sdquint

Alignments done at various places, in past, with generally the same result - essentially normal. This last one was done at NTB (national chain) by an experienced guy who seemed to know what he was doing.

Have a 92 SVX, bought new. It has always seemed to pull to the right, much more than would be consistent with the road camber. (It even pulls some to the right when in the left lane.) Recently bought new tires (non-directional), rechecked the alignment (it was fine), had the tires rotated to see if radial pull was the problems. Still no luck. In past, have tried varying tire pressures (higher on the side of the pull, lower on the other side - about 4-5 lbs differential - don't want to mess up the AWD or the handling). That seems to help a little. Suspension and front end parts appear fine. Occurs while coasting as well as accelerating - so not torque steer. Have only about 62 K miles. Any ideas or suggestions?

Is there an XM unit that can be wired into the factory unit, rather than replacing the factory unit?

We are about to buy a new Outback and the dealer doesn't know much about adding XM that will look close to factory installation. Have been using a Roady in other cars and love it, but don't want a lot of wires hanging out in the new one. Not particularly handy or eager to start messing with the dash or wiring - so need some ideas about where to go also. Thanks.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Fuse is #9. I believe the fuse has blown when the dimmer is at about half and possibly even when it is completely off (with the headlights on). The Subaru dealer (in Montrose, CO) said they would talk to the zone rep - my hope is that they would contribute some time, not on my dime, if it turns out to be a MANY hour research project. I know it could be some obscure wire, because I have an SVX that had some major electrical gremlin (don't recall exactly what - it was many years ago) caused by a short in the wire that goes to the light in the sun visor. The mechanic at the dealer did seem knowledgable and experienced in these problems - he also suggested putting in a circuit breaker.

I didn't answer all of Tiny Clark's questions. The gauges and everything else continue to operate - it's just the illumination that goes out - a pitch-black instrument panel is quite unsettling.

The only lights that go out appear to be the ones that respond to the dimmer, eg speedo, tach, fuel, temp, gear indicators (down by the shifter), radio. Idiot lights, clock, all the interior lighting (dome, spots, doors, etc) continue to work. The problem with a whole box of fuses is that they blow either immediately or in a few minutes. BTW my short term solution has been to velcro one of those small LED head lamps in front of the main instruments so at least I can see my speed, fuel, temp, etc. What continues to puzzle me is why did replacing the stalk (with headlights, dimmer, etc) work for a year before the problem returned big time?

Thanks for the suggestions. Concerning dim lights, I am not aware of any - but there are a few burned out bulbs in the area of the heat and A/C buttons.

This last fuse made it about 20 minutes with the headlights on. Sounds like its time for someone with some electrical trouble-shooting skills to take a crack at it. (Of course I've already paid about $200 for that about a year ago and told they couldn't find anything wrong. That fuse lasted about an hour.) How do you get someone in Subaru to help the dealer with this?

Thanks for the ideas. We bought the car used and discovered the problem shortly after buying it. The previous owner admitted the problem had occurred maybe 1-2 times in the years they owned it (since new). I am not aware of any problems with the stereo nor of any new electronics added. One clue may be that when we took it to a dealer he told us that the car appeared to have had a repaired front end (not sure what) and that the windshield (that had the wiper heater in it originally) had been replaced with an aftermarket one without the heater. So, the connector for the heater must be dangling somewhere. I just went out to the car and removed the fuse for the wiper heater and, for the first time in a while, the illumination fuse did not immediately blow. BTW, it always seems to blow when the headlights are turned on, but I couldn't swear it doesn't happen other times (as, in the daylight the lights aren't on or the panel visibly lit). I am not aware of the panel ever being removed and replaced - it was the left-hand stalk that contains the light switch and dimmer that was replaced about a year ago and had "solved" the problem for a while. We'll see how long this fuse lasts!

We have a 98 Outback where the 10 amp instrument panel fuse keeps blowing. After no real diagnosis, we had the stalk (with the headlights, dimmer for panel, etc) replaced. This solved the problem for about a year, but about a month ago it returned. Now a new fuse will blow immediately when the headlights are turned on. Anyone with experience or ideas on this?