seat heaters not working 1999 OBW

[bluebird]

Hi again,

I just bought this 1999 outback wagon, limited. It has seat heaters but they don’t work. The little indicator lights on the switches don’t light up. I checked for voltage at the switches and found none so I thought blown fuse. The owners manual says that fuse is in the 3 fuse box under the lower dash cover. I’m not sure how to remove that cover to get to the fuse box. I removed the two screws at the bottom and it still attached with clips or something at the top. I pulled pretty hard and stopped because I didn’t want to break the panel. What’s the trick to getting this panel off so I can check the fuse.

I have decided to wait and see with the vibration issue. Kind of learning to drive around it and as it gets worse it will be easier to figure out. . As one person suggested it may still be an inner cv joint even if it is only 20,000 old. I’m leaning that way. Thanks again for the feed back

[porcupine73]

I think there is an article on endwrench.com about this issue...let me have a looksee and report back...

 

edit: ok, might not be related but could be something to check: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/Fuse4Blow.pdf

[Cougar]

I'm not sure what the trick is to open the panel. You may need to push on it to release the latch. It shouldn't be difficult to open.

 

My data shows that the power is run to the seat heaters through a relay that is tied to power though fuse SBF-5. This fuse is in the power distribution panel under the hood. Make sure that fuse is ok. That fuse ties to another fuse which may be above the other fuse panel mounted in the dash. A blue wire from SBF-5 ties to a yel/red wire through the second fuse. I suspect that this 20A fuse is blown.

[OB99W]

[...]The owners manual says that fuse is in the 3 fuse box under the lower dash cover. I’m not sure how to remove that cover to get to the fuse box. I removed the two screws at the bottom and it still attached with clips or something at the top. I pulled pretty hard and stopped because I didn’t want to break the panel. What’s the trick to getting this panel off so I can check the fuse.[...]

Yes, there are three places near the top edge where the lower dash panel is clipped on; one each near the left and right corners, and the third just to the left of the steering column's cover. It's usually not difficult to get them to release, but maybe your panel hasn't been out before. You could try tilting the steering wheel to the highest position; that will open a slight gap between the top of the lower dash cover and the bottom of the steering column cover. You might then be able to insert something between the two that will allow you to gently pry the lower dash cover outward. Obviously, to avoid marring the plastic, choose an appropriate tool, and perhaps wrap it with some cloth tape or the like.

 

Once you get the dash cover to release, lower it to the car floor (it will still have things attached). The "3 fuse box" is actually just a small panel with three fuse holders, and is easy to miss. If you get on eye level with the hood release, look above it, in a bit and slightly to the left. The fuse for the seat heaters is the left-most (there may not be fuses in the other two positions).

 

I hope that helps.