Dutchman Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Noticed tonight during during a few light braking situations, right before I came to a complete stop my headlights dimmed for second. I have also noticed a few times in the daytime when the heads lights were not on, the car has done a SLIGHT stutter right before I came to a complete stop. I did some searching and could not find anything. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 is your alternator good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 is your alternator good? And check that the main cable to the alternator is securely mounted too - in both ends! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 Thanks for the tips guys! That was my first thought as well. I did some searching for alternator issues but could not find my exact problem. I should also note that it really only has issues when the car is "cold". After it runs for a little while it's just fine. Doesn't Sears do a free electrical system test or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Low Idle ? see my thread below about my CEL. May be time for a can of Seafoam. I thought I noticed my headlights dimming sometimes over the past couple of weeks too. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cel-p0172-mis-fire-150752.html 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 Low Idle ? see my thread below about my CEL. May be time for a can of Seafoam. I thought I noticed my headlights dimming sometimes over the past couple of weeks too. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cel-p0172-mis-fire-150752.html Not that I've noticed. Car seems to run just fine other than what I mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Not that I've noticed. Car seems to run just fine other than what I mentioned above. How many miles on the car? How many miles on the plugs? Could even be a bad tank of gas ? 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 How many miles on the car? How many miles on the plugs? Could even be a bad tank of gas ? 88,000 as of today. The plugs were done at 59,000 according to the service records. I'm pretty sure Sears checks the electical system for free or a pretty small fee. Im going to stop by there after work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jranmann Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Weak battery...worse when it's cold...replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 are you the first owner? I doubt a new battery and alternator would fix the issue... well, a new battery might hide it for awhile. My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Bad ground connection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 Had the alternator & battery tested today and both are just fine. I looked at a few of the ground connections that are visable and they are pretty dirty. Anything in particular I should use to clean them? In some of my searching I saw someone say to someone having a similar issue that it sould be a vacuum leak. Any ideas on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jranmann Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Dunno about the vacuum thing...? I had my battery tested last winter during a low voltage dashboard indication and the test showed ok, and a few weeks later they tested it again and it had failed on one cell...by a qualified auto electrical shop (not Pep Boys or Sears) The battery should be fully charged and load tested also at tempertures lower than 70 degrees. How old is it? (normally they last just about 5-6 years at most) Also if your battery is loose in it's mounting the vibrations can easily cause the zinc plates to disintigrate into a poweder suspended in the liquid medium (unless it's a dry cell?) Your issue being an (early) indication it may at times be less than ideal...esp. on the LGT as the electrical load at cold temperatures is at it's maximum...e.g. heater, seats, alternator not putting out full amperage, etc. Good luck! Ran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I cleaned up my grounds and threw on a couple extra battery grounds; everything improved. My headlights were dimming really bad, and I'd get a shutter whenever I'd coast to a stop, but now it's hardly noticeable, maybe even gone. If you could reground the system, do it. There's alot of good that comes from it, especially if you get a grounding kit too. Just my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 I cleaned up my grounds and threw on a couple extra battery grounds; everything improved. My headlights were dimming really bad, and I'd get a shutter whenever I'd coast to a stop, but now it's hardly noticeable, maybe even gone. If you could reground the system, do it. There's alot of good that comes from it, especially if you get a grounding kit too. Just my $0.02 Interesting. That shutter happens to me as well. It's slight but it's there and goes away after the car has been running a while. I had a grounding kit on my Saabaru. Did you replace the factory grounds with the ones that came in the kit or did you just add on? I just added on when I did my 9-2x. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I didn't get a "kit", I made my own 6 gauge lawnmower battery cable and some imagination...I got the 19" and 46" length. Spending a little time sanding down the paint at the grounding points, and making sure that everything is a snug, secure fit, and viola! $6 grounding kit. Polished up the stock grounds really really well too, and I immediately noticed a difference. I might add a third one just for kicks...I'm surprised with how well this simple mod worked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldiablo Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I had similar issues which were resolved when I got a replacement battery at 80k miles. My VB Garage... Pumping the air back into despair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forayzor Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 fyi: grounding kits are a waste of time and money. i would suspect your battery before anything else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 ^^ That's what I thought originally with mine. Actually, I had a bad alternator a little while ago, and checked the battery first to make sure that it was still good, and it checked out perfectly. Brand new alternator, great battery, but still had the issues. For what it's worth, my grounds were pretty bad as far as corrosion goes, and I think just cleaning them up helped ALOT. But throwing on two extra ones doesn't hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 And add corrosion protection (grease or something similar) to the grounding points will save you headache in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 I think I'm going to clean any visable ground connections first and see what that does. The battery is fairly new (per the previous owner). Although if it's a grounding issue you'd think this would be more common. We'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 didn't catch 5EAT till just now. I'd hunt down a possible vacuum leak My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 didn't catch 5EAT till just now. I'd hunt down a possible vacuum leak Im getting one of those BG tranny flushes done soon. I guess I'll bring up my symptoms and see if they notice anything down there. BTW, sick Outback. Saw your dyno sheet on Pirates. That thing is a beast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Woah woah wait...tranny flush? How many miles do you have on it? I'll let someone else take the wheel when it comes to transmission flushes, but they are BAD news, especially if you have over 100k miles. Don't do it. Just caught 5EAT too, vacuum leak is also a possibility. And from what I've seen, subarus are nortorious for grounding problems. The 2nd gens love grounding kits because the issue is so common...I'd imagine subaru cleaned up their grounds for the newer generations, but we'll never know unless we find out I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 Woah woah wait...tranny flush? How many miles do you have on it? I'll let someone else take the wheel when it comes to transmission flushes, but they are BAD news, especially if you have over 100k miles. Don't do it. Just caught 5EAT too, vacuum leak is also a possibility. And from what I've seen, subarus are nortorious for grounding problems. The 2nd gens love grounding kits because the issue is so common...I'd imagine subaru cleaned up their grounds for the newer generations, but we'll never know unless we find out I guess. The car has 88,500 miles. A BG flush should be just fine. Not worried at all. Had one done on my Saabaru and it made that tranny feel so much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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