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biglittledog

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  • Location
    Boulder
  • Occupation
    sound recordist TV/film
  • Vehicles
    00 Fstr, 94 Lgcy Alpine

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  1. Big THANKS to you, nipper. If you hadn't warned me, I'd have blown up three of 'em. Instead I was actually methodical about it and checked all the bulbs that were added. Plus, I actually learned something in the process which makes me happy.
  2. Well I found the culprit. One of my bulbs had shorted when I put the switch back together. It was one of the seat-heat switches. The illum. light is the bottom two terminals of the 6 terminal "D" shaped switch. It reads about 23 Ohms when correct. Isolated sircuit it is! I'll try and pick up a new illumination control module tomorrow and plug it in. Big Thanks for all the help and ideas.
  3. You're right about that. One failure would cause all to go out much like the strings of Christmas lights we had when I was a kid. There must be something unusual in the circuit though, since this module is basically unprotected by the fusebox... Neg side controlled...there must be a reason although I'll never know what it is! Thx, -Steve in Colorado.
  4. Thanks nipper, I didn't realize you meant it was on the panel itself. I will try to check for short circuit to ground before I put another module in. I removed the alarm and lights back in August so I don't think its a factor here. The illum. lights I replaced before have been fine for maybe a month also. It was a good and valid thought though... I'm going to go out and pull the controller right now and give it a sniff. Thx!
  5. I haven't added anything. In fact I've removed two sets of driving lights and an aftermarket alarm system from the car to get it back to stock. The illumination lights I replaced (HVAC, cruise control, Fog lights) have all been working fine for several weeks. These were the last burned out ones. I had just plugged in the seat-heat switches but had an empty socket for the mirror heat switch. Maybe that did it, although I don't know what the path to ground would be with nothing plugged into it? What does the module look like? Thanks nipper, it seems like you're always the fastest with the most accurate info...I appreciate that very much!!!
  6. In the true luck and spirit of DIYer's, I've been replacing my burned out instrument illumination lamps with the radio shack ones and on the last two (seat heater illum. and heated mirror "on" indicator) when I turned on the lights nothing happens and I smell burning wiring. Ugggh! I had put the seat heater switch back in and was testing the lamp and hadn't plugged in the mirror switch yet. Now I have no instrument lighting at all and no fuses have blown. By searching here, I'm guessing that I may have blown the mysterious rheostat connected to the lighting dimmer on the stalk. Does anyone know where this is located and/or what it actually looks like on a '97 OBW? I''m trying to fix it on the one "warm" day here for the next week or so and can get a used one easily if I can identify it and pull it from a yard. Thanks for all thoughts in advance!
  7. Thanks as always nipper! I'll check the heated switch again. I could only find one bulb when I opened up the mirror switch and apparently that is correct (so the switch is dark at night unless the orange mirror heater is on).
  8. Yep, pull the codes to find out what's up. Just to mention it, our '00 Forester had a CEL that used to come on frequently after tanking up with gas and then go out after several starting cycles. This was when it was new so the car went back repeatedly to the dealer and they could never stop it from doing that. Eventually it went away. It only worried me because I didn't want my wife getting used to the CEL being on...
  9. I'm replacing all the burned out HVAC and switch light bulbs in my '97 OBW and I need to know: Do your heated seats have green ilumination lights that stay on so you can see the switch? Is there an green ilumination light in your remote mirror/mirror defrost switch so you can see it also? I've pulled these apart and can only find one bulb that lights up the orange "on" indicator. I'm wondering if these switches stay dark at night until you fumble around and activate them. Thanks!!!
  10. Just to follow up, these guys were great, reasonable on price, and super-nice to my son and my wife's "help" long distance. It's nice to find a good shop!
  11. Any help appreciated please... My son has just broken down in Schaumburg, IL and if anyone knows of a good mechanic there it would be a big help. I'm a thousand miles away and about all I can do is have it towed to a shop. I've done a lot of work to his car this summer and I'm very familiar with it. He overheated his '94 legacy 2.2L and I'm guessing it's either the thermostat, busted hose, water pump failed, or head gasket failure. I gonna have him check for bubbles in the overflow once he gets off the highway. Thanks in advance for any ideas!!!
  12. I'd probably just get a used one from a yard if I was in your shoes. I don't know how tough it is to install but you don't want to mess up! This doesn't sound like a common problem so the odds are a used one will be okay. I wanted to see if there is an O ring or seal at the input on the pinion casing, but its hard as hell to see the thing. Does anybody know? I've isolated my leak to the upper pinion case. It's stopped except when I come up my driveway which is very steep and has very sharp switchbacks. When I shut the car off 3/4 mile later at my house, it looks like something is on fire under the hood. Strangely it doesn't smoke or leak at all except going up this hill. I've back-seated it while I did the timing belt, all pulleys and water pump, accy belts, cleaned the vent system, replaced the tiny switch and HVAC lights, upgraded the stereo to the 6 CD changer etc. I've been too damn busy with this car!!!
  13. That blows... I know the feeling. I have a Grand Cherokee with a new engine with 12k on it that I've become totally frustrated with. Every time I fix something, something else goes bad. Right now it's sitting in the driveway like it has been for 4 months...I'm just sick of spending money. I wish I had words of encouragement... I don't know what I'd do in your shoes.
  14. I'm wondering if the relief valve in the power steering pump is not working properly. It seems a little odd to have fluid leak from the pinion housing (that contains the PS valve that directs pressure to left or right side of rack) AND the rack itself. I think the rack may be leaking mostly from the left side...I'm going to tie something around the center of the rack and see if only one side is wet underneath...
  15. I may give that a try although I'm leery of "fix everything" products. But if it doesn't work then the rack must be replaced anyway so not too much to lose. Right now its not leaking unless I come up my driveway which is almost a mile long and has a bunch of turnouts so the power steering is working it's **s off at low speed. When I park at my house, I get a bunch of smoke pouring out of the fender wells and the hood as the PS fluid (it is definitely that and not motor oil...) burns off the Cat's heat shield nr the "Y" pipe connection. The PS works fine, unfortunately it leaks and stinks after a good workout just like me...
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