85glwagon Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 1) the blinkers won't work, i tried replacing the flasher unit and the switch on the steering column, niether worked. any suggestions? and 2) the headlights are working but very oddly, when on low beams the outter lights are bright and the inner are very dim, so dim they are orangish in color, just picture a flashlight going dead, thats what the inner lights are like when on low beams, and when on high beams BOTH passenger side lights are bright and the drivers side lights are dim, i just don't get it. Ive checked the wires and as far as i can see there are no loose grounds or anything of the sort, ANY help is MUCH appreciated as i HATE electric problems because i can never figure them out. thanx in advance, -85glwagon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 you have a short somewhere in the wires going to the headlights or tail lights. soobies run on a circular system. it starts on the the front side of the car, goes to the taillights and then back up the other side headlight. a few months ago at work we had this happen on a EA82 wagon. took 3 days of chasing wires. start with checking the pigtails that run to the marker lights and then to the blinkers. they usually go bad and will make this happen. Save yourself some time and get an Ohms meter and a test light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 the headlights ground thru the switch so you may want to start troubleshooting at the switch itself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85glwagon Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 you have a short somewhere in the wires going to the headlights or tail lights. soobies run on a circular system. it starts on the the front side of the car, goes to the taillights and then back up the other side headlight. a few months ago at work we had this happen on a EA82 wagon. took 3 days of chasing wires. start with checking the pigtails that run to the marker lights and then to the blinkers. they usually go bad and will make this happen. Save yourself some time and get an Ohms meter and a test light. what do u mean by they usually go bad, how so? i have an ohms meter btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85glwagon Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 the headlights ground thru the switch so you may want to start troubleshooting at the switch itself replaced it, no effect. i have another parts car that i rolled, the same year and everything only the one i am fixing is a "sport" edition. i am very close to saying screw it and switching ALL the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 well thats one of the downfalls of subaru. considering the wires are 17 years old, but still. they used wire with too thin of insulation, they used crappy copper untwisted wire. Put any of the wires in the cold and slam them in the door on accident, or push a fender in so it bends the wiring harness and the stuff snaps on the inside of the insulation so you cant see the break. They make this stuff called arctic wire up here in Alaska. Stuff stays bendable at -60 F. They use actually rubber insulation like spark plug wires are made out of. its expensive, but I've though about having them make me a wiring harness for my car. prolly cost a 1000 bucks, but the wire would outlast everything else on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85glwagon Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 you have a short somewhere in the wires going to the headlights or tail lights. soobies run on a circular system. it starts on the the front side of the car, goes to the taillights and then back up the other side headlight. a few months ago at work we had this happen on a EA82 wagon. took 3 days of chasing wires. start with checking the pigtails that run to the marker lights and then to the blinkers. they usually go bad and will make this happen. Save yourself some time and get an Ohms meter and a test light. ah, i see, no, i just went out and checked, all the running lights work, as well as tail lights, only thing not working right are the headlights and the blinkers won't even make the flasher unit go click click, tried replacing it but thats not it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85glwagon Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 ok, i have figured it out! i pulled the whole front harness and inspected it, well, when i got the car a guy my mom is friends with gave it me, he said the crankers next door he let nab some hoses, well they didn't just nab hoses, the cut wires and belts and what not. I had spliced all the wires i noticed, looked for more cut but i didn't see any, after i pulled the harness i pulled back the plastic cover and i found the problem, near the firewall THEY CUT LIKE 10 WIRES!, i'm surprised ANYTHING worked, so i am going to splice them and i'll tell ya all if it solves it (i'm sure it will) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85glwagon Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 yep, that was it! all blinkers, hazard lights, and headlights working good and proper, i fixed the idle by installing new plugs, my car is finished! , big thanx to all who helped, couldn't have done it withoutcha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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