crash321 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I have a 98 outback 5 speed 2.5 litre, 155,000 miles. I was on my way to work, 5 hour commute, when after 2 hours into my drive my right turn signal came on steady but not blinking and did not go away. I came on by itself and not from me using it. The left blinker works fine. I can get the right blinker to get a little bit brighter if i turn on the blinker with the stalk but it will just do it one time. and go back to being just "on". I tried disconnecting the blinker relay under the dash on driver side above the kick panel, but the lights (front and rear turn signals, and dash indicator) did not go off. I then tried disconnecting the hazard switch but to no avail. I even removed the bulbs and and the indicator is still illuminated on the dash. Then after 4 hours into my commute, my cruise kicked off and the speedometer fluctuated back and forth and then quit working altogether, then triggered a CEL. After I got to work the engine stalled but started right up again. I had to disconnect the battery so that I can at least start it when I get back to the car. Any ideas will be great. I am not at the car as I am over the road right now but will return to the car to go home on tueday evening. Thanks so much sorry for the length but wanted to be thourgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Crash321, (I'll bet there's a meaning to your handle?) I'm not an electrical expert, but enough strangeness has gone on in your Subie to more than suggest that they are all related. I 've heard of these similar goings on in 90-96 Nissan 300zx's and they are usually traced to the alternator. My second guess would be a minor short that has started to expand. Hope someone else can jump in with a more positive solution. Good Luck and keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 mmmmmmmm, Oh I forgot to add that when you turn on the hazard switch, all the signal lights light up but don't flash, including the indicator lights. Thanks guys! I just hope it makes it home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Crash321, (I'll bet there's a meaning to your handle?) Umm, yes, many accidents (not by my cause) (I drive truck now and have taken skidpad training and defensive training, haven't had an accident in years) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Is this the first time this has happened? Isnt it like ungodly cold up there....like below zero? prob. not related but the cold can do some seriously werid things sometimes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Is this the first time this has happened? Isnt it like ungodly cold up there....like below zero? prob. not related but the cold can do some seriously werid things sometimes.... Yes this is the first, I have driven this car 20,000 miles so far with only the A/C compressor siezing last summer. The temp was about 0 F at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I once had something similiar happen in my car, the dash guages went nuts, and drive ability was poor. The car continued to start okay, but then the wierdness. Turned out to be a dying cell in the battery. There was still enough power in the battery to start the car, but with voltage down the guages and accessories performed poorly and strangely. Suggest testing all the battery cells with a hydrometer to see if all cells are good. In my case, once I found a bad cell, I replaced the battery, and all was well again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 I once had something similiar happen in my car, the dash guages went nuts, and drive ability was poor. The car continued to start okay, but then the wierdness. Turned out to be a dying cell in the battery. There was still enough power in the battery to start the car, but with voltage down the guages and accessories performed poorly and strangely. Suggest testing all the battery cells with a hydrometer to see if all cells are good. In my case, once I found a bad cell, I replaced the battery, and all was well again. Thats the thing, my car still had all the power in the world, just the speedo quit and threw the CEL, that still wouldn't explain the right side turn indicators staying on all the time. I even turned off the head and parking lights to see if the turn signal wire was shorted to power from those lights.......I wonder if a relay would cause that. In fact, is there a relay that is separate from the left side blinker, and if so where would it be located? I know the blinker relay for the left side is under the dash on the drivers side right above the kick panel trim on the side of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleming442 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I just went through this on my Chev. truck last year. First, might I add that shorts are highly unlikely unless the car has a history of an accident. Given your harsh climate I am going to suggest the same problem I found on my truck. It was a loose ground on the engine block, corroded from salt. Get a wiring digram, and trace out your grounds on the affected circuits. Give them a good tug/ wiggle at their attachment points. If one comes off (like what happened to me- took me 2 weeks to figure it out and find it!), replace the ring terminal, and your problem is solved. My other suggestion would be a blown bulb, maybe the DRL. If a bulb blows on a normally closed circuit (DRL), it can draw another ground from some strange places (turn signal/ brake). I also do not discount the battery or alternator suggestions. They are very plausible. The bottom line is: you need to go over it with a fine tooth comb, wiring diagram, and a good VOM. Hope this helps....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 mmmmm ok I will get battery tested then at the autozone near where my terminal is when i get back on tuesday. I will keep everyone posted when I find something. Thanks for all the suggestions:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) This trouble would seem to be due to a problem in the flasher unit. You stated you removed the turn signal flasher unit and hazard switch but the lights still worked. I don't think you had the correct module as the lights should have been disabled after the module was removed. This problem isn't happening because of anything wrong with the battery. The problem is within the right turn signal circuit. Edited January 17, 2009 by Cougar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Thats the thing, my car still had all the power in the world, just the speedo quit and threw the CEL, that still wouldn't explain the right side turn indicators staying on all the time. I even turned off the head and parking lights to see if the turn signal wire was shorted to power from those lights.......I wonder if a relay would cause that. In fact, is there a relay that is separate from the left side blinker, and if so where would it be located? I know the blinker relay for the left side is under the dash on the drivers side right above the kick panel trim on the side of the car. Low voltage from a bad battery could still cause the turn signals to do strange things. Low voltage can cause relays not to work properly. Try this.......with the motor turned off, turn the head lights on. If the head lights are dim, I would continue to suspect a bad battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Since you stated that the speedometer and cruise control had troubles also have the voltage tested at the battery. Along with looking at the DC voltage while the engine is running check to see if there is any AC voltage getting to the battery. There should be less than a tenth of a volt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Low voltage from a bad battery could still cause the turn signals to do strange things. Low voltage can cause relays not to work properly. Try this.......with the motor turned off, turn the head lights on. If the head lights are dim, I would continue to suspect a bad battery. The lights are on all the time, they were still bright with key on engine off, but I will still get battery tested. thank you:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 If you have any AC voltage present at the battery you will need to replace the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 This trouble would seem to be due to a problem in the flasher unit. You stated you removed the turn signal flasher unit and hazard switch but the lights still worked. I don't think you had the correct module as the lights should have been disabled after the module was removed. This problem isn't happening because of anything wrong with the battery. The problem is within the right turn signal circuit. Cougar, could you tell me if the flasher unit is the same for the left and right side blinkers. I did have the flasher unplugged because I unplugged it while I had the left blinker blinking and the blinking stopped (it was also the one that I felt vibrating as it clicked). I also unplugged the hazard switch (middle of dash switch). I don't know if there is a relay for the hazard lights that are separate from the left and right blinker relay. As much info that I can get is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. BTW I am going to be able to run by the terminal on Sunday, hopefully I will have the time to hook up the battery and get the car to Autozone and have the battery tested. I will post what I find as long as I can find internet access. Kinda difficult in a big rig sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 If you have any AC voltage present at the battery you will need to replace the alternator. That is something new to me.....Would I just put a meter on alternating current to see how much voltage I would get.......I have always used the direct current side of my meters when measuring voltage on a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Normally DC voltage is all you need to check because that is what it should be, normally. You need to set the meter to read AC VOLTAGE for this test. We just want to be sure that there isn't any AC component coming from the alternator causing the trouble you are having. The engine needs to running for this test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Normally DC voltage is all you need to check because that is what it should be, normally. You need to set the meter to read AC VOLTAGE for this test. We just want to be sure that there isn't any AC component coming from the alternator causing the trouble you are having. The engine needs to running for this test. Ok, I will probably have to wait till I get back to the house to test that because I don't carry a DVOM with me, maybe I should start:grin: Would there be any further damage If I drive it the 5 hours back home with that condition and the speedo not working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Cougar, could you tell me if the flasher unit is the same for the left and right side blinkers. I did have the flasher unplugged because I unplugged it while I had the left blinker blinking and the blinking stopped (it was also the one that I felt vibrating as it clicked). I also unplugged the hazard switch (middle of dash switch). I don't know if there is a relay for the hazard lights that are separate from the left and right blinker relay. As much info that I can get is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. BTW I am going to be able to run by the terminal on Sunday, hopefully I will have the time to hook up the battery and get the car to Autozone and have the battery tested. I will post what I find as long as I can find internet access. Kinda difficult in a big rig sometimes. I'm confused. In your first post you stated that you pulled the turn signal flasher and it made no difference, the left light still blinked. Now here you are saying it went out. The turn signal flasher should be one unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Ok, I will probably have to wait till I get back to the house to test that because I don't carry a DVOM with me, maybe I should start:grin: Would there be any further damage If I drive it the 5 hours back home with that condition and the speedo not working? If AC is getting to the battery it can damage it. Hopefully you can find a place that can check it for you before you leave. It is a very quick check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 I'm confused. In your first post you stated that you pulled the turn signal flasher and it made no difference, the left light still blinked. Now here you are saying it went out. The turn signal flasher should be one unit. Sorry for the confusion, I meant it made no difference for the turn signal light on the right side staying on. When I pulled the wire connection, it did kill the left side blinker but did not turn off the the constant "on" situation for the right side blinker. I hope that clears it up, if not I will try to explain better thanks:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 This just came to me but when I went to disconnect the battery when I got to the terminal, I thought that I saw corrosion growing on the positive battery post like a bloom. It was really dark and I was working by "feel" to disconnect battery so I am unable to be sure of this. If that is the case, that would be unusual for anything that I drive because I am so anal about keeping connections on my battery clean. I clean and put vasoline on the terminals every year of every vehicle that I own. This car was done when I bought it july. Any thoughts......maybe this could be my cause if I was seeing it right......It was 3 in the morning so I was really tired and really dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) Ok, that is clear about the flasher unit. It is great you try to keep the battery connections clean since that is a real major problem with a lot of troubles. Get the voltage checked. Places like Autozone should have a meter to check it. Edited January 18, 2009 by Cougar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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