kenfb1

Yeah, The cigar. fuse was blown. Ken

Hi All, It's Ken, this threads starter. Well I finally had some time to fool with this problem. All I can say is: Thanks to that guy who wrote the story about the vanity mirror lights wiring. Right on the mark!!!!!!!!!! I started by removing the drivers vanity mirror, but saw no bad wires or such and thought it was a bust, but then I removed the passenger vanity light wiring and behold, the red positive wire was all chewed up and shorting out against the roof metal. Since the wires were not really burnt I just replaced a small section of wire, really taped it well and all is fine!!! Mirrors,seat heaters, cig lighter and even the vanity mirror lights(which I never realised were out too) worked. Ken

Hi, As of today: lighter,power mirror(heat and adjustment),seat heat(no lights for power but the other light is on). Ken Replaced cig fuse but still no lighter working. Ken

Hi, I would like to share my recent findings with the group from my daughters new 98 OB LTD that may help someone with this problem. (Note: Dealers please stop reading here. We bought the car with 90k and the owner told us that the power mirrors and seat heaters had not worked for a long time. The fuse keeps blowing and the dealer could not find the problem. Determined to find the problem, I put in a 30A fuse (supposed to be a 20A) and turned the car on. After a few seconds smoke started coming from the drivers side window pillar cover (A-post). I immediately removed power and took off the cover. I found that the wire harness in that pillar had indeed overheated and one of the wires had slightly melted. I further traced the harness up to the headliner where it split off. One pair of wires went to the visor for the vanity mirror lamps. I unscrewed the visor from the headliner and voila! The two wires that go to the lamps in the visor had been crimped by the metal bracket holding the visor to the point where they were showing though the insulation and shorting to the metalwork in the roof. I had to replace the wires all the way down to the dash since they had melted in various places. Once the wires were replaced and properly insulated, all the systems on that fuse now work (mirrors, seat heaters, vanity mirror lamps.) Hope this saves someone a ton of time!! I found this on another newsgroup, couldsit possibly be the answer??? Ken

Hi, I would like to share my recent findings with the group from my daughters new 98 OB LTD that may help someone with this problem. (Note: Dealers please stop reading here. We bought the car with 90k and the owner told us that the power mirrors and seat heaters had not worked for a long time. The fuse keeps blowing and the dealer could not find the problem. Determined to find the problem, I put in a 30A fuse (supposed to be a 20A) and turned the car on. After a few seconds smoke started coming from the drivers side window pillar cover (A-post). I immediately removed power and took off the cover. I found that the wire harness in that pillar had indeed overheated and one of the wires had slightly melted. I further traced the harness up to the headliner where it split off. One pair of wires went to the visor for the vanity mirror lamps. I unscrewed the visor from the headliner and voila! The two wires that go to the lamps in the visor had been crimped by the metal bracket holding the visor to the point where they were showing though the insulation and shorting to the metalwork in the roof. I had to replace the wires all the way down to the dash since they had melted in various places. Once the wires were replaced and properly insulated, all the systems on that fuse now work (mirrors, seat heaters, vanity mirror lamps.) Hope this saves someone a ton of time!! Found this on another group, could this possibly be the answer??? Ken

Are those in engine compartment?? ken

Hi, Today I realised that my cig. socket wasn't working either.I plug my phone charger in there. So I thought , this must be the reason for the seats not working. Well I replaced the cig. fuse(which was blown) and put another fuse in acc. fuse and still no go. These two are related somehow, but you would think that replacing both would solve the problem. I'm still working on it. Anybody else have any ideas about this????? ken

That sounds like my problem. I removed and replaced the 20a fuse and still no power to seats or mirrors. I also looked at the old fuse and could see no visible breakage. I assume you are talking about the acc. fuse box under dash with 3 fuse holders, right?? Ken

Hi, Thanks for reply but I have no way of checking voltage. I can handle small auto jobs but not that technical. Just thought there may be something I could handle. Dealer probably would want a fortune to track down a short if it's something like that!!! Where along the way would a fusable link be??? Ken

Hi, Got a little problem: All at once, my heated seat switches and my heated mirror switches no longer worked. I replaced the fuse but still no seats or mirror lights or working. Is there another fuse associated with these or am I crazy. What else can it possibly be?? ken

Hey, Thanks anyway, appreciate it. Ken

Thanks, A good and kind poster did me the favor. Thanks again, Ken

Hi All, I've done this for others here, so I guess it's my turn. I need a carfax report on this car: VIN # JS2RD61H645250618 Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out on this. Send report to: (kenfb1@echoes.net)

I'm interested. E-mail me at: (kenfb1@echoes.net)

Thanks,That was what I was looking for, someone who has done it. I had the switch almost out but thought I might break it prying it out. I will give it a shot, wish me luck. Thanks again, Ken

Ok, I have a 98 outback limited with the heated seats. Switches are in console. Light is burned out in left switch for left seat. I removed console and can see no replaceable bulbs. It looks like the unit is sealed. Do you have to replace the whole switch to get lights to work??? If so, can someone give me a part number and where to order. Thanks In advance, Ken

Gee, Thanks for all the responses, everyone but I kind of know I have to get the dealer part. I was just looking for a cheaper remedy. I see after researching that an oem foglight is the only answer besides a junkyard. I found $91 the cheapest dealer price so far. It's just too bad i have to get the whole unit when only the glass part is cracked. Ken

Just the front glass portion. Ken

Thanks, I did find a decent price at 1stsubaruparts.com. They want $91 plus shipping. I guess that's the best I found so far. Ken

Where can I buy a foglight for a 98 outback, beside the dealer. Dealer wants $129.00!! Crazy for a piece of plastic. Ken

I second that recommendation. I put silverstars in the headlamps and in the fogs. It's a bright idea!!!!!! Ken

Ok, What's the overall opinion of the best way to rotate tires on a 4 wheel rotation(no spare). I have seen two different patterns for all wheel drive. I see that Subaru recommends the easy: back left to front left, then front to back back right to front right, then front to back. I also see another method where you start at the back left, putting that on front left, left front to rear right, rear right to right front, then right front to rear left where we began. Any opinions???????????????????????/ Ken

So far, so good in the snow this year. We had two pretty good storms so far and I haven't spun the wheels at all yet, even going up some pretty good hills around here. I bought a tire and wheel package from tirerack.com this year. I got Kumho 205/70-15in winter tires, oem 15in steel wheels and the wheel covers for a little over $400 delivered and ready to mount. I think this was a great investment. My stock alum. wheels are nice and safe in my garage and as a bonus I use one of them as my full size spare if needed. Even if I only get two years out of the winter tires I think it's worth it. The tires were only $45 each!! Ken

no problem, ken

1998 OUTBACK LIMITED!!