'99 Forester Possessed by Satan

[Ali]

Hi Everybody –

I recently purchased a '99 Forester S with 75K miles on it. In the 3+
weeks that I've owned the car, I've put several hundred miles on it –
and it seems to run fine. However – the car seems to have some issues
which I'm hoping someone can shed some light on. Here goes:

From the start, the keyless entry remote didn't work. The seller
attributed this to a dead battery in the remote, which seemed logical
to me – and since I don't like car alarm systems in general, I was in
no hurry to get the remote working. However – over the first 2 weeks
of ownership, I noticed that the alarm liked to arm itself/go off at
random intervals. I never once intentionally engaged the alarm system
– but once every few days, it would set itself off.

After waking up once or twice at 2 AM to the sound of the alarm
pleasuring itself, I decided that the thing to do was to take the car
to my nearest Subaru dealer and ask them to "kill" the alarm system
entirely. $50 later, the little valet button on the dashboard was
gone, and the problem was solved. Or so I thought…

This morning (a week after I had the dealer neuter the alarm system),
I started the car up for the short commute to the train station.
Almost immediately, the parking lights, brake lights and interior
lights started flashing on and off at regular intervals – almost like
the flashers were on, except for that the flashers were definitely
*not* on. The lights would flash constantly for a minute or so, then
stop...and then start again. This flashing continued through the
entire drive to the train station, and continued for a number of
seconds after I removed the key from the ignition. I watched the car
while from the train platform while waiting for the train to arrive,
and didn't see the lights flashing again – so we'll see if it happens
again on the commute home.

It's worth noting that I could operate the flashers and turn signals
"over" this other flashing (the errant flashing was slower than the
flashing of the hazard signals). Also, I forgot to add – I replaced
the battery in the remote before I had the alarm disabled, and it
still didn't work.

Any ideas? All feedback appreciated. Thanks in advance!

- Ali

 

[frank]

your story makes me glad that my 98 is bare bones, except for power windows.
go to a reputable alarm installer for correction or dismantling; preferably
dismantling. good luck.

 

[KLS]

From the start, the keyless entry remote didn't work. The seller
attributed this to a dead battery in the remote, which seemed logical
to me – and since I don't like car alarm systems in general, I was in
no hurry to get the remote working. However – over the first 2 weeks
of ownership, I noticed that the alarm liked to arm itself/go off at
random intervals. I never once intentionally engaged the alarm system
– but once every few days, it would set itself off.

I think the valet feature of your alarm system is still connected
somehow; we had that problem until we fixed our own human errors with
the system (learned how to disable valet ourselves).

 

[Steve]

I had two cars that were possessed with electrical problems and both had
the same remedy. Both needed a new ground wire strapped between the body
and the negative terminal of the battery. I hope that does it for you.
(neither car was a Subaru BTW)

Good luck.

Glenn

 

[DAW]

Our 98 OBW and 2000 Forester does this. The problem is the battery has been
disconnected from the car long enough that the keyless entry system has
forgotten the remotes code.

1. The flashing lights is the keyless entry system telling you it has
"forgotten" the remotes code. Each remote (if more than one) must be
learned.
2. The dealer did not disable the keyless entry. I suspect all he did was
disable the Security Option of the keyless entry system.
3. I can't speak to the 99 Forester, but the "Valet" button on the OBW is
the button which, when pushed, allows the keyless entry system to re-learn
the remotes code.

The owners manual has the details of how to get the keyless entry system
into the "learn" mode. Was the "dealer" a Subaru dealer? If so he needs be
kicked in the pants.