91 subaru legacy wagon electrical problem

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.

how can i figure out what to do about this?

wrote:
>
> 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.
>
> how can i figure out what to do about this?

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.

--
Roger

wrote:
>
> 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.
>
> how can i figure out what to do about this?

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.

--
Roger

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.



"Roger Brown" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
> >
> > 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.
> >
> > how can i figure out what to do about this?
>
> 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.
>
> --
> Roger

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.



"Roger Brown" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
> >
> > 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.
> >
> > how can i figure out what to do about this?
>
> 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.
>
> --
> Roger

Somebody wrote

> 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.
>

DON'T DO THIS!!! You don't want to make sparks next to the battery - ok.

Frank

Somebody wrote

> 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.
>

DON'T DO THIS!!! You don't want to make sparks next to the battery - ok.

Frank

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

"Raybender" > wrote in message
...
> Somebody wrote
>
> > 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.
> >
>
> DON'T DO THIS!!! You don't want to make sparks next to the battery - ok.
>
> Frank
>

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

"Raybender" > wrote in message
...
> Somebody wrote
>
> > 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.
> >
>
> DON'T DO THIS!!! You don't want to make sparks next to the battery - ok.
>
> Frank
>

Raybender wrote in rec.autos.tech

> Somebody wrote
>
>> 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.
>>
>
> DON'T DO THIS!!! You don't want to make sparks next to the battery -
> ok.

Connect the light between the negative terminal and the negative
cable, or disconnect the ground cable at ground, and connect the
light there.


--
Dick #1349
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
~Benjamin Franklin

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