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Weird Electrical Problem...


Draco-REX

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Ok, I was wondering if anyone would like to try to wrap their brains around this issue I'm having.

 

The car is a 2003 Subaru WRX.

 

Problem: Yesterday, I met some friends for lunch. Up until that point the car was working perfectly, not even a hint of any sort of electrical issue. No stuttering or oddball behavior. When I went back to my car after lunch, I couldn't start it.

 

Here's the oddness. The key does nothing. The car has power, and whatever detects the key in the ignition starts dinging. However there is no response to turning the key. No accessories power up, nothing ignition related (fuel pump, windows, status lights on dash, etc.) powers up either. The car behaves exactly as if all I did was slide the key into the slot and never turned it.

 

 

What I've done:

Checked fuses. Any fuses ignition related check out. Plus this doesn't explain the lack of accessories. Other items that don't require the key work fine (parking lights, interior lights, etc.)

 

Pulled the igntion switch. I was getting some odd results with my multimeter when I checked the ignition switch. So I pulled it and double checked. The results were inconsistent. Sometimes the switch would connect the proper leads, other times it wouldn't. And some times I'd see cross-talk between the IGN and ACC curcuit. So, thinking that was my problem, I cut the switch from its harness and tried to "hotwire" the car directly. No good, same exact behaviour; No Accessories, no ignition, no starter.

 

So I'm at my wits end. If I can't get this at least diagnosed by Monday, I'm going to have to take it to a shop. And considering it's electrical, I'll probably have to take it to a dealership.

 

So any ideas would be a great help.

 

Thank you

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does your car have a passive anti theft system?

 

try another key or hook up a scanner and see if it has security codes in it

 

passive anti theft will kill everything like you described

 

only the fuel and crank part. all the other modules will wake up and work.

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Thanks for the help. AJ's links are down right now, but it's 12:30am, so maybe they're doing work on their servers. The early WRXes don't have chipped keys, so the security system shouldn't be doing this. As it is, I think most ignition kill systems don't concern themselves with the accessories.
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If you turn the key on-off many times, does it attempt to start?

 

My SVX has a similar problem but if I turn the key multiple times (sometimes 30+) it will eventually start. And I don't usually turn the key all the way back to off but just back and forth quickly.

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Thanks for the idea, but it key does absolutely NOTHING.

 

However, I've found what the problem is.. Just not WHERE it is..

 

When I was checking the ignition switch I assumed that one of the leads was Ground. And when I checked it against the body it checked out as a ground. So I didn't question that.

 

But I've been thinking about this (really, I can't stop :( ) and I realized that if the common wire was a ground, then how in the hell is anything going to get power?? So I got the wiring diagrams and began tracing..

 

Bingo, that ground isn't a ground! I traced the wiring in the diagrams back and found the fuse for that line. I pulled the fuse (SBF-4) in the engine compartment and, as someone suggested, it was blown but didn't look like it. So it probably blew when that wire grounded out.

 

Now, I have to find out where that wire goes and how it possibly got grounded. I checked that wire at the ignition switch (now just loose ends) against the chassis with my multimeter and the connection was still there. So the issues is AFTER the fuse.

 

Now to narrow it down further...

 

This makes me wonder if there is a chafing issue other impreza owners might need to check into...

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just replace that wire with a new one from the switch to the fuse panel

I'd like to find the problem with the original wire just in case there's a bundle cutting itself in half on something. Otherwise, I'd fix this problem only to have more down the road. :(

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Jr is working!!

 

Believe it or not, it turned out to be that fuse. This has been a pretty educational experience. :p But what's weird is that the fuse didn't blow. It fatigued! But I have a spare just in case, but Jr runs and all the accessories work. So I'm happy. :)

 

I simultaneously feel dumb and happy about going through all that. I have a much greater understandng of my car's wiring, and really, with the information I had at the time, I felt I made the right decisions. What I didn't do, is do the diagnostics in the right order.

 

And in my defense, the fuse was labeled SBF-4. :p

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