Have a search for "b4 alarm" or "brant" there are a lot of threads about the problems they cause. That said the fact subaru can find a fault code indicates it may be something else. but at a guess i would say the alarm could be the prob cause they are ****en ****. If its the prob remove it, dont pay to get it fixed. I got rid of mine, best thing i ever did

Ick, know how you feel.  I've had exactly the same problem, and it was initially tracked down to a faulty keypad and alarm module, so they replaced the whole shebang as well as the fuel pump relay for good measure.  Only problem is that two weeks later, the car stalls again (on Mains Rd, Sunnybank of all the f*** inconvenient places!) only to restart a few minutes later.  In other words, not the alarm at all.  I gingerly drive over to Zupps Subaru where they scanned my ECU, which came back with 3 fault codes:  fuel pump controller, air flow meter and intake air temp sensor.  They just told me to monitor it and bring it back straight away if it happens (rather than replace the lot at crazy $$$) to see which fault code comes back.

Let us know how you go!

Cheers,

Ian.

Hi Matty,
I've still got the factory Brant system in place - just seems all too hard to get them to rip it out.  To top it all off, I was driving down the M1 this afternoon just out of the city (through the roadworks, where there's nowhere to pull over) and it stalled... again.  Lucky I had enough momentum to roll a few hundred metres further just past the roadworks to the shoulder just before the Juliette St offramp, but it wouldn't restart at all.
I did, however, purchase this OBD2 scan tool from Jaycar, which has got to be the best $130 I ever spent.  Just plugged it in, and it came back with a single error code (P1230), which corresponds to the fuel pump controller.  It's still possible that the Brant has cut the power to the fuel pump controller, but at least we've got more of an idea of what it is.
I feel your pain re: trading in the B4.  If I wasn't trying to build a house right now, I'd trade it in on a MY06 GT or a Mazda 3 MPS.  At this stage, though, the B4 stays.
Cheers,
Ian.

Matty G;161411 wrote:

G'Day Ian, I haven't traded it yet, couldn't get to Melbs today, will look more into it over the next week. I can't really afford to upgrade, but really I can't afford not to either.

Sheesh, I have been lucky mine hasn't died on such a busy part of town like yours has.

Mine had a bit of a missfire / power cut, then stalled today, but it started up straight away and the engine light dissapeared.

I have noticed it happens if I restart the car after a short trip - ie: as if the car hasn't reached operating temp and the ECU is either over fueling or underfueling. Have you noticed anything similiar?

The OBDII seems like a good idea, let me know how you go with it.

I'd go with the Mazda, I doubt very much I'd ever buy a Subaru again

Cheers, Matt

fred_b4;161435 wrote:

Hi Matty,
So far, I haven't noticed any particular pattern as to when it cuts out - it first started when the car was dead cold up near O'Reilly's (middle of woop-woop) in winter first thing in the morning (figure on about 5 degrees), and this last instance was on a 31 degree day at midday when I'd been driving for about half an hour.
Seems we're not the only ones to have this problem. Have a look here to see the depressing quality of your Brant keypad module. Somehow I don't think dry solder joints in this day and age are really acceptable, especially when they generate enough heat to melt relays... Whilst this is the module I had replaced recently, there's still the main alarm module which could be the culprit.
Might be worth your while looking here too, to download a copy of a GenIII workshop manual - make sure you right-click and "Save link as..." since it's a 116MB PDF. It's got a diagnostic workup for the fuel pump controller on page 2034, which might help you narrow down the problem to either the controller itself or the power feed to the controller (i.e. the Brant). Only problem is that you'll only really be able to do this when the car stalls again, which means keeping a multimeter in your glovebox and doing some roadside diagnostics whilst waiting for a tow truck...
Best of luck,
Ian.

Oh, and with the clutch pedal, turns out the problem was a broken return spring.  Dealership service manager felt pretty bad about screwing me over, so he changed the spring for free.

Car's just fine and dandy now!

Actually, got back a total of $1300 - turns out the dude at the front desk charged me twice for the clutch kit and release bearing ($800 extra!).  Rude bastard too about the whole thing.  Turns out he got the arse from his job the next day anyway!

I'll post up pics some time this week.

Cheers,

Ian.

Interesting find that the cause was a relay with a loose connection.

There are two modules for the BRANT, both are know to cause the problem, so i hope u nailed it.

The unfortunate thing is even going to a sparky wouldnt find it unless they get lucky like u.

The ECU will always spit out the fuel controller code as power gets cut to this board which is on the LH side in side the boot hidden where the jack sits.

For those still with the problem, if u can get a hold of ur mastercode, u can check the modules by pulling them out and seeing the dry joints and fixing them up

Oh if anyone wants to throuw out there old modules or entire brants, let me know

Hi Matty,
Sorry it took so long to get the photos - work's been absolutely crazy for the last month, and I've been a really slack puppy in this regard.
The relay you're looking for is the one with the green plug on the right hand side of the photo.  It gets quite hot after a while, so it's quite easy to spot.  This photo was taken from underneath the steering column looking up towards the back of the instrument cluster.
It was actually a break in the black ground wire within 1cm of the green plug which was causing the problem, hence the fresh electrical tape here.  Ignore the electrical tape on the blue wire - I just used this wire to tap a permanent 12V feed for my power window lifters.
Any questions, just give me a yell!
Cheers
Ian.

Ian, I have decided to get rid of the Brant alarm system all together! I'm sure my problems are coming from it. Subaru are removing it later this week, I'll keep you posted how it goes. Hopefully then I can drive somewhere and know it will get me home again.
How is yours going after your DIY repairs???

All, As mentioned below, I decided to have the "Brant" alarm system removed from my B4 Liberty. Surprise surprise it still stalls and cuts out. Not only that, but now the airbag warning indicator light stays on constantly. Subaru claim this is just a coincidence and not caused by them but will however cost $1200 to fix!!!
This on top of another failed Bilstein front strut.
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I will never ever buy another Subaru!!!!