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Rbob

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  • Location
    Pullman WA
  • Referral
    searched for main power relay diagnostics
  • Biography
    Sub owner for 22 years-3 of them
  • Vehicles
    98 Legacy Outback

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  1. Sorry woods, didn't mean to come off like a jerk. I respect the time and opinions folks offer here. But I get frustrated reading the same thing time after time, You are the one that, on this thread, hit the nail on the head, halfway. I try to be polite and will be more so in the future. What it was: A combination of burnt fuse link (which I replaced, on my own judgement and Fairtaxes advice) and a lock system gone bonkers. I replaced the fuse link after I had done the lock/key thing that I don't think anyone mentioned above. That is where the wireless security takes over. I did it in the wrong order. It had some bizarre symptoms, see my original post. Nobody here, mentioned "close and lock the car. Open the door with the KEY (not the fob) then try to start it." Thats what my mech friend said, and I'm his former parts guy. That disables the anti theft/alarms system. What the guy who actually fixed it told me was there is a 3rd step, disconnect and connect the battery. I did all those things in the wrong order. Repeatedly. In the wrong order. What Carl told me was do the above, disconnect and reconnect the battery, then try to start it. He didn't say with door open or closed.but he used to be a Sub dealer guy. Subaru taught him that. After you have done the key thing. Every time you try the key thing you have to start over. And disconnect then reconnect the battery in the proper sequence. I didn't. My bad Sorry for sounding like a fool or an angry soul. I'll be more polite in the future. Kudos to Fairtax. The link wasnt blown but was burnt and resistance was high. Replacing it changed nothing as the alarm system was on "tilt" which it apparently does when the batt gets disconnected. Apologies to those I offended. Cheers all and thanks for the help. R It worked. Back in the driveway now.
  2. Thnx fairtax. as I said, I'm too big to get there and my feet don't work much anymore after Chemo....But I will report what it turns out to be. Promise it's not bad connections. Neither you, nor anyone else on this board admits to any experience with that relay. Admit it. That was what I asked about and I got a bunch of responses saying it's the battery or connections. Sorry folks, but I will tell the truth when it's fixed. We'll see, maybe tomorrow but I expect Wednesday. I'll let ya'all know what it was. R
  3. That IS where the main power relay lives, right below the fuel pump one. I'm too big and gimpy to get there, I Could have 20 yrs ago, or 40 yrs ago. I think that's the problem but have sent the vehicle to a shop I know and trust, will report back with the results.Nobody on this board seems to have experience with that relay. Thanks ya all, but It's not a battery connection problem, nor a battery problem. It's the main relay. Thanks to all offering other opinions, but ya didn't read the symptoms I wrote correctly. How would a bad connection kill a live battery? It cant,by definition. Several of you claimed that that's my problem. I'll report back when Import car service calls me back. I've known those guys for 18 yrs and trust them far more than I trust free advice from amateurs. If ya know about that relay, write me. If ya wanna tell me it might be my battery, open a shop and let's see how long ya last. Again, what clicks in front of my left knee, key in or out? Fairtax, address that question. What clicks in front of my left knee? I promise it's not a bad battery or connections. I will report back when I get the call. This forum doesn't seem to be a place to come for useful information. IMHO. R
  4. Fairtax....um, I get all that. Spent 4 yrs behind a service counter, then 6 more behind a parts counter. I know what a fuseable link is, and why it is different from a fuse, I get that. What is clicking in front of my left knee? Nobody on this board seems to know, including you. Ya all give me improbable solutions. My batt terminals are bad?! Haha. Quit pretending ya know the answer, you DONT! What is clicking in front of my left knee? Key in or out, Clearly Fairtax doesn't know the answer but pretends to. My connections are squeaky clean, Fairtax....Grow up. R
  5. Replaced the link today. No change. Fuses all look good, will put the meter on them when the temp cools a bit later. Old one had been hot, had a few broken strands but was intact. So I've eliminate that but am still baffled. Neighbor kid is small and wiry I think he may be able to access the relay that I can't get at.
  6. Signing off for tonight all. Pls offer yr thoughts and comments. I'll be back tomorrow. Rbob
  7. Signing off for tonight all. Pls offer yr thoughts and comments. I'll be back tomorrow. Rbob
  8. OK Fairtax, (oops think I said Fairfax, as in VA before, apologies) I think you may be on to something. I checked that, Infinite resistance until I poked it a little harder, then no resistance. It looked to have been hot though. Insulation had clearly been warm, nearly burnt off. But the link itself was intact, phisically and electrically. How would that relate to the click in front of my left knee? BTW, I found a schematic online I'm not smart enough to read. http://www.schnooze.com/files/legacy_manual/Legacy%20Wiring.pdf This is a great car, more power to the driver than my 350 chevies ever had. Ya shift down to 4 to pass and yr doing 80 before ya know it... Still, I don't get how that fusible link could cause the intermittant issues I have. IMHO, it works or it doesn't, the circuit completes or it doesn't. It doesn't sit and think and decide to complete after being an open circuit for a while. What's clicking in front of my left knee?
  9. So thnx for yr concern, but it's not my battery or connections. I may be a newbie on this board, but am not a newbie to fixing old cars. My first Sub went 450 K. The kid I gave it to, after I overheated it and blew a head gasket, drove it home. (adding coolant on the way). So pls don't respond unless you can address the clicking noise coming from in front of my left knee, The fuel pump relay (no problem there) and main pwr/ign are located there. My battery and connections are good. Please don't suggest it again. Battery and connections are good. What else ya got? Clicking in front of left knee, key in or out. Kills battery. When I first put the charger to it, the ammeter on the charger would bump up and down, in sympathy with the clicks. It's disconnected tonight. I'll study it again tomorrow. Pls don't tell me I have a bad battery or connections. If you suggest that, I know you didn't absorb all the symptoms I listed. Thnx all.
  10. Thnx Rooster. Voltage is 12.5. It's an all or nothing situation. Does anyone know off the top where the ECM is on this ride? The clicking in front of my left knee I think is the most telling clue. The main power (or ign) relay is there, as is the fuel pump relay. What else? Nothing should be clicking with everything off and the key out.
  11. Appreciate the thought Fairfax, but I can safely rule them out. Being a top post battery I can check voltage both on the posts and on the clamps, not touching the posts, thus checking the connection. Voltages are the same. They're squeaky clean, I replaced the pos last winter and cleaned the neg yesterday though it didn't need it. I'm curious what is clicking in the lower left dash area.
  12. Thnx Lewis, but fuses appear good. A bit more info: After posting the above, I went out, connected the battery. Climbed in. Heard clicking from lower left dash turned key to on, nothing. I left it on a few minutes, radio came to life, hit 4 ways radio died. Cycled key stopped with it on. After about 2 minutes of blackout the dash came to life and car started fine, no check engine or ABS lights. BTW this has been a good battery, It's old but has never died without me doing something stupid.
  13. Help! And thanks in advance to anyone who knows what's going on with my ride. 98 Legacy 2.5 wagon. Went to town. Parked for about 10 min, all was normal. Inserted key, no dash lights or icons, turned to "start" and nada. Thinking my battery connection were suspect (they were actually pretty clean) I banged them with a screw driver handle. Retried start, no go. Repeated process car suddenly started as if nothing had been wrong. On 2 mile drive home ABS light began blinking, Check Engine flickered bright dim bright dim, not blinking on off. Parked in drive way. Shut it off and restarted. No check engine light, all seemed normal. Shut it off and tried to restart, dead as my dog. 4way flashers and door locks have power, dash has none. Something in front of my left knee clicks every 2 seconds, no matter if key is on or off, in or out. Did finally manage to restart. don't know what I did, don't think I did anything. Maybe unrelated, just prior to this incident, I thought I heard a faint high pitched whine and know I got some strange bass tones out ot the stock radio, about every 2 sec while on a FM talk station, I made a mental note to look into it. This morning battery voltage was about 2 instead of 12.5, leaked down overnight. Recharged and started fine 2 times then failed to light up on 3rd attempt. Dash is dead again. Clicking from in front of left knee again. With every known thing turned off I have full battery voltage with meter between negative cable and batt post. I'm thinking main power relay, I can almost see where it is supposed to be above inside fuse panel, with kick panel removed, but I'm physically too large a person to do anything about it, without a hoist. Thoughts anyone?
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