Forester dies on ther road

[Zeppo]

Just got my daughter's '01 Forester back from the mechanic the other day
after replacing an O2 sensor (thank god it wasn't the Catalytic converter).

She drove it around for a day and took it to a party last night. On the way
home she was driving down the road the runs past our street when the
Forester just died. The motor stopped and all the dash lights went off
except for the radio, which was still playing through her iPod. She thinks
the headlights were off as well, but she can't recall for sure.

She coasted to the shoulder and put it in park and turned off the
headlights.. She tried starting it and it didn't do anything the first time.
The starter didn't spin and there were no dash lights.

She tried it again and it started right up. She drove it home and it seemed
fine. It started OK this morning but I was worried about having her drive
back to school with it.

We gave her our spare car and I checked hers over. I couldn't find anything
loose or burned. No relays or fuses bad that I could see. Battery terminals
tight. I decided to take it back to the mechanic after work today and have
him check it out tomorrow.

What could have caused that?

TIA
Jon

 

[Roger Buttsnort]

Does it have a Sears "Diehard" battery in it? If it does..thats your
problem. They pressfit the "Dogbone" straps between cells and they fail...

 

[Dano58]

Just got my daughter's '01 Forester back from the mechanic the other day
after replacing an O2 sensor (thank god it wasn't the Catalytic converter).

She drove it around for a day and took it to a party last night. On the way
home she was driving down the road the runs past our street when the
Forester just died. The motor stopped and all the dash lights went off
except for the radio, which was still playing through her iPod. She thinks
the headlights were off as well, but she can't recall for sure.

She coasted to the shoulder and put it in park and turned off the
headlights.. She tried starting it and it didn't do anything the first time.
The starter didn't spin and there were no dash lights.

She tried it again and it started right up. She drove it home and it seemed
fine. It started OK this morning but I was worried about having her drive
back to school with it.

We gave her our spare car and I checked hers over. I couldn't find anything
loose or burned. No relays or fuses bad that I could see. Battery terminals
tight. I decided to take it back to the mechanic after work today and have
him check it out tomorrow.

What could have caused that?

TIA
Jon

Should be a code stored. Get it read at Autozone.

Dan D
'99 Impreza 2.5 RS (son's)
Central NJ USA

 

[Zeppo]

The check engine light didn't come on. Would it store a code anyway?

Jon

 

[Weaponer]

Just got my daughter's '01 Forester back from the mechanic the other day
after replacing an O2 sensor (thank god it wasn't the Catalytic converter)..

She drove it around for a day and took it to a party last night. On the way
home she was driving down the road the runs past our street when the
Forester just died. The motor stopped and all the dash lights went off
except for the radio, which was still playing through her iPod. She thinks
the headlights were off as well, but she can't recall for sure.

She coasted to the shoulder and put it in park and turned off the
headlights.. She tried starting it and it didn't do anything the first time.
The starter didn't spin and there were no dash lights.

She tried it again and it started right up. She drove it home and it seemed
fine. It started OK this morning but I was worried about having her drive
back to school with it.

We gave her our spare car and I checked hers over. I couldn't find anything
loose or burned. No relays or fuses bad that I could see. Battery terminals
tight. I decided to take it back to the mechanic after work today and have
him check it out tomorrow.

What could have caused that?

TIA
Jon

You mentioned that the battery cables were tight. How about the other
end of the ground cable where it attaches to the body?

 

[Zeppo]

Roger,
It has an Interstate I put in last year.

Jon

 

[Zeppo]

Just got my daughter's '01 Forester back from the mechanic the other day
after replacing an O2 sensor (thank god it wasn't the Catalytic
converter).

She drove it around for a day and took it to a party last night. On the
way
home she was driving down the road the runs past our street when the
Forester just died. The motor stopped and all the dash lights went off
except for the radio, which was still playing through her iPod. She thinks
the headlights were off as well, but she can't recall for sure.

She coasted to the shoulder and put it in park and turned off the
headlights.. She tried starting it and it didn't do anything the first
time.
The starter didn't spin and there were no dash lights.

She tried it again and it started right up. She drove it home and it
seemed
fine. It started OK this morning but I was worried about having her drive
back to school with it.

We gave her our spare car and I checked hers over. I couldn't find
anything
loose or burned. No relays or fuses bad that I could see. Battery
terminals
tight. I decided to take it back to the mechanic after work today and have
him check it out tomorrow.

What could have caused that?

TIA
Jon

You mentioned that the battery cables were tight. How about the other
end of the ground cable where it attaches to the body?

I didn't check that, so maybe. I didn't crawl under the car either so it
could be a lot of things loose down there.

I checked with my mechanic this morning He checked it over pretty thoroughly
was going to drive it around on errands today and then drive it home tonight
and see if he can replicate the problem.

Thanks,
Jon

 

[Dano58]

The check engine light didn't come on. Would it store a code anyway?

It's possible if it was a temporary/intermittent thing.

Dan D
'99 Impreza 2.5 RS (son's)
Central NJ USA