Electrical problems w/Outback Part 3

Hi,

This is the latest installment in the hopefully-soon-ending saga of the odd electrical symptoms with my '96 Outback. The problems started several months ago. Occasionally, I'd lock the car with the keyless remote and notice that the parking lights or taillights would illuminate and stay on. Unlocking and relocking the car several times usually made the lights go off.

These symptoms got worse and much more frequent. Once I came back to the car and the battery was pretty much dead. When I turned the key to start the car, all the dashboard and panel lights began flashing weakly and slowly, on for a second and off for a second. The car wouldn't start, but the flashing stopped after turning the key a few times, and I was able to start it with jumper cables.

A few months ago, I found the battery dead again, and when I tried to turn the key the driver's door lock went crazy, clicking rapidly as though it was trying to lock and unlock quickly. The only way I could get this to stop was pulling the fuse for the door locks.

I pulled the fuse which controlled the electric door locks and the keyless entry system, left it disconnected for several weeks, and the problem went away completely. I found the keyless entry module tucked up above the fuse box and removed that, then put the fuse back in. The problem still didn't return, so I suspected the module was bad.

I purchased a replacement keyless entry module and had a little trouble with the initial programming, so I put the original module back in for comparison. Interestingly, the original module seemed to work fine. I took it out and put the new module in, got it successfully programmed, and it too seemed to work fine.

I left the new module in, but within a couple days the original problem showed signs of returning. I locked the car one evening and noticed the dash lights flashing on and off slowly, same as before. I removed the new keyless entry module, and I haven't reinstalled the either one, and the problem is gone again.

So now what? The problem seems to be related to that keyless entry module, but the module itself is probably not bad. What could cause these symptoms? Could it be a bad ground or some other related component? How can I troubleshoot this further? Thanks in advance!

-Peter

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Peter A
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Hello. I am currently suffering from the same issues as Peter... Any updates on your progress traacking/fixing the problem before I jump into this too?

thanks,

Jonny I

Reply to
jonnyirock

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