Door-is-open warning light on Forester...floating ground?

[David Cook]

Back on 9/05/03, I posted a msg describing an intermittent problem
I'm having with the red 'some-door-is-open' light that always stays
illuminated on the dash panel. This is happening on a model-year-2000
Forester.

My original 'theory' was that maybe one of the actual switches on one of the
4 doors or the tailgate was faulty.

Now, however, I strongly suspect that the root-cause is that there is a
problem with 'grounding' of some part(s) of the vehicle's electrical system.
(The ONLY symptom/problem is the 'some-door-is-open' red warning lamp
on the dash.) But, I now notice that this red warning light flickers and
varies
in its intensity when I engage/disengage the air-conditioning.

And, I also have seen the problem go away completely and then return again
days later, WHILE I AM JUST DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD!

In other words, it seems to have NOTHING to do with whether I opened/closed
doors at all.

So, let's assume that the working hypothesis is that the root cause IS a
grounding
problem. Given that, does anyone have any ideas how/where precisely to
look?
(e.g. up under the hood near the radiator, I see where a whole wiring
harness
attaches) But, where/how is the 'ground' for those circuits attached?

Any/all ideas about 'bad ground' related problems welcome.

TIA...

Dave

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I still think you have an intermittent open. That includes a ground but
it may also mean a bad/dirty connector or partially severed wire. Um -
did this problem show up after a new stereo was installed? Or window
regulator? or other work? Maybe a wire or cable bundle was pinched or
scraped. Try pulling/pushing/twisting on cable harnesses and connectors
while having someone monitor the light.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

 

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Dave
Sounds like you did not do serious troubleshooting with a meter.
No one can pin point the source of trouble for you. Just take
some time and using a meter spend a week end or so and see what
you can find.
Tony

 

[David Cook]

I've been snooping around a bit more...checked the other 3 (normal) door
switches
and found nothing.

But, it did bring up another question! The rear door/tailgate also
participates
in the circuit...like the other 4 doors, it too will normally cause the
red-warning light on
the panel to illuminate when it is opened. But, the mystery is:

I can not FIND the switch for this rear door at all! I've looked all around
the edges
of this tailgate door for a similar switch, but can't find one. Anyone know
where
it is supposed to be located? It's gonna be hard to check this switch if I
can't
find it!

 

[David Cook]

Here's yet another issue/question: Up under the hood on the very front on
the passenger
side, the whole harness-full of connecting-wires comes up from elsewhere on
the chassis
and CONNECTS (somehow) onto a 'pad' that (probably) contains a group of
electrical
contacts for each wire's pin. But, I don't understand HOW it interlocks
onto the 'pad'.

Anyone know where/how to release whatever 'catch' is holding this cable onto
its pad?

(The owner's manual doesn't show it, and there are no 3rd-party
shop-manual(s) for the
Subaru Forester that I can find.)

TIA...

Dave

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I believe it's in the handle mechanism and I've read it is a common
problem. Didn't we mention this much earlier in the thread?

Carl
1 Lucky Texan