2014 Legacy Limited 2.5i with CVT. Had been experiencing a parasitic battery drain and traced it down to one of the un-labelled fuses in the engine compartment fuse block. Pulling that fuse resulted in the drivers power seat no longer working - but the parasitic battery drain ended. This is a good thing. It was reading 7 Amps which is a lot of current, and the battery would drain to zero overnight.
Next step was I disconnected both cable harnesses under the driver seat - yellow one has two wires and white connector has a bundle of wires - assuming it was for the seat adjustments up/down/recline/etc. Assuming 2 yellow wires were for heated seat option - can live without that for now.
Now I have multiple indications on the dash with the engine running:
--"Check Engine" words are steadily displayed
--Air bag symbol is steadily displayed
--"Brake" word is flashing on and off
--Cruise control symbol is flashing on and off - located just above the odometer.
Car was able to start this morning with no issue, so parasitic battery drain was resolved.
Engine runs fine, braking was fine, electric parking brake cycled on/off with no issue, and no other operational problem other than the dash indicators telling me the world was coming to an end as noted above. With an ODB II reader the trouble codes were P0301 and P0307 - however the engine seems to perform fine.
The specific un-labelled fuse I removed was in the engine compartment fuse block, pink in color, about 1/2 inch square, and engraved 30 on top - presume that means 30 Amp rating. It is the fuse located just below fuses labelled 20 & 22 . There are two identical square pink fuses - this is the one closer to the front of the engine compartment.
Does anyone know the features protected by these square unlabelled pink fuses? And has anyone seen the issue with all 4 indicators (CEL, airbag, brake, cruise) activated at the same time? -due to a single fault? It's not clear if I buy the wiring diagrams I'd be able to identify what that specific fuse controls. And why are so many disparate systems now showing warning indicators?
Other posts mentioned a driver seat wiring bundle recall (for other models) but I did not find one listed for this 2014 Legacy. I can live without the seat heater or power adjustments connected - but the airbag and brake warnings are what makes me think I should not be driving the car. Unfortunately the dealer's first appointment slot is 3 weeks out. Booked it but that is a long time to deal without the car. Any ideas?
Also to fill in prior testing details:
-during diagnosis of battery drain I checked the alternator diodes - zero current one way, 340 milli-volts in the forward direction with the alternator disconnected from both battery and control harness.
-battery holding 12.4 volts overnight (after disconnecting both the driver seat wiring harnesses)
-engine running voltage measured at battery and alternator output post are both 14.4V indicating good alternator output.
-AM radio when on and engine idling did not exhibit excessive white noise or clicking when tuned to a local station (test for diode failure).
Based on these I believe the alternator and voltage regulator are fine and operating within spec, and no wild AC voltages are getting past the diodes.
Next step was I disconnected both cable harnesses under the driver seat - yellow one has two wires and white connector has a bundle of wires - assuming it was for the seat adjustments up/down/recline/etc. Assuming 2 yellow wires were for heated seat option - can live without that for now.
Now I have multiple indications on the dash with the engine running:
--"Check Engine" words are steadily displayed
--Air bag symbol is steadily displayed
--"Brake" word is flashing on and off
--Cruise control symbol is flashing on and off - located just above the odometer.
Car was able to start this morning with no issue, so parasitic battery drain was resolved.
Engine runs fine, braking was fine, electric parking brake cycled on/off with no issue, and no other operational problem other than the dash indicators telling me the world was coming to an end as noted above. With an ODB II reader the trouble codes were P0301 and P0307 - however the engine seems to perform fine.
The specific un-labelled fuse I removed was in the engine compartment fuse block, pink in color, about 1/2 inch square, and engraved 30 on top - presume that means 30 Amp rating. It is the fuse located just below fuses labelled 20 & 22 . There are two identical square pink fuses - this is the one closer to the front of the engine compartment.
Does anyone know the features protected by these square unlabelled pink fuses? And has anyone seen the issue with all 4 indicators (CEL, airbag, brake, cruise) activated at the same time? -due to a single fault? It's not clear if I buy the wiring diagrams I'd be able to identify what that specific fuse controls. And why are so many disparate systems now showing warning indicators?
Other posts mentioned a driver seat wiring bundle recall (for other models) but I did not find one listed for this 2014 Legacy. I can live without the seat heater or power adjustments connected - but the airbag and brake warnings are what makes me think I should not be driving the car. Unfortunately the dealer's first appointment slot is 3 weeks out. Booked it but that is a long time to deal without the car. Any ideas?
Also to fill in prior testing details:
-during diagnosis of battery drain I checked the alternator diodes - zero current one way, 340 milli-volts in the forward direction with the alternator disconnected from both battery and control harness.
-battery holding 12.4 volts overnight (after disconnecting both the driver seat wiring harnesses)
-engine running voltage measured at battery and alternator output post are both 14.4V indicating good alternator output.
-AM radio when on and engine idling did not exhibit excessive white noise or clicking when tuned to a local station (test for diode failure).
Based on these I believe the alternator and voltage regulator are fine and operating within spec, and no wild AC voltages are getting past the diodes.