nipper Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Ok i messed up, and dont know how. I couldnt leave well enough alone ...... nooooooooooo. Well i got my JDM gauges all hooked up. They all work. I didnt like the fact they didnt dim. At first i found a radio tap that made them dim opposit the dash bulbs. That wont do. So I decided to get them off the factory tap and splice them into a dimmed circuit. Well it being high noon i couldnt see if it was working or not. Then it happened. I smelled the magical smoke. The magical smoke had escaped from someplace, and i found the 10 amp fuse blown. I tried backfeeding the lighting circuit, thinking that everything before the break would light up, and everything after wouldnt. NFG. The only thing that worked was the radio dimmed as it should. My backfeed connection blew a fuse, and more magical smoke was detected. I think I fried the illumination control module, or the stalk. I am guessing it was the module. Since its dark i cant properly trouble shoot. I have everything but the dash/heater/selector/heated seats are out. Where is this mystery module and who has one (1997 OBW) if anyone. Yes i undid the gauge wiring, and they arent coming on either. Thanks nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Ok i messed up, and dont know how. I couldnt leave well enough alone ...... nooooooooooo. Well i got my JDM gauges all hooked up. They all work. I didnt like the fact they didnt dim. At first i found a radio tap that made them dim opposit the dash bulbs. That wont do. So I decided to get them off the factory tap and splice them into a dimmed circuit. Well it being high noon i couldnt see if it was working or not. Then it happened. I smelled the magical smoke. The magical smoke had escaped from someplace, and i found the 10 amp fuse blown. I tried backfeeding the lighting circuit, thinking that everything before the break would light up, and everything after wouldnt. NFG. The only thing that worked was the radio dimmed as it should. My backfeed connection blew a fuse, and more magical smoke was detected. I think I fried the illumination control module, or the stalk. I am guessing it was the module. Since its dark i cant properly trouble shoot. I have everything but the dash/heater/selector/heated seats are out. Where is this mystery module and who has one (1997 OBW) if anyone. Yes i undid the gauge wiring, and they arent coming on either. Thanks nipper Don't feel alone, I did a simillar thing when I put the wrong bulb in my gear selector- The momentary smoke and yes the only dash lights I had was the radio! I replaced the stearing wheel stalk, no luck, so, I changed what Subaru calls the, "Instrament light rheostat,"($85.00) and poof all was back to normal! It was a pickle in my Forester to get to, as it resides behind the glove box on a sharp metal pillar. Obviously, your model will likely be significantly different in its layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Nipper, My info says the illumination control module is behind the dash, left of the column. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 So, are the lights dim enough for you now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 15, 2007 Author Share Posted July 15, 2007 Thanks Cougar... Oddly my alarm flashing my parking lights isnt working either. i'll order one tomorrow from Jamie. I can use the scan gauge for everything the dash does. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 i struck out with Jamie, she doesnt know what it is :-\ nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Nipper, ask Jamie to look up part number 83023 FA000; that's the "Illumi Con Unit" (illumination control unit, sometimes referred to as a "rheostat" in a throw-back to older times ). Simple to get to, if the lower dash panel can be pulled; may or may not be your (only) problem. Anyone needing to control illumination of aftermarket gauges might want to take a look at these: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?&threadid=338562 http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3115 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 Thanks, i will. What bothers me (keep in mind i failed eletronics courses but aced mechanical courses) is from looking at the wiring diagram, i think i understand why i fried the box and fuse (or maybe not).. I tapped into the lead for heated seat switch positve. From there i went to the light bulb, then to ground. From reading everything i see that subaru controls the low (negative) side to dimm the dash. ( I understand WHAT electircity can do, not how it does it all the time). Now by my tapping the high side, in my mind, with the lightbulbs in the circuit, i should not have created a short (the lightbulbs being the load). The thing didnt fry right away, as it was live long enough for me to test my wiring and double check my solder joints. Oddly i found the tap that the guy on NASIC forum needed for his tape deck. There was one circuit that worked inversly to the dimmer. Again i'm scratching my head. I am going to hope that the light control is what fried. The smell was minor, but was heaviest towards the bottom of the steering column. The box blew first, then the fuse. If i made a dead short, shouldnt the fuse have blown first? Can someone enlighten me as to why it blew? Andyjo (whereever you are), you asked me how i know so much. I learned a long time ago the best way to do anything was to sum up the problem, investigate it, research, and ask others for answers if you can't find it yourself. i know so much from (oh god ill be 46 soon) all those years, and gifted with a fantastic memory for anything technical. Just dont ask me what anyones name is nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 The dimmer box is solid state controlled and without a print for it I would be just guessing as to what happened. It appears though that backfeeding the output for the lights with power is a no-no. Had this been a simple rheostat type design your idea should have been ok to do Nipper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Thanks, i will.You're welcome; I hope that lead gets things resolved. [...]I tapped into the lead for heated seat switch positve. From there i went to the light bulb, then to ground. From reading everything i see that subaru controls the low (negative) side to dimm the dash.[...] As Cougar said, the control is solid state, and I've never seen an internal schematic for it. However, I can tell you that both sides of all bulbs that are dimable connect only to the control; neither side of the controlled bulbs are schematically shown connected directly to battery positive. (I am going to hope that the light control is what fried. The smell was minor, but was heaviest towards the bottom of the steering column. The box blew first, then the fuse. If i made a dead short, shouldnt the fuse have blown first? Can someone enlighten me as to why it blew?[...] This is going to be conjecture; I suspect that the fuse for the Illumi Con Unit isn't there to prevent failure of it from overload, but to prevent the harness from overheating if the control shorts in a severe enough manner. Apparently the control was able to initially sustain the connection you made, then there was a semiconductor failure that drew enough current to blow the fuse. Andyjo (whereever you are), you asked me how i know so much. I learned a long time ago the best way to do anything was to sum up the problem, investigate it, research, and ask others for answers if you can't find it yourself.[...]See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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