Has the neutral switch been checked?
05 outback dead battery, no start. Help
Hello All,
New to the forum. I'm usually on the jeep forums with my TJ but i have a problem i can't seem to figure out by myself. My wife has a 2005 Outback 2.5 SOHC auto. On Sunday i was cleaning her car out and getting it it ready for winter(blanket, water bottles, hand warmers, shovel, etc, etc.). I had the rear hatch open for no longer then 20 minutes. I happen to notice to cargo light was a bit dim and i suspected the battery was probably dead (I have noticed the car takes a little more effort to start the past couple of weeks.)
Not sure what i was thinking but I hit the aftermarket remote start and tried to start the car. As i suspected, the car failed to start but it was clicking like a dead battery would. The odd thing was the remote start kept trying to start the car over and over. So i hopped in and put the key in the ignition and turned it on. That didn't work and it kep going. So, to not damage any components i disconnected the battery.
Now i was a bit confused about the remote start. I have been around a good number of them and i thought they had a failsafe and stopped after 3-5 trys. This one kept on going. So i reconnected the battery and tried to start it with the key. Same issue, no start just the starter clicking. I then jumped the car with my jeep. The car now has full power, but when i go to start it up i hear nothing at all. Not even the starter clicking.
Confused as to what was going on i thought the starter had gone bad. When i removed it and did a bench test, it was in good working order. So i reinstalled it. After all this i tried to restart the car with the remote start again thinking there was a security feature with the remote start. No luck. So i located the remote start and disconnecteed the entire control module from the car.
Here is where I'm at now. With the remote start control module disconnected, and with the original battery in, When i start the car, the starter clicks like there is a dead battery(makes sense). BUT when i jump the car with my Jeep and now have full power to the subaru I get nothing. Not even the starter is clicking. Although i do hear clicking coming from the left of the car and the right.
At this point I'm at a loss. I am picking up a new battery today for it, but i still don't understand why it won't start, or even engage with full power, but it will with half a dead battery. Please help!
New to the forum. I'm usually on the jeep forums with my TJ but i have a problem i can't seem to figure out by myself. My wife has a 2005 Outback 2.5 SOHC auto. On Sunday i was cleaning her car out and getting it it ready for winter(blanket, water bottles, hand warmers, shovel, etc, etc.). I had the rear hatch open for no longer then 20 minutes. I happen to notice to cargo light was a bit dim and i suspected the battery was probably dead (I have noticed the car takes a little more effort to start the past couple of weeks.)
Not sure what i was thinking but I hit the aftermarket remote start and tried to start the car. As i suspected, the car failed to start but it was clicking like a dead battery would. The odd thing was the remote start kept trying to start the car over and over. So i hopped in and put the key in the ignition and turned it on. That didn't work and it kep going. So, to not damage any components i disconnected the battery.
Now i was a bit confused about the remote start. I have been around a good number of them and i thought they had a failsafe and stopped after 3-5 trys. This one kept on going. So i reconnected the battery and tried to start it with the key. Same issue, no start just the starter clicking. I then jumped the car with my jeep. The car now has full power, but when i go to start it up i hear nothing at all. Not even the starter clicking.
Confused as to what was going on i thought the starter had gone bad. When i removed it and did a bench test, it was in good working order. So i reinstalled it. After all this i tried to restart the car with the remote start again thinking there was a security feature with the remote start. No luck. So i located the remote start and disconnecteed the entire control module from the car.
Here is where I'm at now. With the remote start control module disconnected, and with the original battery in, When i start the car, the starter clicks like there is a dead battery(makes sense). BUT when i jump the car with my Jeep and now have full power to the subaru I get nothing. Not even the starter is clicking. Although i do hear clicking coming from the left of the car and the right.
At this point I'm at a loss. I am picking up a new battery today for it, but i still don't understand why it won't start, or even engage with full power, but it will with half a dead battery. Please help!
21 - 31 of 31 Posts
thanks for the wiring diagram, I believe i have located the right module and will test it out tonight.
I did replace the battery in the keyless entry FOB with a new one, and that didn't change anything. Although i did notice the panic button on the back doesn't seem to work. But i believe that specific button didn't work before hand.
The one thing I noticed last night was the car starts in any gear, not only in park or nuetral. I noticed it when i was putting the interior back together to make it drivable and testing out everything. Could this be because i made a jumper for the relay and it is no longer connected to the security relay/BIU or have I just found the root cause?
I did replace the battery in the keyless entry FOB with a new one, and that didn't change anything. Although i did notice the panic button on the back doesn't seem to work. But i believe that specific button didn't work before hand.
The one thing I noticed last night was the car starts in any gear, not only in park or nuetral. I noticed it when i was putting the interior back together to make it drivable and testing out everything. Could this be because i made a jumper for the relay and it is no longer connected to the security relay/BIU or have I just found the root cause?
If your jumper is from terminal 16 of the starter relay to ground, which I believe is where you put the test light, then the relay will be energized whenever the ignition key is turned to Start and there's 12 V at terminal 15. You are indeed bypassing not only the security relay function, but also the interlock function of the inhibitor switch and the ECM (Park or Neutral start only).. . . The one thing I noticed last night was the car starts in any gear, not only in park or nuetral. I noticed it when i was putting the interior back together to make it drivable and testing out everything. Could this be because i made a jumper for the relay and it is no longer connected to the security relay/BIU or have I just found the root cause?
Not that I can recall being reported here.Has the neutral switch been checked?
The AT, of course, has the inhibitor switch, rather than the neutral position (safety) switch, and the P contacts relating to the starter system interlock could be open. This might be quickly verified by setting the key to ON, moving the gear to N and then see if it will start. (With the jumper removed!) It's not likely that both the P and N contacts would be bad while the car can be driven normally once the engine is started. But the question is quite relevant.
I was able to locate and test the BIU last night. Here are my results.
B10 (B280 Connector) - 0V on, 5.69V Cranking.
Now before that, I was testing the same connector and I got 12.18v on and 12.14v cranking, although i might have had a different wire being probed by accident.
The readings i got didn't make sense to me. I thought there would've been 12v going to the BIU not the 5.69 i recieved? I also jumped B10 to ground to see if it would start(effectively eliminating the BIU from the root cause?) and it didn't start. So with that being said, it is down to the ECU or the Inhibitor switch. Does anybody know where the ECU is so I can test that? I believe I've located it under the dash but the connectors don't seem correspond with the diagrams.
B10 (B280 Connector) - 0V on, 5.69V Cranking.
Now before that, I was testing the same connector and I got 12.18v on and 12.14v cranking, although i might have had a different wire being probed by accident.
The readings i got didn't make sense to me. I thought there would've been 12v going to the BIU not the 5.69 i recieved? I also jumped B10 to ground to see if it would start(effectively eliminating the BIU from the root cause?) and it didn't start. So with that being said, it is down to the ECU or the Inhibitor switch. Does anybody know where the ECU is so I can test that? I believe I've located it under the dash but the connectors don't seem correspond with the diagrams.
I'm not sure this is all that unusual presuming that you're at the right terminals. First, let's set aside the previous readings because we're not sure they were at the right terminal. (Might have been, but at this point only adds uncertainty.)B10 (B280 Connector) - 0V on, 5.69V Cranking.
Now before that, I was testing the same connector and I got 12.18v on and 12.14v cranking, although i might have had a different wire being probed by accident.
I thought there would've been 12v going to the BIU not the 5.69 i recieved? I also jumped B10 to ground to see if it would start(effectively eliminating the BIU from the root cause?) and it didn't start.
The 0V on, and 5.7 V cranking seems to make sense, as does the next test where B10 was grounded and still no start. In this regard, in post #76 in the linked thread, and as I noted earlier, it appears that the security relay is "normally closed"; that is, there's a connection between terminals 2 and 5 when terminal 1 is "high". That's a condition that needed for the starter relay to close. But if, during cranking, there's 12 V at security relay terminal 3, and 5.7 V at terminal 1 (B10), then there's current flow through the energizing coil, and the connection between terminals 2 and 5 is probably switched open. (See the diagnostic section diagram attached in post #76)
In the linked thread, in post #77, we're told that the mechanic cut the wire to terminal B10 of the BIU and the car started. In other words, terminal 1 was forced "high". I wonder if if you were to do the same thing, the car would start fine. If so, then we would know it's the BIU that's preventing the start-up, perhaps because of some security system glitch.
I think you're on the right track, and getting close, but would suggest the same B10 "high" test before turning to the ECM because your symptoms and those in the linked thread are all too similar.
So I removed my jumper to ground and ended up cutting the wire (b10) and it fired right up. I then spliced the wire back together and it was dead. So with that being said, I don't believe the inhibitor switch is the cause because i tried starting it in all gears and it only works in park and nuetral like it should. I believe it is the BIU or an input to the BIU telling it not to start.
Any idea on where to turn next? Everything seems to work ( wipers, door locks, windows, keyless entry, lights, I'll have to try cruise when I drive it)
Any idea on where to turn next? Everything seems to work ( wipers, door locks, windows, keyless entry, lights, I'll have to try cruise when I drive it)
It does seem as if the BIU is inhibiting the start. I tend to doubt it's a fault with the BIU itself; more likely something akin to the linked thread where an external issue was triggering the BIU security system to prevent starting.
In the linked thread, the "key" seems to have been the technician "forcing" the car into a diagnostic mode. In this regard, the Subaru Select Monitor III can be used to look at all the control modules to see if there's anything amiss, and it can also check various functions, such as door lock actuators, to see if anything is not working properly. (All of these are controlled by, or data is processed by, the BIU, which is not only a controller but a "central station"/router for data transmission.) Unfortunately, this requires a visit to a dealer.
I wonder if a similar problem has been discussed in other venues, such as ultimatesubaru.org, or one of the several Legacy forums.
Incidentally, when the car is started and running, does the trip meter read correctly?
In the linked thread, the "key" seems to have been the technician "forcing" the car into a diagnostic mode. In this regard, the Subaru Select Monitor III can be used to look at all the control modules to see if there's anything amiss, and it can also check various functions, such as door lock actuators, to see if anything is not working properly. (All of these are controlled by, or data is processed by, the BIU, which is not only a controller but a "central station"/router for data transmission.) Unfortunately, this requires a visit to a dealer.
I wonder if a similar problem has been discussed in other venues, such as ultimatesubaru.org, or one of the several Legacy forums.
Incidentally, when the car is started and running, does the trip meter read correctly?
2005 wouldn't start, no sign of starter solenoid action
Hi I am having the no start, EGR valve clicking on my 2005 Outback. I followed every thing in the thread but not able to fix it. It started after I stop for coffee and could not start the car to start since. Tried starting it and all I hear the the clicking noise from the EGR valve. I replace Crankshaft sensor but nada. Thanks advance to anyone that replies.
Hi I am having the no start, EGR valve clicking on my 2005 Outback. I followed every thing in the thread but not able to fix it. It started after I stop for coffee and could not start the car to start since. Tried starting it and all I hear the the clicking noise from the EGR valve. I replace Crankshaft sensor but nada. Thanks advance to anyone that replies.
You might want to start a fresh thread for this. The car cranks but doesn't fire?Hi I am having the no start, EGR valve clicking on my 2005 Outback. I followed every thing in the thread but not able to fix it. It started after I stop for coffee and could not start the car to start since. Tried starting it and all I hear the the clicking noise from the EGR valve. I replace Crankshaft sensor but nada. Thanks advance to anyone that replies.
Is the remote start still disconnected? I would put that back in and give it another try with the key only. Who knows what wires were altered with the remote start. If it then works, keep the remote start FOB in the garage or house.
21 - 31 of 31 Posts
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