Cynthia Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Hi -- 89 Subaru GL/5-speed/sedan/fwd. It dropped to 20 degrees here yesterday. Maybe my problem is weather; probably just coincidence, though. Anywho, I get into my car and notice within five minutes that my voltage is displaying 9 or 10. I don't like that, so I turn around to return home. As I get closer to home, my voltage suddenly goes to 12 ohms, right where it usually is. Hmmm. Today, I leave in my car, wondering what the voltage will be today. I've never had this problem before. Sure enough, it says 9/10 but then minutes later, it says 13 and another minute later, 9/10. Then it finally settled at 12 and stayed there.. Hmm. I parked. Walked a tad. Got back in. My voltage says 12 at ignition. But then!! the car door ajar light wouldn't disappear. Opened/closed. Opened/closed. Nope. Temperature outside: about 18 degrees. But the worst part was the seat belt bell noise. It wouldn't turn off. So I drove home -- with my car door ajar light on, the sealt belt bell ringing and the voltage saying the correct 12 figure. AGGGGGG. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffast Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 might be a bad alternator, they send out ac current when the rectifer goes most auto parts stores will test an alternator for free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Thanks! I'll drive to Napa Auto Parts store today to see if they can test the alternator. Hope I can stand the seat belt chime. Makes me want to scream primordial sounds. When alternator went bad twice before, the voltage dropped to near 0. I am wondering why this time it is doing this -- seat belt chime can't be stopped, car ajar light on, fluctuation in voltage. Are they all connected to one electrical conduit? Anything else I should check/have checked? I've used this board before and discovered that my life with mechanics has improved tremendously -- when I say "well at the ultimate subaru board, they said...." THANKS! Curious female, Cynthia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Alternators can die in different ways, and effectively 9/10 volts pretty much is 0 from the alt. The battery is picking up the slack and so your guage is reading battery voltage only. It sounds like possibly the alternator is putting out some AC current. This would indicate a bad rectifier. But definately have it tested. AC will cause some random indicators to glow (door ajar in your case), and will may explain the seat belt chime too. Rebuilt units don't seem to be all that reliable. Much like axles. I seem to have better luck handpicking alternators from the junk yard . Get one with a lifetime warantee if you can - at least that way you won't be out any money when it goes next time. If your battery is ageing, you might consider replacing that at the same time. Old batteries can actually *cause* alternator failure, and replacing both at the same time isn't a bad idea especially in cold weather conditions. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgd73 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Don't doubt the rebuilds. If the alternator made it to the first one encased and spinning what it does, it is better than ever the second time around. It is quite a simple gadget and truly a solid state piece of equipment. My rebuilt one from advance auto even has a coating that left it clean for the 18months I have had it installed, and there is a guarantee. The stuff staying on is not alternator. Amp draw of a short can kill the alternator prematurely.If this will be your third there is something wrong- you have indications of an electrical problem stated in your post. Soob likes the shared grounds horribly- fixing the heater resistor, for example, made my interior light quite bright. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 The charging problem may be due to a bad connection to the alternator. The cold weather can bring out problems like that so I would make sure that all the connections to the alternator and the battery are clean and snug to see if that helps with this problem. Be sure that the alternator warning light is working ok also since that is in the alternator field circuit. If the problem is with the alternator then I would suggest getting a remaufactured rebuilt unit, like from Bosch, that carries a lifetime warranty. The chime problem sounds like one of the door closed switches (probably the driver's door) is not opening as it should and the chime you hear is really for the key in the ignition warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 The chime problem sounds like one of the door closed switches (probably the driver's door) is not opening as it should and the chime you hear is really for the key in the ignition warning. I thought the same thing - but would it still chime with the ignition on? I didn't think they would do that..... can't remember tho. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Chime --- I"ve seen the door ajar light come on before without the chime on when ignition is on, so that's why I figured the chime was the seat belt. But, maybe not?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesley willis Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 on my loyale if i open the door while driving (dont ask why), the dinger goes on as well as the door ajar light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I thought the same thing - but would it still chime with the ignition on? I didn't think they would do that..... can't remember tho. GD You may be correct Cynthia and GD. It would seem odd to have the key chime come on with the ignition on now that you bring that up and I think about it. Cynthia, it's interesting you are getting 'more respect' by the mechanics after they found out you post here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 on my loyale if i open the door while driving (dont ask why), the dinger goes on as well as the door ajar light. Thanks for heads up WW. Since that is the case then the two clues would seem to be directly related to a common problem like a door switch not opening up when the door is closed. If there is a diagram in the dash to show which door is showing open that would be a big help. It may also help to just try reclosing all the doors to see if that clears the trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 There's a diagram and it shows the driver door. I opened/closed it; hugged it; stroked it; opened it/closed it so many times that I was starting to gather a crowd of curiousity seekers. Horrible timing for all of this. I am so swamped with work right now that I can hardly find time to breathe. This is my two-minute lunch break! (respect for ultimatesubaru board from mechanics..yep, it's true..they've even gone to the web site to view my dialogue with you before they've worked on my car!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 IIRC, the door ajar/dinger switch is part of the lock mechanism on the EA82. The cold weather may have been the final straw for some small plastic bit in there. I can't see a way for the switch to cause the low voltage situation... the switch might ground out in the door, but that would cause a fuse to blow. Here's a question for you - does the dome light stay on when you have the dome switch all the way to the rear? And does it stay on when you close your door with no key in the ignition? If so I would say you are almost certainly looking at the door switch as the problem. I had the wire to the door switch on my Brat get pinched by the plastic trim on the bottom of the door and it would randomely cause a similar problem with my drivers door - but only in wet weather, and only sometimes. I finally located my culprit when running a new fuel pump wire for another project. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 GD, I think you are correct about the switch being part of the latch. The switch does make a ground connection to turn on the warning light and chime. The switch appears to be shorted somehow and that will require getting into the door panel. The charging problem is a seperate issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ct_bob Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 I have been having a ton of issues this fall. ( I only use the car in the fall) I have shoveled out tons of acorns. I still have enough in the Hood to feed an army of chipmunks. Many of the issues are electrical. I had similar voltage changes to what you showed. Especially on wet days (about the only time I use the car) It turned out that if I put a ground from the battery OR the engine block to the Alternator, all was well. I removed the alternator and cleaned all the surfaces that would ground it to the engine. Now the volts are right where they belong. YMMV Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 those little door switches are a PAIN!!! They just barely installed enough wire to be able to pull the switch out of its hole. IF you should discover that is the problem, here is some help!!!!! you can remove the palstic trim that says subaru from your rocker panel (the bottom of the doorjamb, right next to the seat adjustments, between carpeting and exterior metal, YAH that thing...) and peel back a tiny bit of carpeting and discover the wires for those door-open switches. My driver's door switch was dead when I got the car from my brother. I Immediately went to take the one out of the rear drivers side door, and discovered there was NO seeing the wires WHATSOEVER.. seriously, like an extra centimeter or so..just enough to rub the wires on the sheetmetal a little bit. clip them, and boom, they are gone into the car somewhere, and even if you hold onto them there is no space to cut, strip, and splice on to. However, remove the palstic, and all becomes clear :- ) I dont know if YOU need this info or not, but since i haven't seen that info come up yet, I figured I would include it in the thread for posterity's sake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 I had one of the door switched go bad on my Loyale...but if I manually pushed in the plunger it would work...so I just shimmed it with a washer ...and low and behold it worked..no more dingy dingy ( besides me) and no more door ajar light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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