rpl3000 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 my 01 legacy died on the road last night. 1) the day before the brake and the battery lights lit up on the dash. I got it home and found the rear brakes grinding and a broken battery terminal (ground). ok fine, replaced brakes and terminal. battery light does not go out. I figure it just has to reset after a few cycles. I read 12.4V on the terminals with the car running. Should it be higher? like 14V? 2) last night I take it out to the store and on the way the CD player shuts in and out. ABS light comes on, check engine comes on and the idle drops and is lumpy. I turn on the ac to boost the idle and get it to a parking lot. The car is barely moving and it feels like the brakes are on. I shift to park and rev up the engine, seems to rev fine, no misses. I put it back in D and when I push the gas the AT oil light comes on and it wont move forward (again like the brakes are on). It really felt like when you push both gas and brake. can the ecu activate the brakes? Doesnt sound right but I don't know how ABS systems work. I leave the car running and disconnect the abs fuse, doesnt work. The car only moves in R for some reason. I park it, shut it down and call AAA. It wont even crank. Alright, so now my question is would a low voltage or faulty charging system cause the car do act in this manner? trigger the abs, AT oil light and such. Any ideas why the car wouldnt move despite the engine running? I really don't think i have a tranny problem, I'm looking for an electronic control issue. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 well if it helps at all....i had my battery light and my brake light come on a few weeks ago.....and a new alternator fixed my problem.....i believe you can have some really weird stuff start to happen with your electrical system if a certain part of the alternator fails (unfortuanately i cant remember what part)......just my experience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 You need an altenator. Yes low voltage is like running out of gas, car wont go and will do odd things. Also check your battery, as it may be due too. look at 1st subaru or another one of the online dealers. You may be able to get a good deal. I find buying them from subaru better, as there is some real crap out there, and they sometimes sell imprezza alt's for outbakcs. They look the same, they are way more money, but have lower output. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 The previous posters are correct about changing the alternator and possibly the battery also if it is the original one. Have it checked at least. The reason those other warning lights come on when the alternator has a problem is because they are in series with the field lead to the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwarven1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 RPL3000, Your car should show voltage at about 13.8 VDC when your car is running. If you have 12.4 volts, you're running on battery power, and NOT getting anything out of the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 One thing the OP didn't state was what the engine RPM was when the voltage reading was taken. I assume it was at idle and even a good alternator will not have much output below 1,000 RPM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 One thing the OP didn't state was what the engine RPM was when the voltage reading was taken. I assume it was at idle and even a good alternator will not have much output below 1,000 RPM. 2500 RPM is the check point for all altenators (that I know of). nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Right on, get the correct OEM Subaru reman alternator from a dealer. You can look up the OEM part # on such sites as http://www.subarupartsforyou.com just so like nipper said you don't get given an impreza or some other alt. Also right on, many warning lamps get their ground through the alternator field circuit so you may see flickering and such on other lamps when the alt is getting ready to crater. Also I think the ABS monitors voltage and illuminates its lamp if it sees it out of tolerance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 You are most likely correct about that Nipper. I only meant that there isn't much output at 1,000 RPM or below that. I generally use 2,000 RPM as a speed to check for a good output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpl3000 Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 update: battery looked bulged and a bit leaky so I got a new one and installed it. started right up but the brake and battery light were still on. battery reads 12.1V at idle after running for about 10 minutes. I would like to go and just pick a new one up tomorrow. So that means Napa or advanceauto. Are they really that bad? Napa shows one for 219$ plus 90$ core. price is comparable to 1st subaru and I can have it in hand tomorrow night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Depending on what kind of shops you have around you might find someone that can rebuild it for a lot cheaper than that (usually around 75-100) but it may take a day or two. the napa/etc ones aren't as reliable.. but if you need it now you need it now and it will still last a few years at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Depending on what kind of shops you have around you might find someone that can rebuild it for a lot cheaper than that (usually around 75-100) but it may take a day or two. the napa/etc ones aren't as reliable.. but if you need it now you need it now and it will still last a few years at least. Thats optimistic. I had one last three months, another last 2 before i said the hell with it and got one from subaru. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 battery looked buldged I think a discharged battery especially if the electrolyte is too high on the water side (not enough acid), then it can freeze. Maybe that's why yours looks buldged. Right on if you need the alt right away to make the vehicle driveable then whatever the local parts stores have may be your only choice, though parts store alts aren't the greatest. You could check with your local Subaru dealer (if you have one locally), but dealer prices on walk-in sales is usually pretty high. Also, I would suggest as you are doing your testing, etc., to put your battery charger on the battery on its lowest setting (ie 2 amps or whatever) to keep it charged. A low/weak battery you want to slowly bring back up. If the battery is dead/discharged when you put in the new alt its going to charge it like crazy and may reduce battery and alt life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 update:battery looked bulged and a bit leaky so I got a new one and installed it. started right up but the brake and battery light were still on. battery reads 12.1V at idle after running for about 10 minutes. I would like to go and just pick a new one up tomorrow. So that means Napa or advanceauto. Are they really that bad? Napa shows one for 219$ plus 90$ core. price is comparable to 1st subaru and I can have it in hand tomorrow night. If you are getting only 12.1 V output, your alternator is definitely shot. I have gone the AZ and Advance Auto as a source of replacement alternators. Sure, I know they won't last as long as a Subaru OEM, but the parts stores are so much closer to home then the dealer, and a lot easier to drive to. After experienceing all of which the original poster has endured, I surmise that it is either a bad alternator or battery, and get enough warning time to go to the auto stores for a free electrical charging test. If it turns out to be a bad alternator, I get a decent price on one of their rebuilds, or one free of charge under the store's life time guarantee program. Changing out an alternator takes me about a half an hour. That is a whole lot of time and money saved taking this approach, compared to taking the car to the dealer, or even just purchasing the alternator there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 OEM part is 23700AA31ARA ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY REMAN FOR 2000-2002 LEGACY Automatic Trans 2.5, online Subaru dealer price seems to be ~$200-250 excluding core charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpl3000 Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 update: installed new alternator, no brake or battery light (yah!). check engine light still on as usual (boooo!). If I click my heals and pray to the subaru buddha maybe the bad o2 sensor was caused by the alternator and the engine light will go out in a few days. local dealer had part. 305$. (New impreza's look good) could have gone to napa for 220$ but here's 85$ to never doing it again for this car. also could have done 1st subaru internet for 200$ but I'd have to walk to work again tomorrow and ship back the core. final question. now why wouldn't the car move in D with the engine running? Thanks for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 final question. now why wouldn't the car move in D with the engine running? . :eek: do you feel it go into gear, see the engine RPM drop, or does it feel like its in neutral? Did you try all the gears? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Why wouldn't the car move in D with the engine running?It works now with the new alt though right? Maybe the voltage was too low before for the TCU to work properly. Or the voltage was too low to engage the solenoids in the trans or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpl3000 Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Yea, works fine now. I just took it out on the highway. shifted great when it was acting up I would put it in gear (it felt like it was shifting, definately not neutral. I was on a hill and it rolled in N, but not D) but it shuddered when I pushed the gas and kind of inched and lurched. My best description is that it felt like the brakes were on. Generally the whole car was freaking out, lights dimming, shuddering, revving up and down erratically with the forward surges. When I did this the AT oil light would come on (and go off when I stopped pushing the gas). I didn't try any other gears. Reverse worked. The engine revved pretty well in N and P before I lost all electrical power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I suspect your old alternator was putting out a lot AC voltage due to bad diodes and that caused havac with things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 After driving my mates old '94 Legacy A/T home from KatiKati with an xplodzord crank pulley - it acted very similarly once the battery voltage got low enough. Aaaah memories - driving at 10pm with just one fog lamp and marker lights on to save power. A trunk full of batteries.....thems were the days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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