Alternator issue

[Bender-san]

After a quick search, I did not find anything that pertains to the particular charging system issue I had, so I thought I'd post my results. I apologize if this has been previously discussed.

I recently had an issue occur with my '93 wagon that I had not witnessed in any of my prior automobiles. However, after discussing the problem with a friend/co-worker who used to be a Subaru Master Tech, I've since found out that this is not an uncommon occurence. My wife and I were on our way home after work one evening when I discovered all of the common symptoms of charging system failure (dim lights, radio kicking on and off, etc). The one thing that did NOT happen, however, was the typical Brake/Battery lights coming on in the instrument cluster. The issue DID turn out to be an alternator failure, but the lights never came on. I just wanted to make certain that my fellow 1st gen Legacy enthusiasts were made aware of this so nobody ended up stranded without power. The key item to watch is the gauge cluster backlights. Those started becomming noticeably dim sooner than anything else (I live in city, so in rural areas the headlight dimming might be more noticeable).

[BSOD2600]

A voltmeter can be very useful in troubleshooting this issue.

[ericem]

I have had 3 Legacy's and all of them did the same. That battery light is useless! What I did however find came on to warn me was my abs light, and of course as you mentioned dim lights.

[Bender-san]

Ah, I have no ABS in my legacy, which would explain why I didn't get that light to come on. As for a volt-meter, I had one back at the shop in my tool box AND at home in my other tool box. However, I had no volt-meter in the car, so I had to wait for confirmation of my hypothesis.

[magicmike]

The light will come on if you lose the belt. This I know for fact.

[Lunatech]

The light will come on if you lose the belt. This I know for fact.

I can confirm!