I have a 99 forester that won’t turn on. All lights and everything work and turn on, just not the car. I hear a faint click to the left of the steering wheel but that’s it. Any idea what it is? I just replaced the starter and cables so I don’t know what’s wrong. 

Dead battery, bad connection, bad starter, seized engine....could be many things. What's the voltage at the battery and what does it drop to when you turn the key to engage the starter? 

GD

Do you hear a click under the hood as well? or just under the dash?

tell us about the starter replacement.  Did the original fail a bench test? Is the new one a parts store rebuilt? Did the replacement ever work?

Auto or manual?  Try starting an automatic in neutral or moving the shift selector through all the gears then back to park/neutral and try again. Sometimes the sensors doesn't realize it's in park - they're prone to get drinks spilled on the switches by the gear selectror, etc. 

Check battery voltage at battery posts then starter. 

Are they the same?  

Need to make sure the starter is seeing full battery voltage.

You can attempt to jump the car to - but you need good cables and connections at the battery terminals to make sure the starter has access to full amperage. 

Also could be security lockout.

Is there a small black button to the left of the steering wheel  at the lower part of the panel?

If so, you have to hold it in when turning the key to start.

O.

It was a brand new starter, new battery and alternator. Brand new cables. It’s just one silent click, sounds like it’s coming from the left side of the steering wheel under the dash. It did this before but only for a day and then it ran perfectly fine for two weeks before it abruptly stopped.

2 hours ago, Cblaze said:

It was a brand new starter, new battery and alternator. Brand new cables.

Non sequitur, Your facts are uncoordinated. 

What is the voltage at the battery and what is the voltage drop when you engage the starter?

GD

15 hours ago, Cblaze said:

It was a brand new starter, new battery and alternator. Brand new cables. It’s just one silent click, sounds like it’s coming from the left side of the steering wheel under the dash. It did this before but only for a day and then it ran perfectly fine for two weeks before it abruptly stopped.

 

You didn’t answer any questions.  We can’t see or touch the car and even simple questions like if it’s an automatic or manual goes unanswered. 

Diagnosis would be ideal over guessing. Take voltage readings. It takes 4 minutes to take voltage readings and find out what’s going on. That’s less time than posting here, and way less than hours replacing all those parts.

It almost sounds like you want a list of more random parts to guess and probably not fix this. Here’s a list you can pick and choose from:

Verify battery and alternator and starter at local store. They can test them.  It would be zero surprise for one of them to be bad. They’re so unreliable I would install used Subaru starter or alternator before aftermarket.  The originals last 20 years, new aftermarkets fail all the time.

Replace or check inhibitor switch or neutral safety switch.  

Replace or check crank pulley for separation that’s compromising charging

Replace ignition switch

Replace starter relay

Selector inhibitor (exact name is eluding me)

Replace/tighten/adjust alternator belt

Check/disable security system, if equipped

Edited June 5, 20223 yr by idosubaru

yeah maybe the switch or the 'button' on the pedal? some models have an issue with the button falling out...my brain doesn't recall what generations have that lol

(edited, because what's the point without more info...)

Edited June 5, 20223 yr by laegion
Not enough info