumper test lead to bypass suspected trouble areas to see if that changes things.

The voltage regulator range can vary some with different loads on it. As long as it stays within a certain range (13.2v to 14.8v) things should be ok. It sounds like there may be a little issue with the alternator since the voltage went over 15 volts. That is a little too high. The difference in the voltage readings is mainly due to where they are taken from and a little bit due to using different meters. The meter in the dash takes the reading from wiring in the dash area. There are voltage drops due to wire and connection losses between the battery and the dash wires. This can be as much as a volt. The more the current load in the wires the greater the voltage drop with be. The dash meter is also just a cheap meter and isn't nearly as accurate as a DVM will be. It is accurate enough to give you a close reading though.

You're welcome for the help Heartless. Yes, the output lead of the alternator is the heavy gauge wire that ties to the stud bolt with the nut. It has to handle a lot of current so a large wire is needed along with a solid connection point. Using the procedure I mentioned above the meter is set to measure DC voltage. There are a lot of good easy to read books available that cover how to work on and learn about electrical systems for the automobile. They will show you how electricity works, how to use test equipment, and make tests on various things. It is well worth the small cost of a book. There are a lot of things on the internet you can refer to also.

That's correct. It would basically tell you how good the connection is between those points. You could also check the connection to the chassis by moving the probe from the engine block to a good chassis ground point. Since the headlights usually use the chassis for the ground it would be better to check the chassis ground rather than the engine ground using your example. Another good check to make in case you think there is a charging problem is to check the voltage drop between the alternator output and the positive battery post while a good load is on the system. You should hopefully see less than .3 volts across the connection due to standard wire losses.

This is not a correct way to check the resistance of a lead. If the positive cable of the battery is still connected, using this method would allow current to flow in the circuit giving you a big error in the reading. Whenever doing a resistance check power needs to be removed from the circuit under test. When placing the meter leads in series with the circuit as described here the meter should be set to read current. Resistance and voltage checks should be made in parallel across the circuit under test. Also, when checking for low resistance you should set the meter scale to a low scale like 200 instead of 20K. The lower scale gives a better resolution of the reading. A good way to check for a ground problem is to measure across the ground wire in question and check the voltage across it while the circuit is active. Since a good connection will have very little voltage drop across it due to very low resistance there will be very little voltage across it. When measuring the resistance of a wire it should be less than .2 ohms.

Bank numbers refer to the sides of the engine. Bank 1 is on the side of the engine with cylinder #1 so bank 2 is on the other side of the engine. The sensors can be refered to as 1 and 2 also and 1 would be the front and 2 would be the rear sensor.

You first should make sure that power is getting to the ignition system if you haven't done that already. A blown fuse will cause the trouble and you need to check them carefully as many have mistaken a bad fuse for a good one. Checking for power on each side of them is the best way to check them using the slits on top of the fuse. If the fuses check out then make sure the coils are getting power to them.

I think there are two sets of three tabs.

See if using some starter fluid will get things running. If that doesn't help and you know the ignition is ok then check the compression.

Since your voltage test of the middle wires showed no voltage we now need to find out why that is so. Power to the relay contacts is provided by a red fusible link according to my manual but it is for an '88 model so it may be different. Make sure all the fusible links are ok if you haven't done that already. Also make sure the wire connections on the bottom side of the link box are ok as some folks have found problems there. Make sure the fuses in the dash panel are ok using the test light on both sides of the fuses. Power from the relays passes through fuses 7 and 8 in the dash panel and then to the lights. Make sure power is getting to those fuses when the lights are on. If that is ok then there is a break in the wires between the fuse panel and the lights. The fact that the test probe didn't light up when you tested the other wires means there is a problem with the connection to ground also. That may mean there is a connector problem causing this trouble though you did say the passing mode worked ok.

The H6's do use a timing chain and from what you stated it may have broken. This would mean real bad news for the owner. Doing a compression check would very things.

After reading Gloyale's post I discovered that I wasn't thinking correctly in my first post so I have corrected it. Thanks Gloyale.

Like Gloyale stated below, when the lights are turned on there should be 12 volts on the center pin lead of the bulb. The other two pins connect to ground, one at a time, through the switch whenever the HIGH or LOW side is selected. So the voltage should be near zero volts when that side of the bulb should be turned on. Having voltage there means the connection to ground is open somewhere. You do have to be careful if you measure the voltage that way, with the bulbs inserted into the plugs, since the side that isn't turned on will show a voltage also since the ground to it is turned off in the switch. The relays are ok since you have voltage getting to the bulbs and can flash the lights.

It sounds like you are good to go now. Thanks for the update. I doubt the loose connector caused this trouble. I suspect a blocking diode in the alternator just got leaky and caused the trouble.

"I concur doctor".

I have to disagree with that GD. If the warning lamp stayed on while the ignition was OFF then it would slowly drain the battery more than normal. Either the alternator or voltage regulator has a problem. Most likely a leaky diode is causing the trouble. Here is a link to refer to. There is a basic diagram on page 2 to refer to if you want. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=130805&page=2

This kind of thing happens when some of the reluctor tabs get broken off on the cog mounted on the crank for the crank sensor. The scope should see two sets of pulses on the crank sensor.

Some folks have found the wire broken where it passes through the roof and the pivit area of the hatch. It gets stessed over time and breaks.

The trouble might be due to the PCV valve.

I doubt the relay contacts stuck together due to the time the VR sat on the shelf but the contacts may have become pitted when they made connection for the first time under load and so stuck together. You will most likely be ok from now on. The factory page info in post 13 gives a good explination of how the regulator works.

The fuses may be ok but did you check to see if power is getting to all of them? From what you say it sounds like there is a power problem. Possibly the ignition relay is the problem if all the fuses are getting power to them. Fusible links are another possible trouble area.