Subaru Forester, electrical issues edition
April 7, 2022 1:36 PM   Subscribe

My 2003 Subaru Forester is in great shape--with the exception of a suspected electrical issue. Which caused me to stall out at an intersection. Car is at the mechanic's shop now, but...

...he's busy, so I'd like some help in narrowing down what the issue could be.

Over the last couple of years, I have driven a lot less (thanks, pandemic) and have not spent as much time in the car as I usually do. Here's what has failed in the last five years:

* Wiring harness was dirty, causing rear lights to fail (fixed, has not happened again)
* Clock works, but backlighting does not, meaning that when it is dark I can't see the time (resolved briefly after last mechanic visit and then disappeared again)
* The alarm system does not work--lights are fine, but no chirps when I lock up
* Speaker in driver's door is low-powered
* Within last six months, the CD player has started dying with a very loud POP (there's a lot of road noise, and it's still loud enough to startle me)

All of this suggests to me--a very non-vehicle-literate person--an issue with wiring/grounding/something I should absolutely not be messing with. After I broke down at the intersection (engine died abruptly as I was stopped) , I did manage to start it again and drove directly to my mechanic. He's a good dude. But busy.

I'd like to narrow the problem down for him if at all possible, though I know it may not be. (I did print the wiring diagrams in the link above.) What's your best guess about what's going on?
posted by MonkeyToes to Grab Bag (8 answers total)
 
It really doesn't matter what any of us might think the problem is, and none of us is going to to do a better job than the mechanic who's in possession of the car (who probably isn't interested in hearing a crowd-sourced list of things that it might be). If he's too busy, take it elsewhere. A Subaru dealer might charge more, but they could very well be able to look at the car quicker.
posted by jonathanhughes at 2:16 PM on April 7, 2022


Just as a counterpoint to the above, I've not had a good run of luck taking older Subarus to dealerships. YMMV but the ones near me seem both disinclined to deal with, and unequipped to go deep on, older models. (It is a bad enough problem, and our local reliable not-dealership Suby mechanic so backed up, that I am unlikely to buy one again.)
posted by Ardnamurchan at 2:21 PM on April 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


I know nothing about nothing but when I had cars that were stalling out it was a) an alternator that needed to be replaced or b) rodents had gotten into the wiring and the car was never ever the same.
posted by rdnnyc at 2:23 PM on April 7, 2022


It doesn't sound to me like any of the legacy issues with the car could at all be linked to the current issue without some significant diagnosis. None of those systems are related to the running of the car and any standard reason for stalling could have been why it stopped (fuel pressure issues, electrical weakness etc etc). I'd be inclined to completely ignore them as 'information' and your mechanic would have to start with the basics and plug through.

So there is no way at all to diagnose the issue further or narrow it down from what you have told us. It would be no more accurate than throwing a dart at a list of issues. Were there any lights on the dash when it stopped? Like, warning lights? Did the dash look normal but just the engine stopped or did everything turn off, or some lights flash up etc.
posted by Brockles at 3:18 PM on April 7, 2022 [4 favorites]


Sounds like a bad ground:
What Are The Symptoms Of A Bad Engine Ground?

The lights are dim.
The lights flicker.
Devices that are working erratically are electrical devices.
Fuel pump that is faulty.
The clutch of an AC compressor can slip or burn out.
Sensors fail intermittently.
The throttle or transmission cables may have been damaged.
It is hard to start.
Earlier in the linked article stalling is mentioned as a consequence of bad ground induced fuel pump issues.
posted by jamjam at 4:12 PM on April 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


By the way your car probably doesn't have to chirp when you lock/alarm it. I have a totally different car and I googled how to make it silent.
posted by mareli at 4:14 PM on April 7, 2022


My 2007 Honda Accord was just in the shop for stalling at intersections. It was a torn intake boot/hose causing too much air to enter engine.
posted by socrateaser at 4:21 PM on April 7, 2022


I'm with Brockles on this one- most of the symptoms you describe seem totally unrelated and can be just typical old car issues- slowly occurring over the span of five years. If all of the issues had surfaced at the same time there might be a common factor, but I'd focus on the stalling issue and ignore the rest. Certainly, checking the charging system, battery terminals and the main ground cable coming from the battery would be fine things to do, but I'd be interested in scanning the computer for trouble codes. Could be the IAC is gummy (this controls the idle speed.) The MAF sensor could be failing. (Most Subarus are so equipped, no specific knowledge about this generation.) If the problem is intermittent and didn't set any error codes, it may be a matter of waiting until it gets worse and is easier to diagnose.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:21 PM on April 7, 2022


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