cmiller Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Have some questions on diagnosis... Type of rig see below--> Problem: when I accelerate the headlights and dash dim, volt meter drops, and temp gauge reads hot. ?? I let off the gas and all goes back to normal, Car isn't really "hot" just the gauge trips, seems there is a definite electrical drain when accelerating or putting the engine under load, which I guess with the "gutless wonder" is always under load! Any theories on what is causing this to happen? I thought maybe a loose ground somewhere, couldn't find one,... I thought slipping belt...??? Can't tell though. I can't figure it out. Any thoughts and suggestions would be very helpful! Thanks -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Sounds like a slipping belt to me. Does the problem accompany load, or engine RPM? I had an Outback that would charge at idle, but not at higher revs. The belt was fine, but the alternator was just not charging at higher RPMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 ditto on the belt, check for tension. could also be the disty or the alternator, you can get the alt tested for free at an auto zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 You are right at idle, charges fine, guages normal. Alternator isn't that old but I will get it tested tomorrow after re-tightening the belt tension. Thanks for the help! I will keep this updated on how it goes. -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru Jim Maple Ridge Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Sounds like a loose plate in the battery, about the only thing that can move around enough to make that much of a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 it may be a weak altenator, or a bad/dying bettery. ON my 1988 i had this weird problem which drove me nuts, almost the same thing, complete with a false high temp reading with the ac off. i decided to replace the raditaor (all the cooling fins were gone) the quite by accident i checked the elecrric cooling fan. It was tiff and hard to turn, so i replaced that and the problem went away. It seems the cooling fan was drawing too much current, and making the dash act odd. I am not saying this is your problem, but if you have a heavy electrical load, like a calcified or shorted battery, it will show the same thing. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 Well Autozone checked the alternator and it tested good. I am checking all of the grounds again and cleaning the battery terminals. Still no change and running out of ideas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Heh, mines the exact oposite. On accel, everything works right, when coasting or decell, lights flicker and dim, coolant gauge goes wacky, the whole deal. I think it's a ground. When the engine shifts in its mounts, the ground works, then doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Have some questions on diagnosis... Type of rig see below--> Problem: when I accelerate the headlights and dash dim, volt meter drops, and temp gauge reads hot. ?? I let off the gas and all goes back to normal, Car isn't really "hot" just the gauge trips, seems there is a definite electrical drain when accelerating or putting the engine under load, which I guess with the "gutless wonder" is always under load! Any theories on what is causing this to happen? I thought maybe a loose ground somewhere, couldn't find one,... I thought slipping belt...??? Can't tell though. I can't figure it out. Any thoughts and suggestions would be very helpful! Thanks -Chris YOu may have to get yourself a cheap ammeter gauge to see what is going on. An ameter gauge will tell you direction of current flow. How old are your battery cables? Did this just start, or did it slowly start to occur? i am assuming since the alt was tested, the battery was tested too. On a really long shot, how are your motor mounts? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 12, 2005 Author Share Posted December 12, 2005 This problem just started this week when I drove to Seattle and back on Wednesday. The cables for the battery are fairly new and in good condition. The engine mounts are worn and cracked slightly from stress when I put in the lift... Why? I did find a larger wire that is grounded to the frame in the front right side next to the radiator and battery but the connector on the other end is broken. COuldn't find where this goes, any clues??? If it would help I could get a pic of the wire for reference. I just went to Bend for the weekend and it drove fine on the way out, but on the way back started showing the same symptoms as described in the first post. Thanks for all of the help, any suggestions are appreciated. -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 that wire is a major ground to the body. It runs from the left head by the coolant pipe for the radiator to the body near the battery tray(radiator support). when you are talking about positions in the engine compartment think of it as sitting in the drivers seat looking forward. and yes that may be your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 12, 2005 Author Share Posted December 12, 2005 Ok I'll have a look at it tonight and try to get it reconnected. Thanks for the tip. Hopefully that will solve the issue. I will keep this updated if it works out. -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 The engine mounts are worn and cracked slightly from stress when I put in the lift... Why? I did find a larger wire that is grounded to the frame in the front right side next to the radiator and battery but the connector on the other end is broken. COuldn't find where this goes, any clues??? If it would help I could get a pic of the wire for reference. -Chris BINGO! thats broken cable is most likely your problem. I asked about the motormounts for a sneaky reason. To make you look under the car and inspect things. sometimes there are ground straps near the motormounts. Sometimes a broiken mountor mount can repeatedly flex a cable to damage it... sometimes i like to make people crawl under thier cars (just kidding). nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 12, 2005 Author Share Posted December 12, 2005 Here is the wire in my left hand and where it originally grounded to the frame. What is grounded by this wire? Where does it attach? Its an 8 gauge wire I think. Any thoughts on what this ground wire attaches to would be great because I can't seem to find where it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 13, 2005 Author Share Posted December 13, 2005 Anyone have any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I just went out and looked at mine. It attaches to the bracket that holds the pipe coming out of the water pump. It grounds the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill90Loyale Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/data/500/12484AUT_0180-med.JPGHere is the wire in my left hand and where it originally grounded to the frame. What is grounded by this wire? Where does it attach? Its an 8 gauge wire I think. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9289&size=big&sort=1&cat=500 Don't mean to hijack the thread, just curious - what are the red cladded wire and the yellow cladded connector for on your neg. battery post? My loyale has neither. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanky_pete Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Don't know if it is a direct cause of your problem, but improper grounding is going to give you all sort of weird electrical issues. Subarus seem to be exceptionally prone to those types of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Anyone have any ideas? I must have made my description a little vauge last time. heres a step by step. 1. remove your battery. 2. look at the left front of the motor. up on top. 3. there is a bracket for you coolant pipe from the waterpump. 4. on that pipe bracket there should be the other end of the ground wire. 5. go to parts store and crimp/solder a new end on the wire. if your car is lifted you may need to just make a whole new ground as the motor does not sit in the stock location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 So did that fix your problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 Don't mean to hijack the thread, just curious - what are the red cladded wire and the yellow cladded connector for on your neg. battery post? My loyale has neither. Thanks. The wire with the yellow crimped end is the ground off of the alternator. The wires in the red wrap are for my aux lights. Still no luck with the ground problem... Options not exhausted yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 I must have made my description a little vauge last time. heres a step by step. 1. remove your battery. 2. look at the left front of the motor. up on top. 3. there is a bracket for you coolant pipe from the waterpump. 4. on that pipe bracket there should be the other end of the ground wire. 5. go to parts store and crimp/solder a new end on the wire. if your car is lifted you may need to just make a whole new ground as the motor does not sit in the stock location. Thanks for the detailed description. I appreciate it, and know how hard it is to picture something then try to put it into words. So here I go: I checked the bracket on the coolent pipe and there is already a smaller gauge ground wire coming off of it and going into a black harness which then dissappears into the subframe behind the battery. I will pull off the alternator tomorrow to have a better look at the bracket and see if I am overlooking something. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions! -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 Problem solved! Thanks to all that helped! I love the USMB! Ok to delete thread...or whatever... -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 I love happy endings:clap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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