tech.kyle Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I hate to be one of those people that join the forums and starts spamming the forums with "Ohmygod my Subaru doesn't work fix it for me plz", but I think that's basically what it's going to end up as (except I'm going to try to be nice about it). I'll try not to be too annoying. Sorry, everyone. 92 Subaru Legacy was going down the freeway when it started losing electric power. I think both constant and switched power had gone. The power flickered on and off and eventually died. There was a smell of burnt electronics coming from what we think was inside the car. My father, being a city mechanic of 30 years, spent a little time tearing it apart looking for anything burnt, but was unable to find anything. He may be a very experienced mechanic, but he can be a lazy mechanic too. The car ended up sitting in our garage for a few years (I ended up giving up my parking spot for it). I'm tired of looking at it now and would very much like to have my parking spot back. Are there any common problems? Any suggestions on something we might have missed? Anything to try? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Check the battery cables, both fuse boxes inside the car and out, and the wires leading from these boxes. That would be a good place to start. The problem with diagnosing the issue as wiring is the fuses. Fuses are made to blow BEFORE the wiring melts. If an electric function of the car started to die (For example, the heater, headlights, radio, ECU, fuel pump ect...) that fuse would blow and the other functions would keep working. At this point, I'd check the battery cables, the alternator wiring, and the grounds, then move on to the fuses and fuse boxes. If everything looks good take the battery out of the nearest vehicle, throw it in the Subaru and see what happens. If there is no power anywhere in the car, keep looking for wiring issues. This is a very strange issue, but the more we can have you rule out the closer we get to a solution. It would be great to see you get this car running. There aren't many left anymore, so every living first-gen counts! Don't be afraid to post questions. Chances are someone here has been where you're at, and figured out the solution. Good luck and keep us updated! Welcome to the forums BTW..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech.kyle Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 I'm hesitant to blame the alternator or the battery as it wasn't a slow loss of power, but rather a nearly instant flicker and complete loss of power (power to dead in seconds). Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't losing the alternator would cause the battery to run until it was dead (slow drain), and losing the battery would cause the alternator to run until it burnt out (which I always assumed wasn't fast either), correct? Absolutely nothing has power. No door lights, no standby clock on the radio, etc. Is there somewhere I can check with a multimeter? Like the first few places that should have power? The only place I can think to check is between the constant power for the radio and the frame (which should be grounded). Besides the fuse, should anything be between the I can check switched power there too. I'll definitely check the alternator and battery though. Process of elimination, of course. I'm pretty sure we've checked fuses and relays too, but I'll double check those as well. We did have mice in the engine bay, potentially chewing on wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amberluvsblue07 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I had a similar problem and this is what it turned out to be look into your fuse box and take out each of your FML 45A amp fuses, they will be red and look like Lego boxes smell the bottom of each of them if one smells burnt than that's the one that when out its very difficult (at least for me) to tell if theses fuses have gone out without taking them out. there are three of these fuses one controlls your electronics the second starts the car and the third allows the car to know that its on ( at least Im pretty sure that's how it goes), if it is one of these fuses you wont be able to find them at your local O'reileys (i had to go to a scrap yard and hunt them down) if you cant find any at a salvage yard then you'll have to order them off line. I hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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