Cougar

There is a number of them selling on Ebay.

I tend to think you may be getting too much fuel also. You could check the fuel trim numbers using a scanner tool to see if that verifies that. There could be a problem with the fuel pressure regulator. Another thing to check is the coolant temperature sensor for the engine, not the dash gauge. If it shows a cold engine all the time even when hot then the engine will run too rich. This trouble seems even more severe than that though.

Try spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the intake to see if the engine will respond to that. If the ignition is working correctly it should fire up the engine briefly.

When it comes to audio quality your definition of good quality may be different than most people. Before you decide on any car you should really go for an actual test drive in one before making any decisions on which is the right one for you. Even if the car you like better in your opinion has the lesser sound quality, are you going to pick the one with the better sound because of that? Probably not. I would guess that both of the sound systems are going to be about the same in sound quality. Myself, I would be more concerned how quiet the car is on the road than the sound quality of the audio. I don't like road noise or people that drive around with 5 kilowatt sound systems cranked up so high you hear them coming from two blocks away. Well,... unless they have some Dire Straits or Eagles playing .

Check to see if you have close to 12 volts on pin 1 of the CC module while the switch light is supposed to be turned ON. If you do have voltage there then perhaps there is a problem with the module though I'm not sure how that would happen unless a wrong pin was grounded during the test. Pin 1 of the module should be close to ground potential to turn on the switch light.

Do you get a change of voltage on the clutch switch wires when you depress the clutch pedal?

If you haven't verified that all the power lines and ground that tie to the module, including the switch lead, are making good connection to the module then you need to do that. Are you sure that the system was working before you exchanged it?

It would be nice to know what the fuse number of the fuse that is blowing out. I suspect it is used for the AC control system. I don't have an exact service manual for your model year. You should look into getting a factory service manual to help you solve this issue. Ebay is a good place to find copies. One thing you could do that may help you find the problem is use an ohm meter and monitor the resistance of the protected side of the fuse circuit and ground. You will see a very low resistance value. Then start disconnecting suspected areas of trouble. When the shorted path is disconnected the resistance will go up on the meter.

Thanks for the correction about the test connectors FairTax4me. I keep forgetting the proper colors.

There should be some black connectors under the dash. You connect them together for the TEST mode. When you are done disconnect them again.

Ebay is a good place to find manuals but since it is such a new model you may have to go direct to Subaru for the reference material.

If the starter motor is working real slow you need to check the power getting to it. I assume the battery connections are very clean but if not use a wire brush to clean them up. When cranking the engine you should have at least 11 volts at the battery and no less than 10 volts at the starter solenoid.

Have you tried using the test mode to see if the fans come on that way?

Not a good thing for anybody involved with this, including the poor deer.

I tend to think the motor may be at fault also. Power to the motor passes through the fuse and the relay and then to the motor. The switch and speed resistors are on the return side of the circuit. If you don't have power getting to the blower when it should be running check the relay and the socket wires to it.

I had to fix a short on a friends car one time but it was really bad. Lots of sparks would fly when you tried to connect the battery cable to the battery. This was truly a dead short to ground. The trouble was due to an over tightened stud bolt on the starter solenoid battery connection. The head of the bolt inside the solenoid twisted due to the amount of torque applied to it and a corner on the head of the bolt contacted ground. By simply turning the stud bolt back slightly it eliminated the short to ground.

That's an interesting problem you had there desertsubaru. I haven't heard of that one before. I assume the ignition wire inside the solenoid was coming in contact with the main battery contact inside the solenoid. That would certainly blow the fuse for the ignition circuit. By disconnecting the solenoid wire and isolating it an then try to start the engine to see if the fuse still blows out would tell the story. If the fuse now doesn't blow by doing that simple test then the starter would need to be looked at. I doubt that is problem here but it sure would be easy to prove or disprove it with little effort.

You might also check for intake air leaks.

If I understand correctly the fuse blows when you go to the START mode and not the RUN mode. It seems strange to me that the fuse controlling those things you mentioned would be effected by the starter circuit. I really doubt the ECU is causing the trouble though it is possible. I don't have a diagram for your vehicle right now so I can't look things over. Check for damaged wires that may have touched the exhaust system and shorted things. To help you find the trouble you can place an ohmmeter probe between the protected side of the fuse socket and ground. Then start disconnecting things and watch for a change in resistance. When the short is removed from the circuit the resistance reading will go higher showing the short to ground is removed. You can also use something like a brake light in place of the fuse. The bulb will limit the current to a safe level and glow brightly while the short is on line. When the short is removed the lamp will dim down depending on the normal resistance of the circuit.

Like FAItax4me stated, not all meters are designed the same way. When taking AC measurements you need to be aware of what the meter can do. It doesn't hurt the meter to have DC on the line when checking for AC voltage, it just means you have to be aware of that in the reading you get. To see if the meter blocks DC while in the AC voltage mode just set the meter for AC volts and then touch the probes to a battery. If the reading shows voltage then you know it doesn't block DC. You can block the DC component by placing a capacitor in series with one of the probe leads. A non-polarized 2 microfarad capacitor should work.

From what I know about the POWER light in the dash it has to do with the engine performance, not the starter circuit or any of the electrical system of the car. You stated previously that the starter was turning but the engine wasn't turning over. If that is correct then there is a mechanical problem with the bendix gear of the starter not engaging the flywheel ring gear.

From what you state about the starter either the ring gear on the flywheel has a bad spot on it or the starter bendix is bad. Either way you need to remove the starter to find out the real culprit.

Is the charge on the battery good? If that is okay then check the voltage getting to the fuses in the dash area when the ignition is ON. If that is okay then check the starter circuit for a problem. The inhibit switch may be faulty. Hopefully this issue isn't due to a timing belt breaking.

I assume the battery contact connections have been thoroughly cleaned. If they haven't already been checked for internal corrosion at the battery clamps I suggest you do that too. I agree with the others that mentioned cleaning the ground connections. Make sure that the smaller power wire from the battery that ties to the main panel under the hood is making a good solid connection.

Well it looks like you owe the wife a fine dinner out at a nice restaurant or something similar. The connection was most likely for the fuel pump and tank sensor. Thanks for the update and good to hear you back on the road.