Subaru Outbacks

[Rot Box]

Spent the day ripping the rear interior out of my Legacy. Supposedly there’s a pigtail on the main wiring harness to plug a trailer wiring harness into. I couldn’t find it in any of the locations others have posted online. Seems maybe the outback’s had it but the legacy doesn’t? Either way where do I go from here? Do I dare splice into the factory wiring harness?? 😟. If so splice into one of the tail lights? I’m kinda helpless when it comes to this haha! Oh and I would solder and not use these haha

 

[Jeepj667]

I used one of these in my old BMW. It works by inductance. Don't have to cut any wires.

 

[Rot Box]

I used one of these in my old BMW. It works by inductance. Don't have to cut any wires. View attachment 143348View attachment 143348

That’s great thanks for the heads up!

 

[Rot Box]

Subaru got a little love! Scored a Thule roof basket in the local classifieds. Do you think my factory crossbars will do the trick or should I go with the obviously stronger Yakima/Thule bars? Seems solid as is just wondering. Don’t plan on more than a few sleeping bags and camp chairs up there…



Next up is wiring in my ARB fridge. Might need some help with this as I’m clueless haha. Figured ~25 ft of 4ga wire would be enough and I’ll use a 150 amp fuse between the batteries and solenoid. The second battery will be in the trunk I hope 4ga is enough??

Here’s what I’m thinking

 

[DAA]

All the fridge should need is 10 gage from the battery? That's all I've ever used. And only that big for voltage drop. With whatever fuse they come with, but it's pretty low amp, nothing like 150.

Second battery, not just for the fridge? Can't see needing one just for that.

- DAA

 

[Rot Box]

All the fridge should need is 10 gage from the battery? That's all I've ever used. And only that big for voltage drop. With whatever fuse they come with, but it's pretty low amp, nothing like 150.

Second battery, not just for the fridge? Can't see needing one just for that.

- DAA

Yeah I dunno the stock battery is super small on this car so a deep cycle in the rear might be the best option to keep that fridge happy on multi day trips. My worry is cranking the engine with a mostly dead house battery—don’t want to fry anything lol. But again I’m clueless. I know how to solder and make good connections though lol

 

[DAA]

I wired an ARB fridge up for a buddy in his Subaru. Not sure what model he has (and he's since gotten a JK for his offroad stuff). He never reported any issues with the Subaru on his multi-day trips to Cedar Mesa. I did advise, and he did get and carry, a jump pack, just in case. But I don't think he ever had to use it.

Those fridges really don't use a lot of juice. If you are driving every day, no worries at all. Sitting still for a couple of few days, yeah, you would need something. But a jump pack is pretty cheap insurance and does the job. That's all I ever carry.

- DAA

 

[Rot Box]

Thanks Dave I appreciate the input. My buddy has some land in southern Idaho (So jealous—it’s sweet!) so the car would be parked for up to four days at a time—with me working twelves now I have the time for sure.

Just wanting to keep it simple this year. Fuel prices etc are a joke so me and my kids in the Drewbaru at the local spots seems like a win. Hoping to get out next weekend will report back 😎

 

[I Lean]

4ga would let you assist your starting battery with the house battery, just by engaging that solenoid.

If the house battery is only for the fridge's use, I wouldn't necessarily worry about it. Let the house battery charge when the vehicle is running, and let the fridge drain it down way low in the meantime--then assume the start battery will start the car as normal.

I think some/most/all of the dual-battery systems with brains built in, don't supply power to the house battery until charging has been firmly established. (as opposed to your diagram with a simple solenoid)

If you want to be super-awesome, integrate a solar panel and controller into that setup somewhere. Then you can keep your house battery topped off all the time, even without driving.

Edit: I have a 10ga wire supplying power for my fridge, as well as a powered sub. So the power demands aren't that high.

 

[Tonkaman]

I agree with what’s been said.

-10AWG is plenty to power just the fridge
-15 A fuse for the fridge

-The diagram looks good for the 2nd battery.

My experience is that the ARB needs a 2nd battery after day 2 so I would recommend one. That being said, a solar panel would easily keep up with the fridge and may be just as good of an option.

 

[Rot Box]

Thanks a bunch you guys! I like the idea of solar I just don’t think I have room for a panel—they’re probably a lot smaller these days though huh 🤔

Where the car sits for up to four days at a time I think I’ll go ahead and do the second battery as I already have the battery so that’s a plus. It fits nicely behind the fridge just have to figure out a way to strap it down good.

Thanks again 😎

 

[J-mobzz]

I haven’t had much luck with just a solenoid personally. I would recommend a dc to dc charger in it’s place. I have this one linked below but have also installed the 40 amp version with great success also. They keep the aux battery properly charged and maintained where when I used just a solenoid it seemed the house batteries always struggled to charge correctly.

Renogy 12V 60A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger for Flooded, Gel, AGM, and Lithium, Using Multi-Stage Charging in RVs, Commercial Vehicles, Boats, Yachts, 60A https://a.co/d/cqTXDua

 

[TurboMinivan]

Do you think my factory crossbars will do the trick or should I go with the obviously stronger Yakima/Thule bars?

The OEM crossbars are rated for 150 lbs, so you should be completely fine.

 

[ID Bronco]

The OEM crossbars are rated for 150 lbs, so you should be completely fine.

Not many sales guys know that! Nice work

 

[Rot Box]

Thanks for the help everyone. I like the idea of the 12v/12v charger I never would have thought of that. Hmm might go that route I think it would be pretty sweet, Wonder how many watts I would need for my smallish deep cycle battery 🤔. I might have to do some math haha.

 

[Tonkaman]

Thanks for the help everyone. I like the idea of the 12v/12v charger I never would have thought of that. Hmm might go that route I think it would be pretty sweet, Wonder how many watts I would need for my smallish deep cycle battery 🤔. I might have to do some math haha.

When I bought mine through RedArc they recommended a 25A for a typical deep cycle battery.

 

[bryson]

The DC>DC charger will be nice because it will supply voltage that will actually charge your house battery all the way - for a typical AGM battery like I assume you'll be running in the back they need higher voltage than most standard alternators and charging systems will deliver. The DC>DC will ensure your battery gets fully charged while you drive, so it will perform the best and longest for you.

A solar setup with the right controller could also supply the higher voltage to make that AGM happy.

 

[Rot Box]

Have you guys seen the Outback Wilderness edition? Lower gears, turbo, higher ground clearance, tow hooks and a bunch more cool stuff. Kinda thinking I need one….

 

[Rot Box]

Soo…. My daughter is going to have her learners permit in a few months (wow time flies doesn’t it!) and I have been wanting to get a project to work on though out the winter.

My first car was a 1986 Subaru GL hatchback. I figure my daughter should probably have a Subaru as her first car 😁

Yesterday I found a 2004 Subaru Outback LL Bean edition—loaded with a engine knock for $800 (dude probably got the better end of that deal! Haha). Earlier in this thread years ago I rebuilt the flat 4 in my wife’s car and although it was time consuming it was not bad at all actually kinda fun looking back.

Well this one has the flat 6 and I know nothing about them other than they’re a claimed 300k mile motor if cared for—this one was not.

I guess my question is would anyone be interested in following along as I rebuild this engine? The H6 is kinda cool it uses a timing chain, it’s quad cam-ed and puts out just over 200hp. I have no idea what I’m getting into!!

 

[TRD270]

Soo…. My daughter is going to have her learners permit in a few months (wow time flies doesn’t it!) and I have been wanting to get a project to work on though out the winter.

My first car was a 1986 Subaru GL hatchback. I figure my daughter should probably have a Subaru as her first car 😁

Yesterday I found a 2004 Subaru Outback LL Bean edition—loaded with a engine knock for $800 (dude probably got the better end of that deal! Haha). Earlier in this thread years ago I rebuilt the flat 4 in my wife’s car and although it was time consuming it was not bad at all actually kinda fun looking back.

Well this one has the flat 6 and I know nothing about them other than they’re a claimed 300k mile motor if cared for—this one was not.

I guess my question is would anyone be interested in following along as I rebuild this engine? The H6 is kinda cool it uses a timing chain, it’s quad cam-ed and puts out just over 200hp. I have no idea what I’m getting into!!

I’m in and curious as to what’s involved. Seem to be a lot of Subaru owners that don’t know what preventative maintenance is. I’ve been seeing a lot of these types of cars in the classifieds (maybe it’s the cars not the owners 🤔) But since I took the Pontiac that no one ever painted for me to Vegas I’ve been looking for a new Salt Lake airport beater and grabbing one of these Subarus is near the top of my list.