2004 STI cluster acting very slowly and innacurate

[Francois_]

Well to start, I've searched and found one similar thread with no solution. So I'm gonna make this thread and hopefully someone can help me out.

I bought my 2004 STI about a week ago. It's pristine with 55k on the clock and it has been absolutely perfect up until today. I'm not new to Subaru's, but I haven't seen or heard of this problem so I'm not quite sure where to start.

I decided to wash the car today and the problem has only occurred after the wash. I didn't do anything differently than what I normally do. I didn't powerwash the engine bay or anything like that lol. But after I washed it, the gauge cluster opening ceremony is VERY slow and once started, the tach is reading 3000rpm at idle and the speedometer is wayy off as well. Also, the outside temp and odometer are flickering. It almost seems as if there's something drawing the power, but I can't find anything.

Everything else is fine. All of my Defi gauges are working properly, and all other electronics in the car are acting normally.

I'm gonna assume I got something wet but where can I start? I've checked all my fuses for the hell of it and every thing is fine.

EDIT: after digging a bit further, it seems that more than a few people have had this problem after washing their car. It seems that disconnecting the battery has done the trick for them but why? I really don't understand this...

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