Electrical problems w/Outback Part 3

P

Peter A

Hi,

This is the latest installment in the hopefully-soon-ending saga of the
odd electrical symptoms with my '96 Outback. The problems started
several months ago. Occasionally, I'd lock the car with the keyless
remote and notice that the parking lights or taillights would illuminate
and stay on. Unlocking and relocking the car several times usually made
the lights go off.

These symptoms got worse and much more frequent. Once I came back to
the car and the battery was pretty much dead. When I turned the key to
start the car, all the dashboard and panel lights began flashing weakly
and slowly, on for a second and off for a second. The car wouldn't
start, but the flashing stopped after turning the key a few times, and I
was able to start it with jumper cables.

A few months ago, I found the battery dead again, and when I tried to
turn the key the driver's door lock went crazy, clicking rapidly as
though it was trying to lock and unlock quickly. The only way I could
get this to stop was pulling the fuse for the door locks.

I pulled the fuse which controlled the electric door locks and the
keyless entry system, left it disconnected for several weeks, and the
problem went away completely. I found the keyless entry module tucked
up above the fuse box and removed that, then put the fuse back in. The
problem still didn't return, so I suspected the module was bad.

I purchased a replacement keyless entry module and had a little trouble
with the initial programming, so I put the original module back in for
comparison. Interestingly, the original module seemed to work fine. I
took it out and put the new module in, got it successfully programmed,
and it too seemed to work fine.

I left the new module in, but within a couple days the original problem
showed signs of returning. I locked the car one evening and noticed the
dash lights flashing on and off slowly, same as before. I removed the
new keyless entry module, and I haven't reinstalled the either one, and
the problem is gone again.

So now what? The problem seems to be related to that keyless entry
module, but the module itself is probably not bad. What could cause
these symptoms? Could it be a bad ground or some other related
component? How can I troubleshoot this further? Thanks in advance!

-Peter
 
Hello. I am currently suffering from the same issues as Peter... Any updates on your progress traacking/fixing the problem before I jump into this too?

thanks,

Jonny I
 

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