[Alternator or indicator light?]

I finally had a chance to do the test today, and when I ground the B/W wire and turn the key to ON, the battery light comes on! When I reconnect the wire to the alternator it does not come on. I assume that means that the alternator is defective in a way that prevents the current from reaching ground? Thanks again, I'll feel better about replacing the alternator now.

Gardener

[Alternator or indicator light?]

Thank you FerGloyale and Cougar! I had checked the charge fuse and it looked ok, so I'll move onto grounding the B/W wire and let you know the results.

Thanks again,

Gardener

[Alternator or indicator light?]

My 2005 Impreza Outback Sport isn't charging the battery and everything points to the alternator, except that the charge indicator light (battery icon) doesn't light up. Ever. If I charge the battery the car will start and run, until the battery dies but the light never comes on, whether the ignition switch is "on" but the car isn't running, or it is running. Of course I can't remember if the light used to come on at start up or not. I assume it did. My understanding is that the indicator light circuit also supplies voltage to the alternator to provide the initial current to get it going. So is it possible that the problem is not the alternator but the indicator light circuit? Is there a way to test that? The battery voltage is right on 12 whether the car is running or not, and I've cleaned and tightened the battery cables.

Thanks!

Will

[Shudder on low speed turns]

Thanks, I was wondering if it was ok to leave it in FWD. interesting thought about the previous owner! I don’t think I can contact him, any way to tell from the outside? The car only has 129000 miles and the symptoms have very gradually worsened. 

[Shudder on low speed turns]

So, putting a fuse in the FWD slot caused an amber AWD light to appear on the dash and the torque bind went away! This weekend I'll do the ATF changes and see what happens.

Thanks!

[Shudder on low speed turns]

Thanks, I'll try it!

[Shudder on low speed turns]

Thanks so much Tex and Montana! I’m sorry to be slow replying, I thought I’d get an email when someone answered. Maybe my settings are wrong. Anyway, the tires are identical, purchased and installed at the same time. I had no idea about the FWD fuse! I will try that. And to be sure I understand, it’s the automatic transmission fluid you’re referring to, right? Not the gear oil in the differentials. 

Thanks again!

[Shudder on low speed turns]

Hello, my ‘05 Impreza Sport Wagon with auto transmission makes a kind of shudder on tight turns at low speeds. It’s more of a vibration than a noise and seems to come from the rear wheels. I’ve had the car for 3 years and it’s always done it when parking but it seems to be getting worse. It reminds me of a much worse problem on a different Subaru when I installed mismatched tires but this car has the right sized tires properly inflated. The local repair shop says it’s “normal”!

 Thanks 

[HELP/cooling issue, weird, 99 OB, 2.5, Water Pump?/Head Gasket?]

Join the club, there are many stories just like yours on this forum. I would be VERY VERY carefull buying any 2.5 with 120K on the motor. It's not if but when will HG blow. Sorry for your pain, its sucks

 

I posted a few months ago with a similar situation on a 98 Outback (except that using a "gutted" thermostat never occured to me). Everything pointed to HG, but the car didn't always overheat, especially for my mechanic so he was loath to do anything. It finally got to the point where it always overheated on the highway and I took it in again. He changed the water pump and it no longer overheats - or at least it hasn't for the week I've had it back. Time will tell. Good luck!

[Trying to confirm blown HG]

Thanks mnwolftrack, I'm learning a lot! When this all started I assumed a circulation problem since no major coolant loss, but I didn't know blown HG could do that - I would have expected the white smoke. The overflow tank IS black on the inside (and when I drained the coolant it seemed slightly thicker than normal) so the evidence is mounting. I don't really trust the local dealer and there is a good mechanic in town (though not a Sub specialist) so I'll insist on the official gaskets. BTW I lived in Deephaven, MN as a kid. Fond memories of canoe trips Up North.

 

A blown headgasket will force air into the cooling system, and air bubbles get trapped here and there and are also responsible for the loss in heat through the heater because an empty heater core does not stay hot.

 

The coolant has to go somewhere, and it mainly gets pushed into the overflow tank on this engine. On other makes/models, it can get blown out the exhaust in the white billowie clouds (but this is not what happens on the subi's). Another key sign of a headgasket let is 2 fold in the overflow bottle. 1) make a mark with a magic marker when the engine is cold and mark the location of coolant over time. Always check it when it's cold (checking it hot when you marked it cold would be expected to show a change) if you marked it cold. In addition, combustion gases getting blown into the cooling system inevitably will bring along some oil with it. If the headgaskets are blown, you will likely see black nasties floating in the overflow and clinging to the walls. The combination of oil in the overflow bottle, overheating after getting into town after a drive on the interstate, loss of heat, and the temp gauge going up and down real fast were enough for me. The gauge going up and down real fast is from it getting hit by bubbles, then coolant, then bubbles, etc....

 

I would doubt you have a cracked block considering the car sounds quite drivable. You will likely be able to get away with new gaskets (dealer updated multi-layer steel only), resurfaced heads, and a possible valve job (may not be needed). Worst case scenario, the block might have to be resurfaced if it is found to be warped or pitted.

[Trying to confirm blown HG]

It is odd, which is partly why it's taken us so long to address it. She really doesn't do much highway driving at all and in warm weather she's never had a problem on the 3.5 hour drive to or from college. It doesn't lose coolant so I was convinced that it had to be a circulation issue of some kind, but I didn't know that a blown gasket could pressureize the system and stop circulation. All I can guess is that some kind of differential expansion/contraction in cold weather breaks a marginal seal. In any case we sent her back to school in our 99 Outback - I was tired of rescuing her - so I have the car now and I can check for bubbles. Thanks for the tip!

 

once or twice a year sounds very odd, make sure you're not loosing coolant. bubbles in the overflow tank when it does overheat - that's a sure sign of head gaskets on this motor. tell your daughter to listen for that next time it does it. once/twice a year is not indicative of headgasket unless it is really only driven more than a few minutes that number of times a year.

[Trying to confirm blown HG]

Thanks everyone! Obviously I wish we'd addressed this sooner, but it has behaved just like Subsince77 describes below except it has to be highway driving AND subfreezing so it only happens once or twice a year (when she's at school it's all local driving). I think we'll probably try the head gasket/ valve job approach and hope that the block is ok. I'll let you know. If not - her previous car is a 91 Legacy that we retired due to worn out axels, body damage and more but we still have it. I'll have to figure out what motor is in it.... Thanks again!

 

My experience, which is different from expertise, which others here can give, was that temperature didn't seem to make the overheating issue worse, but time on the highway did. Even in far sub-zero temperatures, mine would not overheat, even when I would drive it around the valley for multiple hours on errands, as long as I didn't go over about 55. As soon as I got out on the highway for somewhere between 15 minutes, and 40 minutes, it would suddenly overheat. I got away with driving daily for about two months while getting ready for an engine swap. But, I live near a small community, and can do all of that without ever getting over 50 mph. The only reason I'm chiming in, is that during the days, and weeks, that the car does not overheat, it runs just like normal. I found it EXTREMELY tempting to decide it was OK and head out of town with it. I am convinced that had I done so, I would have eventually fried my engine and the core would have been worthless. Don't do it, save what you can.

[Trying to confirm blown HG]

Thank you very much. What you say about the block vs HG makes sense and thanks for the tip about the EJ22 engine. My daughter *says* that since the first overheating she tries to stop as soon as the needle moves above normal and has never let the temp gauge get into the red. There is no coolant loss and the system has passed a pressure test. I've replaced the cap and thermostat but haven't touched the water pump. Somewhere I saw something about exhaust gases in the coolant - is there a way to test for this? You didn't comment on "block sealer". Would that be a "nothing to lose" situation or might it do further damage. Thanks again!

[Trying to confirm blown HG]

Hi,

I wish I'd found this board 2 years ago! I know this topic has been beat to death here but I still have a few questions. Almost 3years ago my daughter bought a 98 Outback with 130k. Drove it all summer and to college (225 mi.) in the Fall. Coming home that Christmas in very cold weather it overheated within a half hour - pretty badly I think. I went up and found the radiator empty, filled it, no leaks, drove slowly, no problem, gradually sped up and got home without overheating. Ever since then it overheats if you take it on the highway in below freezing temps. Local driving is fine and warming it up at idle doesn't help but driving slowly for an hour or so does seem to help (but we don't have much data). Two shops (one a dealer) "couldn't find anything wrong". Finally she got it to a dealer while overheating and they said they were "very sure" it has a cracked block and needs a short block at $4400.00. From searching this board a blown head gasket seems more likely. What puzzles me is that it doesn't lose coolant, doesn't smoke, and theres no coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant. Then I found this message:

 

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but when the car overheated the first time it damaged/blew the head gasket some where. What is happening now is that you randomly get a break in the headgasket seal that causes the cooling system to become pressurized by the the engine's gases (intake charge/exhaust gasses) When that happens the coolant stops circulating. This causes the temp gauge to go up and the heater air to go cold. Heat goes cold because there is no more hot collant flowing across it to heat it up, and the temp gauge goes up because there is nothing flowing through the engine to carry the heat away to the radiator. Sorry, but I'm pretty sure you need a head gasket job.

 

Keith"

 

My daugher did say the heat doesn't work well when it gets hot so Keith's explanation fits. Is it possible that cold weather triggers the break in the head gasket? Any point at all in trying "block sealer"? BTW, my 99 Outback with more than 170k runs like a champ (don't know exact mileage because speedometer only works intermittently).

Thanks for any help!