211 Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Originally the dash light on the Foglight button didnt' work (other two did), so I popped out the portion of the dash to get to the button. Pulled the button out and removed the bulb to compare at Radio Shack. They didn't have a bulb that would work so instead I took the bulb from the Defrost button and swapped it with the Foglight bulb (don't ever use that button- plus it's more hidden by the steering wheel than the others are). Now NONE of the buttons illuminate when the dash lights are on!!! What the hell happened!!! I went from having two to none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 First thing I would check, if possible, is the voltage at the terminals where the bulb connects when it is supposed to be illuminated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 okay this just happened a week or two ago to my parents. mechanic went to replace one bulb...now none work. be interested to see what the fix is, so let us know. sorry i can't offer and suggestions, except check the fuses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Hm...perhaps a bulb in the dash is worth two in the blister package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 Hm...perhaps a bulb in the dash is worth two in the blister package....yeah, if they can be found!My only stop so far has been Radio Shack and they didn't have a match, so like I said I put the bulbs back in and now none of them work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avk Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 But did you take the bulb out of the plastic socket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 But did you take the bulb out of the plastic socket? No, I didn't take it out of the socket. That was too much trouble at the time- instead I swapped the bulbs with one from the other switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 I had a similar situation years ago on an older Subie, and what I surmised happened is that as the bulbs age when one bulb burns out it ups the juice that the others on the same circuit get and they go soon afterwards. None of these bulbs have very big filaments so I'm guessing that they are pretty vulnerable to voltage/amperage fluctuations as they age. I'll bet that if you replaced all of them (on those 3 switches) at the same time with new ones that you'd no longer have problems. This is what I had to do with my old 97 OBW and I had no more burn outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 I had a similar situation years ago on an older Subie, and what I surmised happened is that as the bulbs age when one bulb burns out it ups the juice that the others on the same circuit get and they go soon afterwards. None of these bulbs have very big filaments so I'm guessing that they are pretty vulnerable to voltage/amperage fluctuations as they age. I'll bet that if you replaced all of them (on those 3 switches) at the same time with new ones that you'd no longer have problems. This is what I had to do with my old 97 OBW and I had no more burn outs. Where'd you get the bulbs from? I need the ones with the little plastic phillips-notched end cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Ok. The cat is on the prowl and going after light problems. 211 and Grossgary, I need to know what vehicles you have. 211, I assume you have a '00 OBW. Grossgary, what do your parents have? Just as a start I would check the fuses for any blown ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avk Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 You can get assembled bulbs only from a dealer. But the bulb itself, a miniature type with wire leads, can be replaced with a standard type 7219 which what they have at RadioShack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 Ok. The cat is on the prowl and going after light problems. 211 and Grossgary, I need to know what vehicles you have. 211, I assume you have a '00 OBW. Grossgary, what do your parents have? Just as a start I would check the fuses for any blown ones. I checked all the fuses in the fuse block, none are blown, unless there's a hidden fuse someplace else . The orange "switch is on" light still lights up on all three switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 The dash lights should have 12 volt power going to one side of them. Do you have voltage getting to them? The dimmer control module controls the return side of the light circuit and the dimmer control ties to the module. Check for power getting to the dimmer control also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Ohhh those switches are illuminated? Sorry I thought you were talking about the orange switch is on lights not working. Hm...that means my switch illumination isn't working either ('00obw) I just assumed they didn't have back lighting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Well I was confused also. I thought we were talking about the the dash lights, not the "switch is on" lights. I wasn't paying close enough attention I guess. Now that I'm on the right page here I think that the post from GBHRPS brings up is a valid point. By swapping the bulbs you may have damaged the good one. These bulbs are pretty delicate. But if I am understanding correctly you are saying there are other switch bulbs not working also, that you didn't swap, correct? Lets first make sure that the light you put in as a replacement is ok still. You can use a ohmmeter to measure the bulb filament and see if it is good. You can check the power to the bulb by placing your meter across the white/black and yellow/black wires going to the fog light switch. The w/b wire should have power on it with reference to ground. One thing to note. It looks like the headlight switch needs to be in the low beam position for the fog switch light to be turned on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted August 13, 2007 Author Share Posted August 13, 2007 Well I was confused also. I thought we were talking about the the dash lights, not the "switch is on" lights. I wasn't paying close enough attention I guess. No, no, we ARE talking about the dash lights- the backlight, illumination light, whatever you want to call it. I as saying earlier that the "switch is on" lights seem to work in all three switches. I'll do a voltage check later to see if there's any juice (reroofing my house this weekend) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnus Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 Bringing this one back with more info from another board.. http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/80-electrical-electronics/21446-wtf-light-bulb-seat-heater-switch.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.