Electrical problem

[jamason56]

2002 Subaru Outback VDC 3.0 Sedan, 135,000 miles

Had a very strange thing happen today. I went into a store after
having driven around 30 miles. When I got back in the car it started
fine, but I had all kinds of things going wrong. Radio/A/C light very
dim, ABS light on, VDC light on, and temperature gauge was very low
even though the engine was warmed up. I cautiously took the car around
the lot and found that the speedometer and tachometer remained at 0.
The steering seemed a bit heavier than usual. When I turned the car,
there was binding or clunking from the rear, if I'm not mistaken. I
pulled into another spot... the mileage LCD was dimming. When my foot
was off of the brake, there was a chattering sound from somewhere in
the engine compartment or firewall. I looked at the engine while it
was running, but nothing seemed out of line. Since there was a service
station right across the road, I decided I would try to make it there,
but this time in addition to the other symptoms, I had to rev up the
engine to get the car to move... the transmission seemed to be
slipping. At that point I knew I needed to stop the car and shut it
off. With engine off but key on, still had strange indications on the
instrument panel including the security light flashing on and off
rapidly... this with the key in the car! I could not even turn the key
to off and pull it out. I checked the owners manual and found a
mechanical lever underneath the steering column that allowed me to get
the key out.

I walked over to the service station and they brought a portable
charger over to the car. I was able to start the car and slowly drove
it over to the service station with the charger still attached. I
still had the heavy steering, ABS light, VDC light on, no speedometer
or tachometer. The transmission was not slipping and the 'thunking'
noise from the rear when I turned did not appear until I reached the
service station.

They put the battery on fast charge, did a test and determined the
alternator was bad. I was able to pull the car into a parking spot
(same symptoms) until they could get an alternator for me in the
morning. This crazy mish-mash of symptoms told me it was likely to be
an electrical problem and most likely the alternator.

What does everyone else think? Has anyone else ever had these kinds of
symptoms before? Was it alternator related or something else?

Any thoughts on the remanufactured alternator market?

Thanks, John

PS Not sure if this is related or not, but I degreased and cleaned the
engine a couple of weeks ago (it really looks nice now ). I did
not use any high-pressure spray, but there was degreasing fluid. Any
relationship?

 

[johninky]

2002 Subaru Outback VDC 3.0 Sedan, 135,000 miles

Had a very strange thing happen today. I went into a store after
having driven around 30 miles. When I got back in the car it started
fine, but I had all kinds of things going wrong. Radio/A/C light very
dim, ABS light on, VDC light on, and temperature gauge was very low
even though the engine was warmed up. I cautiously took the car around
the lot and found that the speedometer and tachometer remained at 0.
The steering seemed a bit heavier than usual. When I turned the car,
there was binding or clunking from the rear, if I'm not mistaken. I
pulled into another spot... the mileage LCD was dimming. When my foot
was off of the brake, there was a chattering sound from somewhere in
the engine compartment or firewall. I looked at the engine while it
was running, but nothing seemed out of line. Since there was a service
station right across the road, I decided I would try to make it there,
but this time in addition to the other symptoms, I had to rev up the
engine to get the car to move... the transmission seemed to be
slipping. At that point I knew I needed to stop the car and shut it
off. With engine off but key on, still had strange indications on the
instrument panel including the security light flashing on and off
rapidly... this with the key in the car! I could not even turn the key
to off and pull it out. I checked the owners manual and found a
mechanical lever underneath the steering column that allowed me to get
the key out.

I walked over to the service station and they brought a portable
charger over to the car. I was able to start the car and slowly drove
it over to the service station with the charger still attached. I
still had the heavy steering, ABS light, VDC light on, no speedometer
or tachometer. The transmission was not slipping and the 'thunking'
noise from the rear when I turned did not appear until I reached the
service station.

They put the battery on fast charge, did a test and determined the
alternator was bad. I was able to pull the car into a parking spot
(same symptoms) until they could get an alternator for me in the
morning. This crazy mish-mash of symptoms told me it was likely to be
an electrical problem and most likely the alternator.

What does everyone else think? Has anyone else ever had these kinds of
symptoms before? Was it alternator related or something else?

Any thoughts on the remanufactured alternator market?

Thanks, John

PS Not sure if this is related or not, but I degreased and cleaned the
engine a couple of weeks ago (it really looks nice now ). I did
not use any high-pressure spray, but there was degreasing fluid. Any
relationship?

Sounds like a failing alternator to me. Too bad you ordered another
alternator. I happen to have a new, never installed alternator for
this model I would have sold you at probably a huge savings.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

On 9/3/2010 6:24 PM, (e-mail address removed) wrote:

What does everyone else think? Has anyone else ever had these kinds of
symptoms before? Was it alternator related or something else?

I've had many if not most of these symptoms before, but never all at the
same time. I got a 2000 OBW, BTW.

Any thoughts on the remanufactured alternator market?

Thanks, John

PS Not sure if this is related or not, but I degreased and cleaned the
engine a couple of weeks ago (it really looks nice now ). I did
not use any high-pressure spray, but there was degreasing fluid. Any
relationship?

It's possible, try taking a spray bottle and spray some water around
ignition cables, alternator, batteries, etc. and see if you see any
sparking. I mean if you see sparking with a water bottle then you're
definitely going to have problems next time you drive through a rainstorm.

Yousuf Khan

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

2002 Subaru Outback VDC 3.0 Sedan, 135,000 miles

Had a very strange thing happen today. I went into a store after
having driven around 30 miles. When I got back in the car it started
fine, but I had all kinds of things going wrong. Radio/A/C light very
dim, ABS light on, VDC light on, and temperature gauge was very low
even though the engine was warmed up. I cautiously took the car around
the lot and found that the speedometer and tachometer remained at 0.
The steering seemed a bit heavier than usual. When I turned the car,
there was binding or clunking from the rear, if I'm not mistaken. I
pulled into another spot... the mileage LCD was dimming. When my foot
was off of the brake, there was a chattering sound from somewhere in
the engine compartment or firewall. I looked at the engine while it
was running, but nothing seemed out of line. Since there was a service
station right across the road, I decided I would try to make it there,
but this time in addition to the other symptoms, I had to rev up the
engine to get the car to move... the transmission seemed to be
slipping. At that point I knew I needed to stop the car and shut it
off. With engine off but key on, still had strange indications on the
instrument panel including the security light flashing on and off
rapidly... this with the key in the car! I could not even turn the key
to off and pull it out. I checked the owners manual and found a
mechanical lever underneath the steering column that allowed me to get
the key out.

I walked over to the service station and they brought a portable
charger over to the car. I was able to start the car and slowly drove
it over to the service station with the charger still attached. I
still had the heavy steering, ABS light, VDC light on, no speedometer
or tachometer. The transmission was not slipping and the 'thunking'
noise from the rear when I turned did not appear until I reached the
service station.

They put the battery on fast charge, did a test and determined the
alternator was bad. I was able to pull the car into a parking spot
(same symptoms) until they could get an alternator for me in the
morning. This crazy mish-mash of symptoms told me it was likely to be
an electrical problem and most likely the alternator.

What does everyone else think? Has anyone else ever had these kinds of
symptoms before? Was it alternator related or something else?

Any thoughts on the remanufactured alternator market?

Thanks, John

PS Not sure if this is related or not, but I degreased and cleaned the
engine a couple of weeks ago (it really looks nice now ). I did
not use any high-pressure spray, but there was degreasing fluid. Any
relationship?

wow, my first thought was a broken or severely slipping belt.

I dunno. Hope you get it fixed up.

 

[jamason56]

- Show quoted text -

HI All,
Thanks for the replies.
@ johninky - Thanks for the offer on the alternator. Unfortunately I
have to get the car back on the road ASAP.
@ Yosuf Kahn - I do wonder if that engine wash was involved. I'll try
your tips. When you mention spraying water around the battery stuff
does that include into the alternator as well or just around it?
@ Lucky Texan - I just replaced my belt (3rd one) along with idler
pulley and tensioner pulley a couple of months ago, so I'm pretty sure
no problem in that area.

I am truly hoping it is only the alternator... the other options are
scary. Keeping my fingers crossed...
John

 

[jamason56]

HI All,
Thanks for the replies.
@ johninky - Thanks for the offer on the alternator. Unfortunately I
have to get the car back on the road ASAP.
@ Yosuf Kahn - I do wonder if that engine wash was involved. I'll try
your tips. When you mention spraying water around the battery stuff
does that include into the alternator as well or just around it?
@ Lucky Texan - I just replaced my belt (3rd one) along with idler
pulley and tensioner pulley a couple of months ago, so I'm pretty sure
no problem in that area.

I am truly hoping it is only the alternator... the other options are
scary. Keeping my fingers crossed...
John

Hi All,
Replacing the alternator fixed the problem. My intuition tells me the
engine cleaning of a week ago may have caused the failure. But then
again the car is 8.5 years old with 133,677 miles.

The only issue I have left is the security system is not working. The
security light is flashing twice. It turns on immediately when the key
is in the off position and turns off as soon as the key is in the on
position. The owner's manual tells what one flash, three flashes and
four flashes are (for tripped alarm sensors). I've also looked in the
tech manuals but no luck yet. I've followed every step in the owner's
manual, but no luck. The keyless entry system works fine, as does
everything else. I'm hoping that losing the alternator and having all
the wierd symptoms did not cause any other issues (ECM, TCM, etc.)

John


John

 

[jamason56]

Hi All,
Replacing the alternator fixed the problem. My intuition tells me the
engine cleaning of a week ago may have caused the failure. But then
again the car is 8.5 years old with 133,677 miles.

The only issue I have left is the security system is not working. The
security light is flashing twice. It turns on immediately when the key
is in the off position and turns off as soon as the key is in the on
position. The owner's manual tells what one flash, three flashes and
four flashes are (for tripped alarm sensors). I've also looked in the
tech manuals but no luck yet. I've followed every step in the owner's
manual, but no luck. The keyless entry system works fine, as does
everything else. I'm hoping that losing the alternator and having all
the wierd symptoms did not cause any other issues (ECM, TCM, etc.)

John

John- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

OK - now I'm feeling stupid. The security system was in the valet
mode. That's what I get for not reading the manual close enough. I
actually found this by searching the web for subaru security system
problems. Everything is fine and hopefully it will stay that way.
John

 

[Yousuf Khan]

@ Yosuf Kahn - I do wonder if that engine wash was involved. I'll try
your tips. When you mention spraying water around the battery stuff
does that include into the alternator as well or just around it?

Yeah, around the alternator as well, of course.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Bob Noble]

You better not spay water directly into the alternator. That's sure asking
for trouble.
Water and electrical do not mix.