ERiC AiXeLsyD said:
Yeah,
I noticed the other day in my car that the light or (lights) is(are)
out behing the climate controls in my '98 Legacy Outback. I looked in
the manual to see if there was a fuse I could replace to fix the
problem, but couldn't identify any single fuse that would be for that
specific area. The indivicual lights on the buttons (defrost, vents,
floor, & combinatiosn thereof) all seem to work fine... it's just the
little pictures them selves, the blue to red temp selector bar, and
the numbers around he fan speed selector that are no longer lit.
Anyone know if I can fix this w/o taking it to the Subaru dealer?
This is a common problem with that generation of Legacy. The climate
control consists of two lighting systems, there is the actual lighting
itself and the LED status indicators. Since the status indicators are still
lit, I doubt fuses would be the solution, so it would appear that the bulbs
are burnt out.
When my bulbs burnt out, I used the instructions found at "Russ's Little
Subie Page" on
http://www.randomsoup.com. However, I just went there and it
appears that that page isn't working anymore, although the site itself seems
to be working fine.
Changing the bulbs wasn't easy... but it wasn't hard either. You have to
remove the climate control box of course, which I think involves
disassembling the center console. You *can* get the radio and climate
control bezels off without removing the center console, but it can be
tricky. Anyway, these are the steps I remember taking.
1. Remove both screws from underneath center console storage bin lid, near
latch.
2. Pull up on parking brake, put fingers through parking brake opening, and
gently pull upwards. The panel should come off easily.
3. Remove shifter panel, there are no screws but you may need to move the
shift knob around to get it off.
4. Remove ashtray by pulling out. There are two screws in the metal ashtray
bracket. Use a short screwdriver to remove them.
5. Pull out cup holder. There are also two screws holding this in place.
You might be able to see some smaller ones as well, just go for the big
ones.
6. By now you should be able to remove the radio bezel, it might even be
falling off by itself. Set aside.
7. As I recall, the climate control bezel is pressure fitted like the
console pieces. Give it a gentle tug and it should come off.
8. You should be able to see the box itself. I can't remember if there were
2 or 4 screws holding it to the dash, but removing these is best with a
magnetic screwdriver. If they fall, they may end up behind the dash, where
you'll never see them again.
9. Now comes the part I barely remember. I did this myself 4 years ago, and
although I remember steps 1-6 very well (having done them to install two
car stereos and clean up coffee spills) this was only done once. There are
one or two wire harnesses that go to the climate control box. Remove these,
and then look under the dash on the passenger side. You should be able to
see a cable down there, I believe it is a loop sitting on a metal post.
This is what controls the hot/cold air mix, and you'll need to remove it to
take the box out of the dash so you can work on it. BE CAREFUL, as I KNOW
there was a sharp metal clip holding the cable in place that caused me to
spill about a pint of blood on the carpet. After bandaging myself up, I
tied some string to that loop so that I would be able to fish the cable back
through the dash the right way when I put everything back together.
10. I seem to remember reading that there was a cover on the back of the box
that had to be removed, but on mine there was no such cover. Once I had it
out, I remember seeing the circuit board and there were three round plastic
things with a "+" shape on them. These are actually the bulbs, and are
removed by turning them, counterclockwise I believe. I forgot to mention
that the bulbs are available from your Subaru dealer, I remember them being
kind of expensive for me but my Subie dealer is kind of cheesy and upscale,
selling Audi and Porsche alongside the mighty Soobs. Others have posted
about adaping a much cheaper radio shack bulb, but I used the actual parts.
11. Once all is well, reassemble. I draped my sweatshirt over the box once
I installed the bulbs, and turned my lights on to make sure that they were
installed correctly, so you might want to do something like that before it
gets dark.
Also... I bought some LED lighted skull bolts to hold on my license
plate, & it says it's an easy 12v installation... Anyoen know how to
do that? The instructions w/ the bolts literally say "Connect red to
postive, black to negative, or a ground source such as the frame."
I was just wondering where these magical wires would be? Ha ha ha...
lol... don't forget the skull shift knob.
I'd use the tail light wires. It's considered "easy" because they are
rigfht there. You may have to drill holes in the metal though, I've never
looked back there to see if there is an easy way in. Once you're behind
the sheetmetal though, you can just tap into the tail light wires. Make
sure you're not connecting to the brake or back up lights, and be very
careful around the brake lights anyway since your safety is at stake. For
something like this, you could probably get away with using one of those
plastic wire taps available at auto parts stores.
Hope this helps!
-Matt
