ginblossoms Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 ok, so i go to the garage to take my legacy to work this morning, but nothing happens... i try to disarm the alarm... nothing. i unlock the door manually... the alarm should go off, right? well, it doesn't. i put the key in the ignition... nothing... no lights on the instrument panel... nothing. i certainly am no car expert, so i post this here... what is wrong? obviously something electrical... luckily, i have my backup car to go to work with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraysonSubaru Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 check on top of the steering column..there is a switch up there for parking lights that does not shut off if you turn the car off like the others do. a lot of people hit it while cleaning the car. that would be the first thing..also check all of your dome lights and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraysonSubaru Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 it usually turns out to be that parking light switch on top of the steering column though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 it usually turns out to be that parking light switch on top of the steering column though You mean leaving the parking light on drains the battery right? Not leaving it on does not let you turn on your car? X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 that parking light is a waste of time. I've never used it on either Subaru I own. I only hear about people accidently turning it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 it's for the europeans and their "road side parking" in foggy areas so that other drivers dont run into their cars. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraysonSubaru Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 You mean leaving the parking light on drains the battery right? Not leaving it on does not let you turn on your car? X yes, leaving that parking like on that is on top of the steering column will drain the battery. If you leave it on accidentally overnight, it will give you a dead battery...happens all the time. The service dept gets 5 calls a day with someone that has done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 I bet that's exactly what happened. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 it's for the europeans and their "road side parking" in foggy areas so that other drivers dont run into their cars. they don't use the hazzard button? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 they don't use the hazzard button? Nope, they need the lights to be constantly on , not flashing. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iyalla Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 As said its for illumination on dark narrow streets in Europe that have no overhead lamps. When i was in Switzerland I believe it was only for cars parked temporarily in unlit spots. Its wierd that Subaru didn't eliminate the switch and cover it up with a plastic cap or something. Mercedes and other manufacturers eliminated the ability to turn on the parking lights on their US models completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfxdave99 Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 As said its for illumination on dark narrow streets in Europe that have no overhead lamps. When i was in Switzerland I believe it was only for cars parked temporarily in unlit spots. Its wierd that Subaru didn't eliminate the switch and cover it up with a plastic cap or something. Mercedes and other manufacturers eliminated the ability to turn on the parking lights on their US models completely. au contraire mo friar! I typically see people who euro cars that dont know what this switch does and have it on, most usually in the one side setting where the light is brighter on the left or right side. If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. - Mario Andretti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klaus Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 it's for the europeans and their "road side parking" in foggy areas so that other drivers dont run into their cars. Exactly and as a moved European I LOVE the parking light switch... -- sorry for your battery though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P06781 Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 I left work tonight and noticed a brand new outback with its parking lights on. No doubt the poor owner doesnt know the parking light trick. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlabs Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 Update? -=- Livin life at 140 BPM -=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginblossoms Posted December 19, 2005 Author Share Posted December 19, 2005 Update? hehe... sorry guys... i checked the parking light thing, but i think it was off. the front part of the switch was depressed, making the red bar not visible... i think that means it wasn't left on. it's going to the dealer this wednesday morning (12/21/05). good thing i got that roadside assistance thing to help with the towing costs... i don't think it would matter, but just recently, i had a parking lot incident where my back bumper was dinged up, but i figure there's no way that could have anything with my current situation. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDxBOOST Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 check you positive terminal clamp if its loose it could be causing a short that will kill your battery fast that happened to me last week so i made sure theres no way the clamp will come loose now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginblossoms Posted December 21, 2005 Author Share Posted December 21, 2005 ok, so the towing people come and started the car via jumper cables. so since i didn't need a tow, i didn't get a tow. i didn't have a ride back from the dealer, so i just rescheduled my service appointment. the towing guy said it's fairly common among new vehicles to just have bad batteries (from sitting around alot). i'm not so sure about this, considering my car was made in june and bought in august of this year (2005). anyways, if anyone was interested in this, my appointment is now for friday morning (12/23/2005). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDxBOOST Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 ill bump again what it said 100 to 1 the clamp is your problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginblossoms Posted December 24, 2005 Author Share Posted December 24, 2005 i jump start my car this morning to go to the dealers. they run some tests and say the charging system & battery is working fine. they said that long stretches of not driving the car would drain the battery, citing 4 computers in the car. it had been sittle idle for 4 days when i originally found the problem. before that, it was a couple weeks. if it happens again, they said they'd replace the battery. i did a voltmeter check of the battery while it was drained, and it was reading 0.3V... i asked if that was plausible, and they said that it was... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 If you leave it parked for great stretches, do yourself a favor and replace it with an Optima red top battery. $110 or, but due to the design, it will hold a charge for 12-18 months and won't leave you stranded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The B4 Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 this could have been a multitude of things: maps lights left on, trunk or hatch popped, open door, rear cargo dome light on in wagon, a door not closed all the way, middle dome light on... [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 If you leave your car for any length of time you should consider a battery low voltage disconnect : http://www.prioritystart.com/ Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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