Battery Question and 2000 Outback Manual

[kengoedecke]

Greetings! I'm a new member and long-time Subaru owner who would like to start doing some of my own routine maintenance. I can do anything with a good manual, but I can't seem to find one on a 2000 Outback wagon. Can someone point me in the right direction?

 

Also, does anyone know of any potential problems I may encounter by disconnecting a battery for routine maintenance? My friend, who owns a pretty new VW, simply disconnected the battery cable from his car, and he had to have the car towed to a dealer and electrical system reset. Anyone know of similar problems w/ Subaru's-- keyless entry, electrical, etc? Thanks!

[cannonball]

http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/index.jsp

 

This is your only option for the manual AFAIK. As for disconnecting the battery all it does is resets your computer and clock. Not sure if it does anything else if left for extended periods.

 

Welcome to the board BTW.

[outback_97]

Welcome!

 

As I understand it, when you reset the ECU (car's "brain") by disconnecting the battery, upon reconnecting it and starting it, you should let it idle for ten minutes or so w/o touching the throttle. You want to let it get acclimated to your ambient conditions, type of fuel, etc. before you drive it. Maybe someone else can explain more eloquently, but that's my understanding.

 

Also, by disconnecting the battery, you're resetting the transmission computer if it's an automatic. It will "learn" how you drive it and alter shift points somewhat in accordance with how you use it. If it's a manual tranny then disregard this last bit.

 

FWIW we have used disconnecting the battery on a few occasions to reset the car after a bad tank of gas resulted in sluggish, weak performance.

 

Steve