Gremlins in the turn signals

[Tleg93]

Hello all. I don't know if anyone is still out there but what the heck, I'll give it a shot.

The problem I'm having is this: I keep blowing the turn signal fuse. It seems to happen whenever I put the car in reverse. The reason for this is because the fuse that has the turn signals on it also has the reverse lights on it. Has anyone had a similar problem? I can't think of what could be causing it at this point. I've checked the obvious. Right now I'm going to remove the reverse lights and see if that does anything. Nothing in the tail light assembly looks like it's touching ground or frayed, melted etc. I'm hoping that by removing the load on the reverse side of the circuit it will at least stop the fuse from blowing to give me a temporary reprieve. I'm hoping it's not some damned wire buried in the harness somewhere. Any help would go a long way.

[Legacy777]

Hi Scott,

You're on the right track with removing the backup lights. That will at least help you narrow down where the short/ground is. Remove each bulb one at a time, and see if it makes any difference. If not, remove both and see if it makes a difference.

Unfortunately shorts like this can be kind of a pain to troubleshoot and track down. Do you have the wiring diagrams for your car? I've got the diagrams for the 90 MY on my server as well as the 92 MY. You can look at both and see if there's any difference in the backup light wiring....there shouldn't be.

http://main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/

[Tleg93]

Oh cool man. Thanks for the diagram. That will help a lot once I start tearing things apart. Removing both of the bulbs has kept the fuse from blowing. This is important as it gives me turn signals. That's all the farther I've gotten with it at this point. I'll start tracking it down from the reverse bulb circuit and see what happens. Fortunately, my electrical background will help me. Unfortunately, this is a tough type of problem. I've looked up old Vikash (vrg3) posts and have come up with many good ideas.

This issue is part and parcel of these other electrical problems I've been having which I suspect are all related. At least some of them are, of that I'm certain. Here's a list, who knows maybe something will jump out at you:

1. Cigarette lighter circuit instantly blows the fuse once there's a load on the circuit i.e. - cigarette lighter or cell charger.
2. Can't use high beams. The lights just go out, both of 'em. (suspect steering column switch)
3. Sometimes the moon roof won't open or close.
4. Sometimes I have to repeatedly turn the key to get the starter to 'grab' and start the car.
5. Trunk light doesn't always come on although it sometimes does.

That's all I can think of at the moment besides the fact that due to a bad trunk lid seal, I take on water which collects in the spare tire compartment. I don't see any wires but water pooling in the car is never a good thing.

[Legacy777]

I'd suggest checking the diagrams and see if they have a common power supply routing, or something in common.

Intermittent electrical issues are usually ground issues, or possibly shorted wires.

[Tleg93]

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. I hate chasing down bad grounds but I'm going to have to it seems. Shorted wires seem like the more likely culprit though. Time to get the megger out and look for shorts.