Molds

Took the Scoob out Friday evening for a short 30 min run to do an errand. Noticed that it was rather sluggish starting but dismissed it as the weather has been a touch cold. Also, I tend to play with it mostly at the weekend and it stands all week in the garage so thought perhaps the battery was being a wuss.

This morning I really needed it as I had to go to the dentist before work. Bummer! Turned twice and now just a fast click click click click click, some relay or something or other? She usually goes first turn so I was a bit miffed. Should I worry about the clicking?

Strange thing this last few times I have taken it out, which could be coincidence, the alarm now sounds as it starts. I turn the alarm off, get in, turn the ignition on, wait for fuel prime, turn key and alarm sounds as car fires up and then goes off once running. I thought that maybe I had gotten the alarm into a "funny mode" or something? Anyway, I mention it here in case that sparks any thoughts of an electrical problem...

To add to my pains my garage is on a slope. If I push it far enough out of the garage to get another car in to jump start it and fail it will take who know how many people to get it back in the garage (that was a self pitty winge not a call for volunteers!). Question about jump starting. Does it matter if I use a diesel car to do it? Got this niggling doubt that I was once told not to jump a petrol from a diesel as the voltage is different or something like that?

In the event that I have to take the battery out and charge it up over night,I understand I will inadvertantly be doing an ECU reset. When I read up on how to do an ECU reset it said to get the car up to normal running temperature first? Can't really do that with a dead car! Any advice so that I don't break anything.

Errr, that's it I think. Thanks for listening.

Matt

Jolly Green Monster 2

Sounds like the battery is dead.. or dying..

Using the car infrequently doesn't help..

The alarm maybe churping because you are taking the battery below 12volts when you turn the key and then back up so taking power from the alarm and then adding it again when it was starting and the alarm churps a I am here type churp..

You can check with a volt metre.. put it on the volts setting and put it across red to positive and black to negative on the battery and it will probably read 12.3volts or similar.. get someone to turn the car over or try and I suspect it will go to 11.something volts..

Charge the battery and it will probably be fine until it loses it's charge again (assuming it holds its charge).

The ecu will reset if the battery is disconnected over night but don;t worry.. just drive it carefully for the first few miles when you restart it.. ecu will relearn fuel etc.. if you get in and thrash it the ecu may not retard the ignition in time if the fuel is not up to scratch or a problem is evident in the system.
But by the time the car is warm all should be fine.

It will probably be cheaper to get a battery of the same ampage and spec from a motor factors rather than a dealers.

Jumping car off a diesel should be fine.. just much be 12volt..

Also you may know as you haven't done so, or mentioned it that you shouldn't jump start a car with cats..

JGM

stockcar

jump starting is fine..........its BUMP starting that you should never attempt
alyn - as performance

Molds

Thank you for the input.

I hope it is OK to jump start as that is what I did last night?! Hooked it up to my brothers Volvo and hoped. Turned key and it started straight away. Yipeeee. Very glad it did as we tried to push it back up the slope (obviously too much time on our hands )but two of us were not enough. I have heard it said not to bump start a cat'd car before. Which is right re jump and bump with cat?

Then, took her for a good drive and put her away confident all would be well, and that it was just a sign that I should drive her more often

This morning then. Who can guess? Clik click click click, siren and thats it Pesky thing.

I guess from other advice, the thing to do now is take the battery to my local Lucas and have it "drop" tested. If it isn't holding charge then out with the wallet and take a new one home? If it is holding charge then off to my local Subaru dealer with a bigger wallet and ask for a new alternator?

Cheers

Matt

Sheepsplitter

Molds: Just a tip. If you do need a new battery and are in the AA, they will come out and fit a new guaranteed for life heavy duty unit for £57 all in. If it goes wrong again you can have another one.
Actually if your in the AA they can come out and check if it's dead or not.

I think you will pay a lot more than that for a 3-5 year guaranteed unit from Subaru or Halfords.

danny-boy

It sounds like your battery has dropped a cell, thats what happened to my Scoob, it was taking more effort to start, I parked it up one night after work, come out the next morning, nothing.
The AA jumped started me and it was fine

New battery needed, all sorted now.

Speaking to the AA bloke, he reckoned me driving it every day was just charging it enough to start again, but it was dieing slowly.

Get your battery checked I think must garages will do it for free.

Good Luck

Dan

Molds

Top tip on the AA.

I didn't go for home start though

danny-boy

me neither mate, I had to admit I was wrong and upgraded, cost me £30 odd quid to upgrade for the year.

I was well chuffed with the service thou, I put a call in at 7:45 and they turned up at 8:05, not bad considering I'm a male at home so it not like I'm high risk or anything

Big thumbs up

SCOOBY TOWERS

iTrader: (7)

Tow it a mile away and then call the AA out.
Saves paying for home start. :P

geoffn

Just had the same problem, but happened when returning from France on EuroTunnel !!! Had to bump start ( no other option ) - Anyone know how much a new battery is or what rating the standard one is ?

PS - Still trying to recover from the embarresment and the evil eye of the guy stuck behind !!

Toerag

All bump starting does is allow unburnt fuel to go throught the engine and into the cat, thus reducing it's efficency. Give it a long hard run to get everything hot and I guess the unburnt fuel will burn out of the cat. I suffer from this with normal driving as I only do short, slow trips from cold usually. The car went a lot better after 594 miles at 85mph in one go!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

594 miles at 85mph in one go?????
HOW big is your fuel tank??
:
Alcazar

Toerag

Oops, forgot to say that I only stopped for fuel once. My forester does 300+miles to the tank on the motorway, 230 at home (S-turbo)

Forester_GP

Toe, how do you get 300 miles from your forester, could you share your secret, cause i haven't been able to get over 200 on mine?

Regards

George

Turbo_Steve

er...I thought once unburnt fuel got into the cat it was dead. Period?

Sheepsplitter

The reason manufacturers tell you not to bump start cars with cats is that if it takes you more than a few goes you can flood the cat with neat fuel and then when the car finally ignites all the petrol in the exhaust can ignite causing an explosion, usually blowing the baffles out of the exhaust and destroying the cat, but sometimes actually setting fire to the vehicle.
The clause in the manual is a get out clause mainly intended for the litigation issues in the US (and as time goes on here in the good ol UK!).

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

It may not be your battery or alternator....

I've had problems in the past with this problem and it's been a fuel pump relay that's got stuck. A good auto electrictian will find the exact cause so my advice is to find the fault before changing stuff.

When I joined the AA I lived at home but I never took out home start, I moved out and inadvertantly left the main address as my parents house. This meant where ever I am I have home start now for free. I must ring them and adjust it.

F

CJRH

It will definitely be a dropped cell in the battery. Exactly the same thing happened to me when I was in Devon last month. Subconsciously during the day I noticed the car sounded different when starting it, but I thought nothing of it. Same day but in the evening went to start it and nothing….. I got a jump start and parked it on a slope over night so I could bump start it in the morning. Next morning the battery was completely dead so bump started the car (not worried about fuel in the CATS as I haven’t got any!) I went to the local Subaru dealership, Ashburton Motor Works as this was very close to where I was staying, £50 later all done. I thought this was very reasonable price and they did it straight away for me even though I had just called in on spec. (They tested each cell of the battery with a hydrometer.)

Chris

Toerag

Forester GP/George,
I have a bog standard UK S-Turbo (175bhp) and run either 95 or 97 RON fuel. To be honest with you I find the car runs more more smoothly and efficiently if the engine is nice and warm. As the roads over here are tiny and journeys are short (the island is only 9 miles long!) unless I do lots of frequent trips the engine never gets a chance to truly warm up. I drive how my mood takes me, sometimes it's redline everywhere (I've had my turbo glowing after only driving 5 miles!) other times I'm stuck behind a pensioner doing 25mph. In the summer I did 4500ish miles through France, Italy and Spain, mainly motorway (75-85mph)with the odd bit of slower mountainous stuff, and I'd be getting 270 miles from full to the 1/4 tank mark. In Guernsey I get 230 from full to the warning light (58 litres worth). In my old N/A forester I'd get 340 odd miles on the motorway, 260 at home. I guess there's something wrong with your car if you have one the same as mine! If it's an S-TB or T-TB then you'll get similar to an impreza due to the similar power outputs.

Forester_GP

Slightly off topic, but i did replace my OEM battery last week with a Delco unit. Toerag, that explains it, i've modded mine to the power levels of St-b hence my low mpg figures. City traffic, curvy roads + heavy foot & Mpg don't mix so from full tank to red light i get about 190m - 220m on mine.

Tim Caddick

My dad's Mercedes E200 had EXACTLY the same symptoms - click click click & the alarm sounding. The clicking souinded like something was shorting out. It even started dying in heavy rain. When it packed up at the petrol pump last week, he finally bought a new battery & bingo - sorted. When I tested the old battery on the car, it was reading 10 volts without any load, but dropping to 4 volts & less when cranking. With the new one on, again read 10 volts without any load, but only dropped to 9 volts when cranking, and that's straight off the shelf. Even with my dad's meticulous weekly topping up, batteries do just give up the ghost eventually.

Molds

Thank you everyone for your contributions to my post.

I took the battery into a local Lucas and asked them to test it. It was a total knacker. Bought a high output Lucas battery with 4yr warranty for £63 (includes VAT). Not as cheap as the suggested AA option but not that bad either. They also dispose of the old battery for you so I was happy enough.

Dropped it into the car and it started first go. Yipeeeeee!

In retrospect I now realise how the old one was getting slower at cranking the car. Also the thing with the alarm sounding has now gone. I reckon it is just because the car cathes first time that it had appeared ok, but with the alaram problem whereas in fact it was ready to give up.

A happy ending then without a fat wallet trip to the Subaru garage

Thanks again

Matt

Turbo_Steve

Topping up batteries?

They are sealed self-conditioning units nowadays. Topping them up just reduces their overall lifespan, as far as I am aware. Not reccomended, especially with highly chlorinated tap-water.

You must have noticed how petrol stations stopped selling battery-top-up-distilled-water: You aren't really meant to mess with batteries nowadays.