# 1996 Subaru Outback - Battery drain

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** subaru\
**Created:** [October 1, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664 "2022-10-01T20:51:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LOJO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a3d4f5/32.png) [@LOJO](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LOJO)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664/1 "2022-10-01T20:51:42Z")

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what is draining my battery on my 1996 subaru outback

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**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664/2 "2022-10-01T21:41:33Z")

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Sorry , but that is almost impossible to answer without actually looking at your vehicle . A good independent shop should be able to solve this . If you are the US most Autozone stores can test your battery and it just might be your problem .

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664/3 "2022-10-01T22:15:29Z")

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After parked, engine off, any light remaining on? Look inside glove compartment, hood, trunk too. And look at tail lights, they’ll sometimes remain on b/c of faulty brake light switch. Beyond that, shops have methods to figure it out, but may take quite a bit of effort on their part – meaning a wallet-hit to you. A standard battery/alternator test makes sense as a start.

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**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664/4 "2022-10-02T02:19:42Z")

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> [@LOJO](#):
>
> what is draining my battery on my 1996 subaru outback

Something electrical.

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**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-subaru-outback-battery-drain/186664/5 "2022-10-02T02:35:59Z")

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Assuming the battery is actually being drained then it’s either a bad battery or the parasitic current draw is too high.