hatchsub Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 My 83 subaru just started doing this more frequently. Sometimes when i go to start it the idiot lights for low amps, brake fluid, stop lamps, and parking brake come on but only half way. They are not on bright but enough for me to see them. It only happens sometimes though. Would anyone know what could be the cause of this? As i said is as though someone turned on a dimmer switch for them...cause if i pull the parking brake the light will come on full...not halfway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 sounds like your alternator is dying. What does the voltage gauge show? Better yet, do you have a multimeter you can use to test the voltage the alternator is putting out? With the car running, there should be about 14.5v at the battery. With the car off, the batter should read about 12.5-13v. First thing to do is check/clean all the major wires under the hood. This includes the ground wires from the block to the frame, and the battery cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Bad alternator diodes.DC voltage may check OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Sounds like a grounding problem to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Bad alternator diodes.DC voltage may check OK. Yup. It's feeding AC into the system. I drove a DL for a few months like this, and the previous owner had driven it for a LONG time like this (as evidenced by the electrical tape over the warning light cluster that was curling away from it). It never had trouble. However, you might want to get it fixed (replace the alternator is the easiest way) if you need 100% reliability. Or, pull a "Subaru" and throw a spare alternator in the back, change it on the side of the road if needed. -=Russ=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 my ugly green lifted brat did this. alternator was bad, leading to battery failure. Replaced both and fixed it. I touched up the grounds too as afew were loose. it still made it all the way from the Oregon coast to Portland with no issues though! Just the annoying lightly glowing lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Typical symptom of the diode trio failing in the alternator. Usually a pre-curser to complete failure to charge. At least get a working spare from the local Pull a Part yard so you're not standed before you decide to install a new rebuilt alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted July 19, 2005 Author Share Posted July 19, 2005 Thanks for all the advise but this is a brand new alternator...and battery. Someone however did screw around with the factory wiring at the back of the alternator and i wonder if this is the problem? I checked the wiring and it seems fine but i assume that factory is best. So on that note...anyone got an alternator wiring harness that hasn't been all cut up? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 My XT6 did this a few weeks ago... The light came on all the time, but could only be seen at night. It started driving through Illnois... made it to CO, drove it around a bit... I got a nice NAPA 120 Amp out of a junkyards that looked new. No more problems. I also remember having a Turbo XT that had the same issue and the Alt again was the cause. If its a new alt, where'd ya buy it? Take it back and get a new one... losts of them aftermarket stuff is JUNK... like checker.... I like the NAPA premium one I have now, but I've also heard of people having trouble with them.... My first suggestion is to take the alt back where you got it from and get a new one... you probably just got a defect.... ohh and BTW... my volts gauge and voltage testing went fine in my XTs.... neither showed any other issues other then the lights being very faintly on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4moose Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 i'm kind of haveing the same problem, all my lights come on when ever i get above 1500 rpm or so. i know i have a short in my heaterfan/raido currcet, i just have to find it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted July 20, 2005 Author Share Posted July 20, 2005 I think I may have just solved my problem (im going to cross my fingers for the next few days that it doesn't happen again). As i said someone cut up the factory wiring and did a pretty neat job of redoing it but at the battery there was a bad connection to the positive terminal. I have since fixed it and the lights have not come on all day. Lets see what the rest of the week brings though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 To 4X4moose: It sounds like you need a new alternator. If all the connections are ok and the problem still persists then try changing it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 yeah cuz depending on which diode trio is bad, if one of the positive diodes is bad, the battery will ground iteslf though the field windings, draining the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4moose Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 To 4X4moose: It sounds like you need a new alternator. If all the connections are ok and the problem still persists then try changing it out. yeah your right, i swaped the alt. out of my wagon and solved the problem. now i just need to find the short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Im quickly coming to the conclusion that everyone on this site is telling me..i need a new alternator. Its starting to do even more weird things...like today when i got the revs high the amps would go into the red zone. Then it stopped doing that. The wiring is still kinda fishy to me. I think I'm going to rewire the car back to factory, with a new alternator that works. Anyone know where the best place to buy a good alternator is? I worked at napa for awhile and have heard horror stories about their alternators and starters. This does not mean that i wont try one but I'm just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4moose Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 it wasn't a short it was a relay, and the relay caused both my coolingfans to come on and i think at high speed if they are dual speed fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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