TheSubaruJunkie

Well, i pulled the gauge cluster out today. Didn't really know what to expect, but I didnt expect to see this!! I also found out why my display doesnt work for the door's, clock or anything on that side of the dash I looked everywhere for the other connectors on the harness, but couldn't find them anywhere. I imagine they used to come from this plug here.... Its a nightmare in there. All the masking tape you see is where wiring has just been cut. Nothing is labeled. There is some other wiring that is soldered together, some wiring thats spliced together. That main plug has 2 wires that are used, the others are taped up. So yeah. I have no clue how to even start repairing this. I really dont want to replace the entire wiring harness, but I am affraid I wont have much of a choice.

Yeah i tore into it today. The W/R does nothing for my dash. So i took the gauge console out, and its a disaster in there It looks like im going to need a new wiring harness cause the Prev. Owner completely hacked everything in there. Ontop of that, the new alternator from NAPA was the wrong one. Looks identical, but the mounting ears are 1/8" narrower than the original. Lucky for me I had a spare alternator hiding in my garage... so I bolted that up. The white wire (s) has 12V but the alternator was not producing power. Once I supplied 12V to the other wire, it the alternator started to work. So I got some pix of the connector and im going to look over them and compare to the wiring diagram and see what is what.

Sorry skip. Im doing all this at work right now. I get off in 20 minutes and when I get there I can get my hands dirty and try everything out. It would be easier i guess if I were at home and could run out and check things. Just want to make sure things are not going to break and leave me stranded.... again.

No worries Skip. The diagram originally belongs to Subaru (FHI). I hope they dont mind. Now that I understand how all the wiring works, i'd like to know if I should just disconnect the W/R wire all together... since he has 12V rigged to goto that wire at this time. Is that even necessary? Of course, I would like to revert everything to the original wiring. If the dash wiring is still correct, I will attempt that. There is alot of wiring on this car that is altered. And half the dash doesnt even work (no open door indicators, headlight indicator etc) So im sure if I connect the original W/R wire, i will get nothing. Does the Alt care about that? Or will it work regardless?

Ok Great. Thanks to the both of you, Cougar & Skip! I think im finally getting this. So now the next question.... ... should I be supplying 12V to that L terminal? Currently, there is an aftermarket fuse block that is switched 12V that leads to that terminal. The original W/R wire is cut and goes nowhere. I have a replacement alternator now, and when I put it in, i want to make sure I dont risk blowing it up.

Sure does. So you are saying the output from the W/R wire is feeding 12V. When it malfunctions it then creates a ground and illuminates the dash lights? That makes sense. So with my hacked up wiring, i should be able to take the original W/R wire (which right now has been cut) and if I ground that, all my warning indicators should light up??

I really apreciate the help Cougar, im not trying to disprove you. Just looking for evidence in the schematics to help. Ive been trained to read electrical (and hydraulic) schematics, and tend to trust the manufacturer on this one. If I had another EA81 to use as a template or for Trial & Error, it would be helpful. The wiring on this car is so hacked I cannot trust any of it.

I maybe niaeve, but none of the schematics I am looking at backup your claims. Im not calling anybody here a lair, i just want to try and understand this and what I am being told is not being proven on paper.

Okay. Im talking to the guys here at work. (all certified & highly trained service tech's) and every one of them is telling me the light indicator should be a ground and NOT a 12v source. Alittle more sifting through the FSM reveals this which confirms their beliefs: What this diagram here shows me is the alternator provides a common ground for all dash indicators. With each having a seperate sensor to provide ground if that feature fails. If the alt fails, it provides a ground for ALL indicators... which, from previous experience, is what happens when the alt dies (all dash indicators illuminate). Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks Tom for that link!! I was looking at the wiring diagram... and if I'm reading this correctly, then the large white should have a constant 12v?? Here's a copy of the diagram, with some wires traced.... It appears the two wires off the alternator, labled B & S come straight from the Fusable Link, which is connected directly to the battery. No switches. Then it shows wire labled L goes to the fuse block, leading to the Charge Indicator Lamp. Anyone know what this WR listed in that circuit is? Is it some sort of regulator? If its leaving the alternator, and headed to the lamp how would it be getting 12v?? Does the lamp send 12v current from it, through the block, to the alt??? Or is it the other way around... alternator sends 12v to the fuse block? Im already 100% positive my alternator is junk. I just dont want to replace it and have this problem come back up cause of some shoddy wiring.

We've already verified the Alternator is blowing the fuse. So BOTH pins need 12volts with the ignition on? Right now, the white wire has 12v constant, the other wire gets 12v switched.

So my Brat stopped charging today. Im looking over the wiring that was kinda hacked and put together on this thing. The previous owner removed some of the original wiring and put his own. He has a fuse block under the hood with four fuses. The aftermarket fuse block is powered by a relay that supplies 12V from the battery when the ignition is on. So one of those fuses leads to the alternator plug. The other goes into the stock harnes. but it's apparent both wires were spliced at one point in time. The stock harnes has two wires. A tiny red, and a larger white. The White, from what i understand, is the switched 12V to excite the alternator. The smaller wiring leads to the dummy light in the dash. What I have here is, the large white wire goes into the plug, the small red wire goes nowhere. The other spade on the plug goes to the 12V on the aftermarket fuseblock. This is where the confusion begins. Which post on the plug gets the 12V from the harness??? and which gets the small wire for the light? What tells the dummy light to illuminate?? The fuseblock keeps blowing a fuse. it did this in the past, i replaced the fuse and the alt charged again no problem. Today, all it does is blow fuses. I'm near positive the alternator is bad. However, I want to re-wire this the correct way but not really sure where to begin. I used to have a EA81 FSM but I gave it away. Ive looked high and low, and cannot find any wiring diagram for the EA81 anywhere. HELP

I have always pulled the engine to do a clutch. Only because I would rather not lay on my back and do the work. Besides, while the engine is out you have an oportunity to replace the valve cover gaskets & oil pan gasket. You do not need to evacuate the A/C as mentioned before. Just unbolt the bracket, leave the hoses intact and swing the entire A/C Compressor out of the way. The same goes for the power steering pump.

Black on red always looked better than White on Red.

Steve Im interested, i just have to ballance my budget. I just spent $200 on tires for the brat, and $300 on a new computer monitor... if I had known ahead of time I would have the money right now. I'll stick in touch, but I am intersted in the 13's as well.

Nothing new really, except a stereo. I have to find all the plastic inserts so I can re-install the bed chrome. I dont have a picture of the tread.. but here is a link to the tire-rack page with some detailed pictures of the tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+200

Yup, its my GL10 Brat i just got. Im not sure how easy it will be to lower the front end. Im sure the front struts are already adjusted all the way down. I can probably get alittle out of the rear torsion bar, i'll have to find out later.

Finally had enough spare change to get some new tires and have them mounted to the rims Ive been holding onto. Edrach, these may look familiar to you I went with Sumitomo HTR200's. Size 185/60R13. I knew they would be small, but didn't know they would be THAT small. Its okay, I kind of like it. And im hoping I can get it alittle lower to remove some of that fender gap. Regardless... it sure looks alot better than the rusty old wagon wheels it used to have on it.

Build pix look great, but I can't wait to see pix of this thing in action!!!!!

I know on the EA81 cars, the electric fan for the A/C only works if the A/C is running. So even tho its still there, it maynot operate unless you turn the A/C on. And since you have a clutch fan, there probably is no thermoswitch to wire the electric fan into.

Winners never quit, and Quitters never win. Way to suck Subaru! :(

Yeah... THats a justy motor, made by Suzuki :-p I guess most here would say its a Subaru motor. Anyhow... there's a chair in the garage too.

WTF!! 1.8GTS with 4 disc brakes?? WOAH

Maybe if you spent less time playing guitar hero you would have more time for building engines Just took note of all the guitar controllers you had there....

AWE MAN NO FAIR!!! I want to drive my brat around in the snow!! Maybe I'll come up and play, then see about getting that roll bar from you.