Dash lights up like Xmas tree ! ! !

This SVX has been good to me but suddenly.........
Out of blue, many of my dash trouble lights are staying lit!

Specifically:

Steering
Battery
Stop lamp
Brake
ABS

Since five lights are lit I seriously doubt there is suddenly problems with all these?

Has this ever happened to anyone?

Can I reset something?

Thanks for any comments/advise.

Tapper

(PS- This happened the day I parked the car before winter storage. I just got the car out of storage and the same thing is happening. I guess I was hoping the car would heal itself )

[lee]

assuming you have checked the belts and they are OK, then probably the alternator...maybe parts shops will test for free, just make sure the battery has enough charge to get you there & back & don't run anything electrical

Could a failing alternator be the cause of so many trouble lights?

Tapper

[immortal_suby]

Yes - have the alternator checked, it can do this when it is on its way out.

Thanks
will do!

Tapper

[Wiz]

This is exactly what happened to me when my alternator died. One of the parts of the recifier failed so the car got less power that was a lot more dirty.

[Mr. Pockets]

I would recommend two things:

1. After you make sure that the wiring and belts are okay, just replace the alternator. Auto parts store test stations only check the alternator for about five seconds, so they miss intermittent problems entirely.

2. If you can help it, don't drive the car until you do. When the alternator in my SVX went bad five miles from home, I barely made it.

Well..........
It was the alternator, and i replaced it. . . . . . . .

It lasted about two months and then the lights on the dash lit up AGAIN What a pain in the ass. But hey, I'm gettin good at alternator removal and installation. So I go and have it tested, and yes its bad. So I went back to Napa (reman $195) and they exchanged it for another. (Anyone else have bad luck with Napa alternaors?)

I put it in two days ago. I charged the battery. And even painted the battery brace. So I am all happy....I start her up.......looks good.......sounds good...and no Xmas tree of dash lights. I take for spin, maybe about 5 minutes into it and BOOM......there they are again.....those frigin dash lights!!! I nail the pedal and they go out. I drive for a few more minutes and they come on and off a few more times

Did I get a bum alternator?

Do Napa alternators suck?

Could something else be causing this?
(my car is totally stock, no wierd electric stuff) (except I have no keyless and think I need a security module)

My battery is good. My wiring looks fine. The wire covers are a bit brittle, but all seems OK.

Not sure where to go from here???, except back to Napa, but I'm concerned I may get a hard time from them.

Tapper

[SVXer95]

Go back to NAPA. They should replace it. Is there any sign of failure on the alternator? (insulator cracked, black dust on pulley, etc)

When I worked for an aftermarket company I used to warn people about one of our rebuilt alternators....they were horrible! The return rate was equal to the purchase rate! We did have one good brand though, and it was more money but worth every penny.



Tapper! You should have contacted me! I can get you a genuine Subaru reman alternator for LESS than that crappy Nappa unit!!




Dave

[drivemusicnow]

Hmmm i'm trying to figure out if i should get get a subaru one (possibly through you??) or get mine rebuilt to a higher amperage... cause, i'm running a pretty high current stereo system, so i'd like to have the extra ... ooomph. any thoughts?

[immortal_suby]

I have heard of many repeat failures of non-oem replacement alternators on here and at meets.

I'd get yours rebuilt to be safe.

Update............

I have taken the car for a couple of short test drives.

charged batery overnight....

The first drive the alternator seemed to work intermittently. The dash lights are were on, then off, then on. It seemed like if I reved the car they would go out and the Alternator would work.

Next day.........Took a short drive and lights stay on the whole time. I couldn't get them to go out. So I am assuming the alternator wasn't putting out. >>>>>>I went to napa to complain. They put a tester on the battery and said "you need to charge this battery, In new GMs the battery has to have a certain amount of power or the alt won't work". I'm lookin at him thinkin I don't give a *hit about GMs. So they also said "It is probably a loose wire somewhere". Then he said "charge the battery overnight and come back and we will test it".

So I......
charged batery overnight.... Today I........

Started the car... all seems OK........drove 5 minutes...........stopped, turned off car, got some coffee........all OK..........no dash lights........alt seems OK........
Didn't go to NAPA!

My buddy says, I have another problem, not the alternator.

HELP..........

Any thoughts?





Tapper

Tapper,

My guess is that your alternator troubles have caused your battery to be no good. It might still show a good amount of volts, but my guess is that if the battery was load tested (which I bet Nappa is not doing) it would turn up bad.

Alternator and battery failures often go hand in hand. When one dies the other one suffers from the increased work load.


Dave

I was thinking that it may be the battery. It did drain down to DEADNESS this winter when the car was stored for 4 months.

So it looks like I killed the security module and perhaps the battery................trying to baby my SVX and keep the harsh winter salt off her. This winter I think I will keep her on the road. (in addition to a nice XT6 SNOW TANK!!!)

Any other input on this from anyone?????



Tapper

Originally posted by red95svx
Tapper,

My guess is that your alternator troubles have caused your battery to be no good. It might still show a good amount of volts, but my guess is that if the battery was load tested (which I bet Nappa is not doing) it would turn up bad.

Alternator and battery failures often go hand in hand. When one dies the other one suffers from the increased work load.


Dave