99 legacy wagon, 306,000 miles. Original Alternator gave out last fall and had alternator and battery replaced when car died on road. symptoms where speedo quit, no other gauges worked (temp and gas) and typical slow drain of battery. Alternator replaced with NAPA premium battery and worked fine. fast forward to today. same symptoms and swapped alternator out under warranty. their system checker says battery good but charging system no output. I checked all fuses I can find. any suggestions?

There are a lot of poor rebuilt alternators out there. I would suspect the Alternator, how are you or they testing it?

 

Have tou checked all the connections and the master fuses?

 

It got so bad in my 97 I bought a used OE one from a scrapyard after 4 bad rebuilds, and that lasted for years.

Edited May 27, 201510 yr by nipper

Go to Subaru dealer, Subaru reman alternator: 23700AA34ARA

$78 list ($67 online)

$50 core.

 

They're usually in stock.

 

Check that you have 12v reaching the alternator on both small wires that plug into the back.

You stated you are having power problems with the cluster. The battery warning light is inside there and it is important that the warning light turns on when you turn the ignition switch from OFF to ON. This means current is getting to the alternator field windings for the exciter circuit. If you have no light then you need to fix the cluster power issue. Make sure the connections to it are good and check the power to it. If you have good power then perhaps the fuse inside the cluster has blown out. 

Also check that all connections at the Battery and Alt are in good shape and clean. Check engine ground also.

I would put my money on it being a bad alternator from NAPA. Like Nipper said, there are a lot of rebuilts, that just don't last. NAPA should replace under warranty.

No warning lights come on when switching ignition to on position. I measure 12.4V at alternator back connector. I noticed under the dash, a green connector which was disconnected and when I connected it, the engine cooling fans would kick on and off consistently with ignition switch in accessory on position (before turning over motor) so I disconnected it again. They do turn on and off when motor is running normally.  I used NAPA's battery tester that also has charging system check feature and it says "no output" from charging system. I'll go and try another exchange before going to dealership parts dept.

 

My wife uses it to drive to/from work which isn't far so I'm putting a battery charger/maintainer on in evening so it should be good enough for short round-trip. 

Edited May 27, 201510 yr by lewisd

Leave those green connectors unplugged. They are for flashing the ECU, not something an owner ever does. 

You stated that you have no warning lights when you turn the ignition ON. Well that is a real problem and that will certainly disable the alternator. I recommend you don't do anything more to the alternator until this is fixed. When it is you will most likely have no further troubleshooting to do.

 

Power from the ignition switch ties to fuses 1, 8, 15, and 16 in the dash fuse panel. Fuse 15 ties power to the cluster. Use your meter to see if power gets to those fuses when you turn the ignition ON. If you have no power to the fuses then you need to verify that the ignition switch is okay and the connection between those areas. After that is fixed you should be good to go. 

Thank you Cougar, I'll look into that tomorrow.

Problem appears fixed. Cougar was correct. I thought I pulled and checked all the fuses but I double checked fuses in the kickpanel side and found the 10 amp illumination fuse was blown. I didn't think it would stop interior fan function, temp sensor and gas gauge. Thought it was just illumination.  I measure 14.14V now at the alternator output now.  

 

ANyhow, thank you Cougar and everyone else for your help!  

Edited May 30, 201510 yr by lewisd

Good to hear you got it fixed. Even though the fuses are labeled for some functions they also power numerous other things not identified on the label. It would take up too much space. The Power Supply section of the factory manual covers all the circuits that the fuses are tied to and is the best reference source for information.  Thanks for the update and you're welcome for the help. Drive on.

Leave those green connectors unplugged. They are for flashing the ECU, not something an owner ever does. 

 

Those green connectors are "NOT" for flashing the ECU, they are "test mode connectors".