Two Questions about 98 Legacy Outback

[Mike Wombacker]

I recently purchased a 98 Legacy Outback with 75,000 miles on it and
love it 99.8%. The two problems that I have are:

1. Anyways, my question is about the heater/air conditioner
part of the dash. The buttons that you choose head air, head and feet
air,
feet air, feet and defrost, and defrost obviously aren't translucent
so you
can't see them at night, but it looks like the 1-2-3-4 knob for the
blower
and the sliding knob that goes from cold to hot look like they have
small
slits where light is supposed to shine through, but mine do not light
up.
When I am driving at night, the only light is coming from the green
radio
display and the main dash (speedometer and tach) the heater area is
totally
dark (except for the green lights under the head air, head and feet
air,
feet air, feet and defrost, and defrost buttons) I was wondering if
those
knobs are supposed to be lit up,and maybe there's just a blown fuse.
Can
you help? I know my explanation/question seemed to drag on forever,
but I'm
just really curious.

And
2. I was looking in and around and under my dash and saw two (2) wires
a blue and a brown that each had a green connector at their ends.
They were disconnected and looked like they might supposed to be
together. I thought, "maybe this is why my heater lights don't light
up" Anyways when I plugged them together, the "Check Engine" light
started flashing, so I got nervous and unplugged them. I didn't even
bother to see if the heater lights worked when I did this, but now I'm
wondering:

Are those supposed to be together?
What do they do?
Did the dealer that sold them to me unplug them to hide a problem?
Should I plug them back together and take them to the dealer and
question
the "Check Engine" light while I still have Used Car Warranty here in
New
York?

 

[Jim Stewart]

I recently purchased a 98 Legacy Outback with 75,000 miles on it and
love it 99.8%. The two problems that I have are:

1. Anyways, my question is about the heater/air conditioner
part of the dash. The buttons that you choose head air, head and feet
air,
feet air, feet and defrost, and defrost obviously aren't translucent
so you
can't see them at night, but it looks like the 1-2-3-4 knob for the
blower
and the sliding knob that goes from cold to hot look like they have
small
slits where light is supposed to shine through, but mine do not light
up.
When I am driving at night, the only light is coming from the green
radio
display and the main dash (speedometer and tach) the heater area is
totally
dark (except for the green lights under the head air, head and feet
air,
feet air, feet and defrost, and defrost buttons) I was wondering if
those
knobs are supposed to be lit up,and maybe there's just a blown fuse.
Can
you help? I know my explanation/question seemed to drag on forever,
but I'm
just really curious.

And
2. I was looking in and around and under my dash and saw two (2) wires
a blue and a brown that each had a green connector at their ends.
They were disconnected and looked like they might supposed to be
together. I thought, "maybe this is why my heater lights don't light
up" Anyways when I plugged them together, the "Check Engine" light
started flashing, so I got nervous and unplugged them. I didn't even
bother to see if the heater lights worked when I did this, but now I'm
wondering:

Are those supposed to be together?
What do they do?
Did the dealer that sold them to me unplug them to hide a problem?
Should I plug them back together and take them to the dealer and
question
the "Check Engine" light while I still have Used Car Warranty here in
New
York?

A) The check engine light will flash even though
there is no problem if you connect the wires.
The dealer didn't unplug them.

B) You didn't hurt anything by connecting them.
At least I didn't when I connected mine

 

[JWC]

The same dash lights are out on my 98 Legacy Outback. I understand that it
is a pretty common problem. You can search these pages for lots of info on
replacing the bulbs. In one of the previous posts someone included a link
to photos detailing each step of the process for replacing the bulbs. It
involves removing the cup holder and pulling out the portion of the dash
with the AC controls and air ducts.

 

[Dominic Richens]

1. Anyways, my question is about the heater/air conditioner
part of the dash. ...
When I am driving at night, the only light is coming from the green
radio display and the main dash (speedometer and tach) the heater area is
totally dark

Popular topic. The light bulbs burnout all the time - I replaced mine and
now 50% of the time I have light!?! If I hit the dash they'll come on for
about 30 seconds when go out again! Check groups.google.com for past
articles about how to replace them. Get the bulbs at RadioShack.

2. I was looking in and around and under my dash and saw two (2) wires
a blue and a brown that each had a green connector at their ends. ....
What do they do?

They put the ECU in diagnostic mode and (I think) allow you to read stored
codes from the ECU if you plug a reader into the ODBII port. The CEL comes
on to remind you to disconnect the two before driving - nothing more.

 

[TG]

Complete with pictures. TG
http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?s=e904c065eac8dd66d7057a9164133d2d&threadid=91

 

[Jim Untch]

I got my bulbs from Troncalli Subaru (1-800-334-4717) 3 years ago ($2.48 X
3). Radio Shack has similar bulbs, but I believe that there is some
soldering involved. The install was pretty easy with the internet
instructions (lost the link)...the only problem, I put a slight bind in the
temp control cable...when the weather's really cold, I have a little trouble
getting the lever to stay on max hot setting...hth...jim

 

[Jim Untch]

TG: You changed topics, so I didn't bother reading your post! Peaty is a
good internet friend of mine, and Lisa Wilkins works for Troncalli
Subaru...thanks...jim

 

[John O]

Popular topic. The light bulbs burnout all the time - I replaced mine and

now 50% of the time I have light!?! If I hit the dash they'll come on for
about 30 seconds when go out again!

You're describing two different things, Dominic. Bulbs themselves are rarely
intermittant...imagine the filament being broken and only making a
connection part-time...that doesn't happen very often, and if it does happen
the bulb goes completely bad pretty fast. Generally, bulbs are either good
or bad...no in-between.

I think your 'bang the dash' problem is a connector or connection somewhere
else.

-John O

 

[Dominic Richens]

I think your 'bang the dash' problem is a connector or connection
somewhere else.

Yes, I agree. After changing the bulbs I wasn't willing to pull everything
apart again until it got warm again (no garage).