Whats wrong with my car car?

[QIK_KAS]

Well being the mechanic I am, I have no idea whats wrong with her haha..

The other week going up a steep st it just died midst hill, I rolled back and parked, waited a few seconds and she fired up again and away I went.

2 days ago in the afternoon I went to go for a drive (car hadn't been driven for two days) and it wouldn't bloody well start. No power to anything. So I put the battery on charge overnight.

In the morning put battery back in, she started fine and went for a long drive. All good, went for a couple more long drives and after the second one the check engine light came on (no I didn't check cels). I parked at my mates, let her turn off after the turbo timer, talked like girls do and went to start and it was flat as a door nail. The alarm wouldn't even work, it was making a ticking noise, but I'm not sure if that was the indicators trying to go, or the starter motor trying to turn over.. haha

Anywho, left it for a day, then went over and it started fine, and it has now started fine twice more.

What should I be getting looked at? The starter motor, or the battery?

Oh, it's a '95 GT Legacy, with a check engine fetish

[zarnah]

my brother in laws 95 bg did this as well, same symptoms, would just randomly die on the odd occasion, and quite often when you went to start it there would just be nothing or it would just make a clicking sound, cannot remember exactly what it turned out to be but was something to do with an ignition switch or something along those lines

[CUDDAS]

Hey, have someone down there check out your alternator

[QIK_KAS]

Also forgot to mention, when i was at my mates, we tried to jump start it and it wouldn't start. There was only enough power to play some tunes and put my windows up..

[ODB]

more and more its pointing to an alternator problem

[QIK_KAS]

I thought if it was an alternator problem it wouldn't start at all? Do they start sometimes?

Sorry limited knowledge - but trying to learn

[Optical]

yeah sounds like the reg in the alternator is toast. Pretty common for BD/BG chassis cars, probably all subarus

[Volcanix]

had a mate with similar probs like everyone said check your alternator

[rtstk]

id say itz alternator 2

[Durty-Sanchez]

As above + a couple of others:

1. Check battery terminals. Corrosion build up between the electrodes and the connector can give you crap current flow. Take them off and give them a good wash. Re-connect, tighten, then crc to prevent oxidising. This is what causes the majority of my clicking-relay, alarm-wont-work, everything-dies-on-the-rimutakas-infront-of-a-police-car problems.

2. Remove starter motor earthing plate (connects starter motor electrically to the block). Check for pitting due to high current loads. Pitting causes the contact surface area between the block and the plate to reduce. The result is a higher resistance between the starter and the battery on the ground side, which will require another 20+ amps to get the sucker moving.

Grind the plate flat and reassemble (30mins all up to do). This will help with starting to no end and may also explain the lack of power to crank the engine even when being jump started.

[albaru]

Get a sparky to check out the alternator. Mine failed on the BG and I called the AA*. Guy turned up and diagnosed rooted alternator on the spot.

*not Alcoholics Anonymous