intermitant "ABS" light issues and more!

[Redlined]

ok... this has been going on for a while. every now and then my ABS light will come on... normally acompanied by my heater blower shutting off then comming back on. Generally shutting off the ignition and turning it back on would solve the issue. also... hasn't done it in the last couple months.

Today on the way home from work. ABS light comes on. AC shuts off and doesnt come back on. Roll up to a stop sign. turn the ignition off and back on. ABS light still on. Heater blower still not blowing. a couple more tries show the same result. by this time people starting to line up behind me and have started to inch closer in attempts to urge me through the stop sign so I reach down and..... transmition wont shift out of park. after several attempts I roll down my window and signal the people behind me to come around (Come around idiot! Come around!).

The good part is I finally figured out what that Button on the console directly in front of the shift level is for! (manual Shift-lock override). I get her into gear and drive her the rest of the way home sans ABS or AC.

So... I'm thinking relay with no other grounds than the the problem being intermitant.

Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance!

[ericem]

Maybe bad alternator. What voltage are you getting at the battery?

[magicmike]

That is pretty bizzar. You say the window rolled down no problem or did the window go down slow? I don't have time at the moment but I'll check later. I'd check the haynes or chiltons for what is common electrically between the ac and abs for starters. Also I'd check to see where the shift lock is energized from on the schematic. Could be something as simple as a lose plug somewhere under the dash.

[Legacy777]

May want to check your grounds

[Redlined]

Alternator & battery are both less than a year old. I'm getting 12.40 at idle and 13.60 at 1500 rpms with lights and heater blower on.

Windows rolled down at normal speed. The problem seems to be limited to a particular circuit.

Tomorrow ill check for loose connections and poor grounds.

[Redlined]

Kudos to Legacy777. Did the "Grounding mod" and this seems to have solved my issues.

In addition, She runs stronger when cold and smoother with the AC unit on (Previously turning on the AC made the motor idle rough).

[mexicanzero]

12.4 is definitely too low voltage at idle. most vehicles are 14-14.5v at idle.
my leggy sits at 13.6v at idle and goes up to 14.4 at 1500 rpm
i've been told by "subaru specialists" that its normal for the older subarus to sit a bit lower than 14 at idle as long as it shoots up to over 14 after 1500 rpms.

check voltage at the alternator amd see if its the same at the battery and check all your grounds and the plug at the alternator

just my 2 cents

-Alex

[ericem]

come to think of it sounds like the problem that happened to me and it was funny because it was the day after i had yanked on my battery cables to try a friends battery. Where does the + side attach to inside the car that could be look as well as the ground. Or it is just to the chassis in the car?

[Legacy777]

There's a lead that goes from the alternator I believe, and the other side goes to the main fuse box in the engine bay I believe.

Here's the power supply routing diagrams

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... uting1.jpg
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... uting2.jpg