i bought a 91 subaru legacy wagon from the russian guy down the street and did not really understand what he was telling me about this switch under the driver's seat that turns the battery on and off.
i was desperate for a car and for some reason thought that switch was for the 4 wheel drive or something.
anyway, this car runs fine but switching the battery on and off everywhere i go is not enough to keep the battery charged up. i have to remove the battery cables when leaving it overnight or the battery runs down.
Sounds like there is some contant drain on the battery. Get ahold of a current meter (ammeter) and hook it up between the battery post and cable (i.e. disconnect the cable - positive or negative - and hook the meter between the two). Observe the current flow, then start pulling fuses until the current drops. When it does, something on the circuit is pulling current, find everything connected to that circuit and disconnect components until you find the one drawing the current. Once you identify the source of the current drain, figure out what it'll take to fix it. Likely is something added on to the vehicle, so that would be the best place to start.
Good thought on the current drain when the car is shut off. If you don't have an ammeter, you could try putting a lamp (maybe an 1156) in series with the battery lead. If it glows, that would verify your load. Make sure the car ignition is off. If the load is a small one, the bulb may not light, but at least this would be a less expensive way to go. Then go a head like Roger said and pull fuses ect. The least expensive way to go would be to turn the car off and remove one battery cable....then lightly touch it to the battery post. If it sparks...there is your load...pull the fuses one at a time as you test for a spark. I haven't tried this with a Subaru, but unless there is some capacitive loading, it should work....any thoughts out there?
Jim.
current meter (ammeter) and hook it up between the battery post and cable (i.e. disconnect the cable - positive or negative - and hook the meter between the two). Observe the current
something on the circuit is pulling current, find everything connected to that circuit and disconnect components until you find the one drawing the current. Once you identify the
is something added on to the vehicle, so that would be the best place to start.
Yeah Ray...I guess your probably right. On that...My thought was that if it was a light load....the spark would be barely visible. A highly charged battery could be outgassing enough to cause an explosion. If you have a jumper cable, you could go from the negative post (disconnected from ground cable) with the jumper cable and try touching it to a grounding point a distance away from the battery. Sorry about that...Jim
There is obviously a fault somewhere within the car's electronics ... and I'm thinking if this guy was loopy enough to install a switch under the seat that he says is "turning the battery off", what else has he done. I suggest find a good mechanic and have it fixed. A switch under the seat that "turns the battery on and off" ... not likely ... that involves some heavy duty wiring, or relays, I don't think so ... unless maybe he installed a dual battery setup for some reason???
.. if the battery itself isn't shot beyond being able to hold a charge. Disconnect the cable from the battery with all systems off, if you're able to measure some current between the terminal and the loose end, you need to look for shorts.
Some current as in maybe under 50 amps is not a short!
200 Amps or more, is a dead short to ground. Something is staying on, and most likely it is that Nippon or Nipponseiki ignition switch. As in the Ford Escorts, when they switched it over to the Mazda platform.
The Asian switches have some problems, not that I haven't found a good number of American switches that failed also.
The first place I look for draws is at the ignition switch.
Are you sure he just wasnt being a scrooge and not replacing an old dieing battery? Some people go to extreme measures to get that last week of life out of a battery that should have been replaced years ago. A dieing battery wont hold charge overnight....connected or not.
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