Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

DIGIDASH reliability?????


Recommended Posts

hey, whats up all? well any way, i have an '86 gl10, digidash, nice car, but i dont know whether i wanna keep it because of all the electronics:rolleyes: . my question is how reliable are the electronic dashboards? will it basically last as long as i own the car , or will it need changed as often as my oil? :mad: well i love the car but if the gl10 was a guine pig for the digidash and it has more problems then michael jackson, then i think, for my wallets sake, ill just sell. i mean it already has a few electrical probs i cant figure out.. any who own/ed one, any info would be greatly appriciated. thanx again

 

tyler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

my 86' gl-10 didn't have any probs, even with 290k original on her... the only quirk i ever saw with my digidash is the ebrake light would flicker sometimes... other than that it was solid...

 

my wagons gettin parted out and going to the scrapper here very shortly.. you need a digidash? i have one :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok thanks all, i really dont want to sell it but if its gonna be a money hole, its gone.

 

my problem is that when its started, a few of the items dont register, such as gas and trip, do thoses just need a few moments to register? another problem is that the lights/parking lights/ would act up , but we figured out its just the switch. well my REAL problem is that the battery drains overnight, cant figure it out! really need that one fixed. have any of you had the prob? ugh, its driving me nuts.

also when i origionally got the car, the fuel pump would not engage, so we bypassed the ground in the ignition (or whatever) and now it works, could that be the problem?? doubt it, but.

no dont need another dash thanks any how.

oh by the way, she already has 180,000 miles on her.

 

oh one more thing, the turbo, squeals/whines/crys, pretty lound, not a normal whiz or anythiing like that. why so loud? need rebuilt? normal?

 

well thanks again for the help, type to ya soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to be a vulture or anything, but...

 

If you do decide to sell let me know. I'm looking for a GL10 &/or a Brat to play with. The wife won't let me get crazy with her Impreza anymore and the kids got most of my money.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would think the wired up fuel pump is leaving something on

 

if you jump the positive coil terminal to the positive battery terminal, it will turn on the whole car as if the key is on.

 

so you will want to figure out why the pump doesnt come on to begin with

 

try disconnecting the home made wiring, then pluf the green test terminals behind the driver side "kick panel" as i wouyld call it, under the steering wheel

 

with the green clips plugged in, and the key on, the fuel pump will cycle onn and off

 

try that and report back with your findings. let us know if the pump cycled, and go from there.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK UNDO THE LAST TWO POSTS! i found the clips(more like plugs to me), PLUGged them in and with the key on ACC it DID cycle (sounded like a blinker,) i also disconnected the ground wire, what else?? what now?? lovin the help so far.

 

 

thanx again

 

p.s

i did get the right "clips" didnt I? they were under drivers side "kick board" just floppin arround.

i didnt just intiate some self destruct or turn on some homing beacon?:-p

eh had to be them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, now that u know the fuel pump works on its own, now we need to see why it doesnt come on with the key

 

with the green clips unplugged, the fuel pump should come on for a second after u turn the key.

 

listen for the fuel pump.....

 

the fuel pump is kicked on by the rotation of the distributor, urs has the mechanical type

 

check all the connections around the distributor. do you get spark?, all of the yellow wires should be on the negative coil terminal. the black or black with a red connector should be on the positive coil terminal

 

so since your pump DID cycle with the green clips, then we can rule out the relay or the pump itself.

 

as long as the distributor is turning, it sends a signal to the ecu to keep the fuel pump on.

 

any farther into this, we might have to refer to a schematic from the haynes manual.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks Miles, today i recharged the battery, "then felt up my car." :D i found that every thing was cold, EXCEPT for the alternator. (car hasnt run in days.) i disconected the in the back of the alt, then i took off the white wire also connected to the alt. when i did that it sparked quite a bit. can the alternator "backdraw" power through its coils? or is it because the white wire is grounding out somewhere? its the one that runs from the alt, then TEEs to the fuseable link box, and somewhere up front.

by the way, when i got the car, the fuseable link for the white wire (from alt) was fried. that help you any?

 

tyler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the white wire from the alternator is live with the battery at all times. You will want to disconnect the NEGATIVE battery any time you service live electrical. the fried fuse link probably burnt up when you got sparks off the white wire

 

the white wire is what voltage from the alt goes to the battery. but its inly producing voltage when the alternator is spinning, and the coils are activated by the little clip on the back of the alt. the wires on the back of the alt should be live with the keys on.

 

so with the fuel pump home made wire, the car still runs?

 

what you need is a digital multimeter(or analog) to test current draw with the car off

 

what you will do is pull the positive battery cable, set the meter for mA ,an put the prongs from the meter in-line with te battery and the cable

 

this will tell you if there is current being drawn off the battery with the car off.

 

if you have electrical problems you plan to fix, a multimeter is what you will need to be effective at electrical trouble shooting

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the fuse was already fried when i got the car. i replaced it and the little sparks from the white wire didnt fry it, dont think it was strong enough to.

 

the car ONLY runs WITH the little homemade fuel pump wire. without it the pump doesnt pump.

 

i have a multimeter, but now i already know that power is being drawn when the car is off. last night i charged up a good battery, put it in and disconected the alternator completely. it DIDNT drain. now all i need to know is;

1.) is it the white wire grounding out somewhere/ or not grounded (not sure) ,

2.)is the fuesable link box messed up,

3.)or is there any other way that the alternator and/or wires conected could be draining the battery. again it only drains when the alternator is connected.

any ideas on what it could be?

im going to reconect my fuel pump ground wire, because that wasnt the problem.

 

i hate electrical :mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...