There is a distinct possibility that I will be driving a car out to Seattle
for someone who was unable to do so.  I want to be sure that the car is in
tip-top shape before I depart.  So, I am looking for a service center for a
Subaru.  Anybody know of a good place to get Subaru's fixed?  If so, let me
know.
Thanx!

39 responses total.

  Japanese Auto Professionals on Main/Madison is a pretty good place
I've been told.

We've had pretty good luck with Jap. Tech Center on April Dr. off 
Jackson near the Subaru dealer.

Thanx for the pointers.  Anybody else have suggestions?

I like Professional Automotive Technicians (PAT) off Industrial,
but I don't know if they do Subarus.

What kind of work do you think this car needs?  If it's in good shape,
all it may need is an oil change, fluids topped off, radiator flush,
etc.

Three months after the original post I can't resist a response.

I had a Subaru I had to leave in AA with a friend before I left for Seattle.
The engine was fine after 120,000 miles, but the "pneumatic suspension",
a computer-controlled air-charged active suspension system, was inoperative
which left the car riding like a Conestoga wagon.  It was hilarious watching
the car buck up and down over invisible bumps while he drove it to his house
with me following behind.  The book value of the car was $3500, but it would
have fell to about $2500 with the high mileage, and Ann Arbor Subaru said
it would cost that much to fix it.  Which bring us to the point:  Ann Arbor
Subaru is a good place to bring the car if it needs a competent workup.

If you need any Subaru parts, I'll be happy to send you to my friend's 
house...

I'd like to replace the non-working horns on a 1986 Subaru GL wagon
with a single horn mounted in a convenient location. I'm told by
my Subaru garage that this model has no horn relay, but the cables
are hard of access because they are in accordian tubes. But I should
be able to attach a new wire somewhere - the fuse block or even
the horn switch. Before I start taking things apart and measuring
voltages, etc, I'd like to ask if anyone already knows what might
be them most convenient to wire in a new horn?

I don't have any specific knowledge of Subarus, but...

The horn wire from the steering column is likely to be the hardest to 
get at, so I'd look for it first.  It probably comes out near the 
steering rack somewhere.  (Or near the steering box, if you have pitman 
arm steering.)  On *most* cars this will be a ground-switched circuit -- 
the wire will be grounded when the horn button is pressed.  If that's 
the case you just need to tap 12 volts off somewhere and you're in 
business.

The serviceman said something that sounded like the horn switch going to
ground. Does this mean that normally the horns are always "hot" 
(connected to +12 volts)? I wasn't sure I understood him correctly. The
problem with finding wires is that they are all in that accordion loom
(the correct term). I'm at least glad to get confirmation that I heard the
serviceman correctly. Thanks! 

Yup, that's the most common way of doing it, since it means they only have
to run one wire down the steering column.  In theory it doesn't have to go all
the way down the column to the rack -- it could split off at the dashboard
-- but it often does because the horn and the steering rack are both in the
engine compartment.  This design is cheap but becomes a pain in the rear
when the wire's insulation gets worn through and causes a short to ground,
since the horn then sounds continuously. Ask any aircooled VW owner.  ;>

I take it the current horn(s) are buried somewhere hard to get at?  That'd
be the easiest place to find the wires.  Just behind the grille used to be a
common spot, back when cars had grilles. ;>

The old horns are behind the bumper and under the wheel well structure. 
They could be accessed by removing a car-wide underpanel screwed (and now
rusted) into place. To heck with that. I opened the dash below the wheel
and found all sorts of interesting wires. One nice single pair had a
connection I hoped was for the horn, but turned out, with the aid of a
trusty VOM, to be the ignition key. Another connector with nine (9) wires
was intriguing, so a little search of that found the horn wire - and it is
indeed grounded by pressing on the horn (switch). (The rest of the wires
are for the flasher switch and turn indicator, which are also on the wheel
housing.) Any original advantage of running only one wire from the
steering column has sure been compromised by the mess of other things that
are now fitted up there. 

I find in JCWhitney that replacement horns come "one wire" and "two
wires". This would require a two wire horn - the catalog listed the one
wire horns for "older and foreign cars". I wonder if the dimensions of
these are still in inches.... 

This was a great "fathers day activity"...  8^}

If you want a really unique sound, go to a junkyard and get the horns out of
a Cadillac.  My mom's '87 Sedan DeVille had a low pitched, three-tone horn
that was pretty impressive sounding.  I've thought of putting one on my
Honda, in my stranger moments. ;>

Correction to #11: it is *two wire horns* that are listed for "older and
foreign cars". 

I've toyed mentally with putting in some unique or musical horn, but
generally my way is the cheap way. Is there any special reason for 
having two horns? I intend to fasten the replacement horn up on the
firewall under the hood, where there is space (and easy wiring access).
I believe a working horn is a legal requirement, but the law doesn't
require two units, does it?

Nope, only reason for it is it gives a more pleasing tone, at least to most
people's ears.  My VW only had one horn, and my Honda also only has one. 
Horns with two or more tones are traditionally used on larger, more upscale
cars; small economy car horns tend to be utilitarian.

Horn pitch seems to be partly a cultural thing.  I've seen (heard?) European
rally cars that had horns pitched a couple octaves higher than what I'm used
to.  They were in about the same register as those "canned air" horns people
sometimes bring to sporting events.  (Used to be "freon horns", but I'm
guessing they don't have freon in them anymore.)

I would assume you need a two wire horn -- i.e., one that's insulated from
the body, and has a seperate ground wire.  A one-wire horn would require you
to use a relay.

That's my conclusion too. I'll also probably just wire the +12 directly
to the battery with an in-line fuse (unless I can make heads/tails of
the fuse block under the dash - and if it has an identifiable separate
'horn' wire. I would rather like to take the juice off the non-working
horns.

"Pleasing" isn't the only reason - if the horn *sounds* like it belongs
on a larger vehicle, or perhaps one owned by somebody with more power &
influence, people are more likely to pay attention than if it sounds
like it's on a scooter or bicycle.

Yeah, though that doesn't always work.  If you put a really impressive,
truckish sounding horn on a small car, when you sound it people won't
associate it with your car.  They'll look around for the truck that isn't
there.

Speaking of how horns sound, the JCWhitney catalog lists only "high"
and "low" for the sound of their (cheap) replacement horns. I  probably
won't be able to test any in the store, so someones please describe
for me "high" and "low"? 

I don't know, I've never bought a JC Whintey horn.  If you buy one, let 
us know. ;>

I bought one at Murrays today. I asked a clerk about "high" and "low", and
he asked if it is for a car or a truck, and then indicated the "low" horn
is most used for cars (if true - I wonder why). I now see it is stamped
with "HF 80 - 340 Hz". Must mean 80 to 340 Hertz. (I haven't stuck it on a
battery yet to hear if I "like" it...) 

Some horns have a screw that adjusts the pitch, but usually you're not
supposed to tweak it because it's tuned for the particular pitch at which
the horn is loudest.

This one has such a screw - and the warning in very small print on the
package to not turn it. Boy, what a challenge to one's elan....

You could install a foghorn... ;)

Or "hysterical laughter"...there are devices where you can select
a dozen or so different horn modulations. The horn is then just
a special loudspeaker. But these devices cost a lot more than "cheap",
and I just want the car to be legal. 

I would have guessed that the low sound would be used on trucks and the high
sound on cars.  I wonder if a 6 volt "low tone" horn put in series with a
6 volt "high tone" horn would harmonize?

I don't think turning the screw would do much for it's pitch.  The pitch
is determined more by the physical characteristics of the horn than by
when the current to the electromagnet in the horn is broken.  (That's what
the screw is for.  Same principal as a buzzer.)  It might be interesting
to take the old horn apart to see how it works.

Does the horn create a lot of electrical hash (EMI)? That's what a buzzer
circuit does due to the very nonlinear spark physics. I would think a
capacitor would always be put across the horn if that were the case. Or
is there one? 

Unfortunately, I can't get at the old horns easily, but new ones are
cheap enough to dissect if you *really* want to know. 

I doubt EMI from horns is a big problem.  No one's likely to care if their
AM radio is interfered with when they lean on the horn.

The "key in, door open" warning buzzer in the Ford I used to drive created
amazing amounts of EMI when active, and it wasn't bypassed in any way.

There may be a capacitor built into the horn.

Hmmm....I could measure its small signal reactance - that would be a cap
and inductance (with resistance) in parallel, so it should "tune". 

Installed the replacement horn yesterday and wired it today. The horn
gives a very satisfying car-like honk - so "low tone" does seem to be the
standard car horn. Someone else will have to measure the reactance of a
car horn.... 

I did take the +12 V right off the battery, with an inline fuse. I 
checked the fuse block to see if there were separate wires for the
clock, hazard warning and horn (listed on that fuse), but there
was only one wire and the distribution occurs somewhere else in a
big mess of wires. 

Now, I would like to install a mobile radio in my new Legacy L wagon.
How does one take off the panels around the radio console, and under
the steering wheel, to access the wiring on a 2001 Legacy?

It's probably either glued, has hidden screws, or there's some sort of
clever latching mechanism that will last 5 cycles and then crumble into
dust.

I'd be very surprised if it were glued.  First place I'd look is under the
lower lip of the panel.  Usually there are screws there, and once they're
removed the whole panel swings outward and can be lifted off the hooks that
hold the top.  I've never had a Subaru, though; this is just how it worked
on the Ford and the Honda I've worked on.

I've been looking, feeling, prying....everything short of levering. It
is impressive how tight all the panels seem to be (which prevents rattles
and squeaks, which is good). But there has to be a not too difficult
way as there are slots for installation of other things, like a CD
player, which is now filled with a empty box open only in front.

Are there panels that pop out underneath the dashboard?  Perhaps it
screws in from behind.

I did it six years ago on our '95 Legacy but don't remember how. I even
had the headliner out.  Flaky memory...

The more expensive the car, the better they hide the screws.  Look for small
plugs or trim pieces that pop off to reveal the screw holes.

THINK Klaus! THINK!

The only screws I've found on the panel under the steering wheel are two
on the end of the cover. Does that sound familiar? Maybe I have to take
off other panels to access the screws for the radio panels?

I'm thinking but it's not helping!  I've take the dashes out of so many
cars...  I'd be happy to come by some time and have a look-see.  I also wonder
if things haven't changed some in the 5 years we have between our Subarus?

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