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2011 Outback 3.6R Limited Charge Indicator Light..

3 messages,  Last post on Jun 22, 2012 at 7:35 AM

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What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Sedan, Wagon

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#1 of 3 2011 Outback 3.6R Limited Charge Indicator Light.. by pger_98

Jun 08, 2012 (2:37 pm)

This past Monday (6/4), I was pulling out of the garage. I noticed the Charge Indicator Light on. Car started fine, nothing plugged in, lights not on, etc. It went off after 5 minutes tops. Light comes on going home that night, and goes off in about the same amount of time.
 
This happens every day this week when starting the car. My hubby measures the alternator when light was on at 12.4 I believe. When light goes off, it was at 13.8. We tell our dealer and they say they have had this on their service car and that we should not worry unless it stays on.
 
Not too happy about this answer being we bought new and it will be 1 year next month. We took into another local Subaru dealer and they could not find anything wrong. Light did not come on, nothing.
 
This is our 3rd Subaru, and we have had no issues in the past beyond basic service.
 
Has anyone run into this issue?

#2 of 3 Re: 2011 Outback 3.6R Limited Charge Indicator Light.. [pger_98] by xwesx

Jun 10, 2012 (2:58 pm)

Replying to: pger_98 (Jun 08, 2012 2:37 pm)
Not on a Subaru, but it sounds like the voltage regulator on the alternator, or the alternator itself, may be having an issue. I certainly would not call it "normal," whether another car is doing it or not. When your car is running, it should be steady at that 13.8 reading.
 
As a quick check, unplug all the connectors to the alternator (they should be easy to access) and re-attach them. If the car still exhibits the same symptoms, I would log it with the dealer or Subaru corporate (1-800-SUBARU3) and push for an alternator replacement.

#3 of 3 Re: 2011 Outback 3.6R Limited Charge Indicator Light.. [xwesx] by pger_98

Jun 22, 2012 (7:35 am)

Replying to: xwesx (Jun 10, 2012 2:58 pm)
Thank you for your reply XWESX. So we just took the Outback into another local Subaru dealer to get another look. Only issue was that the light stopped coming on, so they were going on our word.
 
The dealer ran diagnostics on everything, and showed us the reports with nothing wrong. They told us to come in ASAP if this comes on again. Only issue is that it goes off after 3-5 minutes.
 
Since then, no light has come on. Car drives just fine like before. To add, it has been 95+ degrees here in Omaha. We used A/C, radio, etc. and it is ok.
 
We have this documented in two places, so if anything happens in the future they will have to fix it.
 
We shall wait and see.

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