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-   -   remote entry, radio, steering AND electrical problems (https://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17928)

maximvsv 04-13-2004 01:50 AM

remote entry, radio, steering AND electrical problems
 
Alright. Here's the whole enchilada, as it were. I bought my SVX three years ago, May. The aftermarket warranty is about to run out and rather than renew it, I want to get all of the covered things checked and fixed, assuming I can come up with the cash to front the repairs and have the Great Lakes people reimburse me. Anyway, here's what I've been dealing with...

When I got the car, the used car dealer only had one key, the "valet" key. No alarm remotes, no main key. I got the main key made and got two remotes. One has been used so much that the button part is completely worn away, exposing the button and the battery. Long ago, I had put in a piece of clear vinyl, so it's not too exposed. Off and on, when I would use the sunroof, the remotes would stop working. Usually, it was temporary, lasting a day at most. Lately, it's been out for four days. I thought the damaged remote might be the problem, but replacing the battery didn't help, and the "good" remote doesn't work. Then I thought that somehow the car's alarm system had gotten scrambled, even though the clock was still keeping time to show that there wasn't a current interruption. Just when I went to go look up how to program the car again, the remotes started working again. It lasted for a day. Now they're out again.

So, question # 1 is: is there some systemic connection between the sunroof, its controls and the alarm system that could cause wiring to get disconnected or corroded?

Next, my low fuel warning light is constantly on. Sometimes it is only at a low intensity, but it gets bright long before the gauge reads 1/4 tank. So, is the light connected to more than just the fuel level?

Next, my radio's tuner backlight has been out for some time. Occasionally, the light for the buttons will go out, too, but that usually comes back. The LCD backlight, though, has been just plain out. Is it repairable, and if so, how?

Lately, when I start the car, the car isn't generating enough current to have all of the check lights extinguish. I let the motor run a bit to make sure the oil's getting warm and circulating, then rev the engine until the voltage comes up to where it should be. Is this more indicative of an alternator problem, battery problem or loose belt or what?

Next, this car has always had a slight pull to the right. The alignment's been checked on several occasions, and all that anyone can find is that the alignment is out of caster by two degrees. Is that enough to make it pull to one side? Is caster adjustable on this suspension?

I would like to replace the hood struts, or install a permanent brace for the hood. Is there a bolt-in aftermarket replacement for the struts? All I've seen required cutting new holes and such to make them work.

I'd also like clear instructions and a diagram for taking the instrument center panel and the dashboard apart. Is anyone aware of something like that in someone's locker on here?

Well, that's it for now. Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks,

Peter

lee 04-13-2004 07:05 PM

Wow, lots of questions.

Weird electrical things in the SVX have frequently been traced to worn and shorting wiring in the sun visor (passenger side mostly I think). Just to be sure, you should remove the trim piece and confirm the wires are in good order.


The row of lights lit up on the dash is usually indicative of a failing alternator. That, if true, could also be a source of electrical weirdness.

lwin (user name: Seraph - the search button is your friend) has a web page up somewhere on how to take out the dash. I haven't tried this, but try indiglo, or dash and removal, or something along those lines to try & find the post with a link.

Caster is not normally adjustable. If it's off that much I suspect accident damage or failure of bushings or ??? these are just guesses.

Don't know of any aftermarket strut replacement that's bolt-on. The OEM struts can be found on Ebay or at a dealer and sometimes on this site in the for sale section. You might want to take them loose and see if both are bad or just one. One failed strut is enough to make the hood no longer stay up - at least in my case.

good luck.

maximvsv 04-13-2004 10:16 PM

Visor wiring?
 
I'll check into that. I have one visor that shorted out and had its wires cut in order to keep the climate controls working. I'll look into the other.

The car probably was in some situation before I bought it, since it has some crappy paint in spots, but it could just have been resprayed after having been found sitting outside for several years. (I don't know too much of the prior owner's history except he was a serious smoker but only put 65,000 miles on the car from 1994 to 2001)

Anyone else have diagnoses?

maximvsv 04-19-2004 10:01 AM

Recent developments
 
Okay. The low fuel light has begun behaving again (or maybe burnt out? I'll check next startup). The remote entry comes and goes, but definitely quits each time I use the windows or sunroof, so I'm guessing there's a connection loose in there somewhere. Before I go browsing through lockers and such, does anyone here have the wiring diagram for the remoter entry/alarm and power windows and roof circuits?


One note:
I moved the passenger visor around some, but it didn't do anything I could notice. Driver's side already had the wiring cut, when it shorted out the climate controls a year and a half ago.

That's it for now. Additional help or observations would be appreciated.

lee 04-19-2004 10:32 AM

reaper (a forum member) has an ftp site up with a lot of pdf files, one of them has the whole suite of wiring harness diagrams.

http://reaper450128.homeftp.net/servicecd.htm

maximvsv 04-19-2004 01:29 PM

Even more recent developments
 
I checked a few wiring diagrams, including the ones on the CD site. Seeing how so many power items end up routing through modules under the driver's seat, I thought that, maybe, something under the seat was shorting the circuits or otherwise interfering. I moved the seat forward a little, and like voodoo, the thing worked again. Twice. Then it stopped.

It's about 3:30 p.m., and I've been up, running around since 4:30 a.m. So, this is more of an exasperated amusment than frustration.

Well, back to work...


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