I recently picked up a low mileage (45K) 97 Outback Sport. I love the car, but it seems to be possessed!

Every now and then (frequency varies with no apparent pattern) the power locks will actuate. It can be while I'm driving, or when the car is just sitting there. The other night I was in my garage, nowhere near the car and I heard the locks go...10 seconds later they did it again. It did it several more times over the next 5 minutes, then seemed to stop (for the time being).

Since then I've noticed that it has these fits from time to time, sometimes once, sometimes several in a row like the first.

Anyone ever seen this? Got any ideas what the problem might be?

I'm guessing a short somewhere, but I'm hoping there is a known issue or logical place to start looking.

Thanks,

Duncan

I think it's very likely you have a not-completely-removed aftermarket alarm system installed in the car. Mysterious locking behavior, clicking noises, etc are common results of someone just removing the alarm's siren and some other compnents, while leaving the alarm's "brain" and it's connections to the power locks installed.

Look under the driver's-side dash for the alarm "brain" and trace any wires coming out of it. If you can take some digital pictures, it'll be easier to help figure out what wires to remove and/or cut.

PS - Mods: This thread is probably better back in the Electrical & Lighting Forum where it started.

armand1 - Thanks for your reply.

I thought about that (I'd read a similar post when I searched the forum), but I don't see anything under the dash that looks like the "brain" of an alarm system.

If you have any suggestions on what it might look like, I'll look again. I'll alos try to get a picture tonight, too.

Thanks again.

My 95 Legacy does the same thing sometimes and it has never had an alarm or any other aftermarket electronics. We just got used to it and never leave it sitting with the keys in it.

The "brain" is typically a small black plastic module roughly 4" x 6" x 1.5" with a number of wiring harnesses plugged into it, usually 2, 3, or 4 wire, but often one or two with more wires. Electrical tape/tie wrap mounting is often a giveaway.

As for Mike's suggestion, on my MY02 and later, the power door locks are controlled by an OEM "integrated module" which also sits under the driver's side dash. I assume there is a similar module for MY97s -- perhaps unplugging and replugging its wiring harness connectors might "repair" a poor connection causing intermittent problems.