sparkydave

In case anybody wants to know what mice can do to a car, here's what can happen. Finding the occasional seed pods on top of the engine was tolerable, but this stinks! What you are seeing is the blower motor from my wife's '05 Legacy. She said she was hearing funny noises when she turned the fan on high, so when I dropped the blower motor out, this is what I found. The white stuff used to be a cabin air filter. Many thanks to this forum for having the information on how to get to what was left of the cabin filter, but no thanks to Subaru for such a $%$@$! design!

Ah, didn't realize that's what you meant. The torque converter disengages when it feels like it downshifted (it shudders and the engine RPMs go up), but it hasn't downshifted to third. I know it hasn't downshifted to third because in sport shift mode it still indicates it's in fourth, and if we downshift to third the RPMs go up considerably higher.

The camper weighs about 2000 pounds. Some hills we've dropped to about 55 MPH in 3rd gear, but made sure that when the torque converter disengaged then we put it into sport shift mode and locked it in 3rd so the torque converter slippage wasn't heating the fluid like crazy. Coolant temperature stayed normal, but since there's no trans fluid temperature gauge, I couldn't say how hot it got. The fluid never smelled scorched (even before we put a cooler on), and the AT temp light never came on. We added the cooler to help keep it cool. What "Leg" are you referring to?

Thanks Gary, the cooler is on the Subaru, but it did the early 4th gear shifts even before we put the aftermarket cooler on. It only does that when the engine is cold, not after it's warmed up, so I don't think the cooler is to blame.

Thanks for the tip on the undercoating, I hadn't looked at that.

My wife has decided her '05 Legacy wagon is a little too quirky for her liking, and out of the blue says she doesn't trust it anymore and wants to trade in for an Outback. Only trouble is, we're still paying for it, and I had figured we'd get rid of my car first ('04 Honda CR-V). I have a 43 mile commute with frequent traffic jams, and the stick shift is losing its appeal. The gas mileage isn't too bad (averages 27 MPG), but figured I'd get something with an automatic that's a little more efficient. Here's why she doesn't trust hers: -A few months after she bought it, it started having trouble starting in the cold, and one day it flooded. We coaxed it back to life, the dealer looked at it for 3 weeks, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. They reprogrammed the transmission control module, probed out some wiring harnesses, but couldn't pinpoint anything wrong. To add to that, the dealer eventually went under, and all records of the work they did were lost other than notes my wife took detailing how long it was there and what they did. Since they reprogrammed it, the shift points are different, and when it's cold it seems to like shifting into 4th annoyingly early. -The display occasionally shows "ILL.3" on the trip odometer. The dealer said it was a message that the display illumination changed, but it does this randomly without touching anything. I searched around, and found a few others who see this. -The transmission is slow to shift from reverse to first when cold. She also says she sometimes hears a grating sound when she does this, as though the clutches were slipping. We've changed fluid a couple of times, and it's better, but still a 1-2 second pause between putting it in "D" and actually having it go into first. -The factory battery was replaced last year, because it was cranking very slow when cold. I measured the voltage and confirmed it was dropping below 7 volts when it was only 30 degrees out, so we replaced it. All was well, but now she says it's doing it again. I didn't find any significant parasitic loads (about 30 milliamps tops), and the alternator seems to be doing fine. I haven't had a chance to check the cranking voltage again yet. She insists it's not like it used to be, even though I pointed out that any car will crank slower in the cold. -Her CD player only works for about an hour, then stops playing. Radio works fine. -She gets a strange smell of burning rubber (more like hoses, belts, or tires than wires) from under the hood sometimes. Dealer couldn't find anything. I can't find anything either, and I haven't found any glazed belts or damaged hoses. I figured since my Honda is worth more at this point, I was going to entertain the idea that we should trade in my car, I'll take her car, and she can get the new Outback. That way, I have a more efficient car with an automatic to drive to work, she can allay her fears that this car is going to leave her stranded, and we can keep our vehicle which is already equipped with a tow hitch and trans cooler for towing our camper. Any thoughts? Does it sound like this car with only 60,000 miles should be gotten rid of? She fears her car is a lemon, but I can't tell that there are really significant problems that can't be fixed. I figured the screwy shift points can be fixed with another firmware upgrade (assuming enough folks complained that Subaru came up with a different one), the odometer "ILL.3" message is a quirk I could live with, the CD player could be replaced (I usually listen to the radio anyway), and the slow cranking when cold can be fixed. The only ones I'd be really concerned about is the strange burning rubber smell, and the grating noise when putting it into "D". Granted, a transmission can be replaced too, but that isn't cheap.

OK, I give. Ready to do the ABS sequence control, but I can't find the connector to jumper the terminals. I see the OBD II connector, and I see a white connector attached near the accelerator pedal sensor, but that one doesn't resemble the one I'm looking for. It's an '05 Legacy.

Never mind, I found a translation that's much more descriptive. Thanks a bunch!

Thanks Porcupine, looks like Haynes was a big help (NOT) in this case. Guess they got it wrong for Subaru. Thanks for the article. Is there a better description of the "Sequence Control"? The steps in that are confusing at best. For example, I understand connecting terminals 3(K) and 6 (L), but it says "set speed at 2 MPH or less" (stop the car??), and "within 0.5 seconds after ABS warning lamp goes out, immediately after ignition is turned to on, depress brake pedal and hold" Note: when ignition switch is set to on, the brake pedal must not be depressed (isn't that what the step just said to do??). Then it goes on to say the "sequence control" is complete when L terminal is separated from ground and K terminal is separated from ground. Say what?

I did the 60,000 mile service on our '05 Legacy this weekend, including changing the brake fluid. No problem, I've changed brake fluid before on ABS equipped cars, and overhauled all the hydraulics on my collector car, so I'm familiar with working on them. I sucked out the fluid in the reservoir, refilled it with Valvoline Synpower DOT 4 fluid, then had my wife push and hold the brake while I opened the bleeder on each wheel, then closed off the bleeder and had her release the pedal. I had a piece of tubing on the bleeder and let enough fluid out until I got new fluid coming out of them. Probably went through a dozen cycles on each wheel before I got clean stuff out, but the reservoir always had plenty of fluid and was never in danger of getting low. Followed the order given in the Haynes book (RR, LR, RF, LF). In all, took about a pint of fluid to change it. Here's the disconcerting thing: The pedal feels softer. Not to the point of being dangerous or hard to drive, but it does seem to take a little more travel to stop. I thought it felt a little soft when I test drove it, but I figured I was used to my car and didn't drive this one often enough. I didn't think much of it until my wife said the pedal feels soft to her. I can't imagine how any air would have gotten in, since the reservoir always had plenty of fluid in it, and the the tubing was full of fluid at all times. Could it be that there's still some old fluid that isn't getting along with the new stuff? It says it's compatible with DOT 3, and DOT 3 and 4 should be able to mix. Any other thoughts? I guess the next step would be to bleed again and see if it's any better, or maybe even go back to DOT 3, but having the pedal feel different isn't very encouraging.

Amps are still amps, regardless of what vintage vehicle it is. I'm well aware that the MG has way less electrical load than the Subaru, which is why the MG with its single ignition coil and carburetor gets along fine with its dinky 34 amp alternator, and the Subaru has a substantially more powerful 110 amp alternator. I'm also well aware that the alternator can't produce the rated output at idle. Proportionally though, the Subaru's output at idle is still considerably higher than the MG's output at idle. What you're overlooking is that in my comparison the MG's alternator was delivering whatever load the single ignition coil takes PLUS the 15+ amps to run the lights and blower motor, and that represents about half the rated capacity. Now if a 1977 vintage alternator made by a company that's notorious for its vehicle electrical systems can deliver at least half of that stated capacity at idle, then why wouldn't a modern car also be able to do deliver at least half its rated output at idle? Are you quite sure it's only 20-30 amps? That would be pretty pathetic. My point is that if the Subaru's alternator is capable of powering all of those accessories in my test PLUS the background current to run the fuel injection, ignition, PCM, fuel pump, radiator fans, etc., then it is perfectly capable of supplying a 10 amp load to run a computer if all the accessories I can turn off are off. Believe me, those accessories combined take considerably more than 10 amps. As for the battery not being maintained, the fact that 14.1 volts is being maintained while all those accessories are on at idle (again, in ADDITION to the loads you can't turn off), then clearly the alternator is delivering sufficient current (albeit not the rated output) to supply charging current to the battery, as well as supplying all the car's loads. If it wasn't, then the voltage would be lower. A charging voltage of 14.1 volts is normal for flooded lead acid batteries, because going much higher than that the electrolyte starts bubbling. Even 13.4 volts is sufficient for battery maintaining, though not enough to replace lost charge at any reasonable rate. If it was dropping to the battery voltage or lower then that would mean the battery is having to deliver current to keep up with the demand. You can't have a voltage of 14.1 volts on a battery with a nominal open circuit voltage of 12.6-12.8 volts (I measured 12.95 with the engine off) and have current flowing out of the battery. This lowly electrical engineer is sure of that.

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with the idea that "these cars do not maintain a battery at idle with just convenience items running much less a computer and printer". Even my old MG has no trouble maintaining 14.1 volts at idle with headlights and heater fan running (15+ amps of load), even with its pitiful 34 amp alternator. I checked the Subaru with all accessories running (headlights, foglights, air conditioning, defroster, radio, interior lights, and windshield wipers), and it was also maintaining 14.1 volts at the battery. So, given we'll be using the computer with most (if not all) of those turned off it should be fine.

I actually put the whole getup on my 12 volt power supply, and found out the computer and printer together peak at just under 10 amps on the 12 volt side while the printer is printing. Looking at the car's fuse box it actually has a 20 amp fuse on the accessory outlet, so it looks like it will run fine out of the outlet after all.

Clearly I neglected to mention that the whole reason behind this was her mobile veterinary practice for horses, and the need to be able to access client information, print receipts, and do billing on site. She wasn't planning on doing all of this while on the road driving, as some might assume. :-\ I'm going with the reasoning that not having the lights, defroster, air conditioning, and other accessories going will leave plenty of capacity to run the notebook and printer. Now it just remains to see if the lighter outlet will handle it, and in a pinch she could unplug the notebook to print if the two combined blow the fuse. Thanks all!

Does anyone have a feel for how much additional load an '05 Legacy's alternator can handle, especially at idle? My wife is needing to use a laptop and printer in her car, so we bought an inverter that will run both, but she has little faith in her car's electrical system and doesn't want to become stranded if the alternator can't keep the battery charged while the inverter is running. We were going to use a deep cycle battery, but her dad shot that down and doesn't want her driving around with a battery on board. The inverter will need 20 amps tops to run the computer and laptop, so obviously the accessory outlet won't work. I've installed my amateur radio gear (25-30 amps) in cars before by running fused wires from the battery, but those cars usually came out and said what the alternator was rated for and how much additional load you could add.