Johnny Subaru

jonathan99 - I did swap my working controller from my '95 and it didn't actuate on the '99. 1995-1999 Legacy's (and Outbacks) have a lot of overlapping parts. I did something similar to diagnose a bad temp gauge in my '95 - swapped the dash clusters with the '99 and it worked. So I guess it's not 100% guaranteed that the problem doesn't lie in the controller. Is there another way to test this? I guess I could put this controller from the '99 into my '95 and see if it works? But Imdew mentioned these controllers may not be the same. Imdew - I looked on Ebay, Autozone, Rock Auto. Subaru.com says they discontinued the part. Car-part seems cool, but a little tough to use - like I can't search for a specific part or enter a part number. Speaking of which, this part number for the actuator is: 72143AC010

Alright, so it looks like Subaru discontinued this part so I am unable to order it. My local junk yard also does not have any Subaru's from 1995-1999 which all use the same mode door actuator. I decided to do what several others have suggested, just manually move the linkage to set the mode door to defrost/floor for the winter and then move it to vent for the summer. I did find one guy on youtube parting out a 1997, so I contacted him about an actuator. Other than that, we will see if I can track one down. I'll post here with any updates that would be helpful for the community. Thanks all for your time and knowledge, I appreciate the help. Johnny

Imdew - what do you mean by the board in the controller? Is that just the climate control panel? If so, see my post above. I already tested a working controller in this car from my 1995 and it did not actuate that mode door. Does that make sense? Since the working controller did not actuate the door, that suggests to me the problem lies elsewhere..

On the bench. Car battery.

I finally pulled the actuator and figured out how to test it. Last 2 pins on the far right. It does move with power, so that must mean it's good right? Im thinking its the linkage now. I'll probably have to get to it Monday.

Alright, another possibility ruled out. I have another '95 Legacy so I pulled the climate control unit off that and plugged into this '99 and no luck. All the buttons light up, so it's getting power, but it does not move that mode door. I also don't hear any noises like clicking or or grinding or anything like that. If I am understanding this correctly, there is a linkage mechanism that moves the mode door, which is connected to the actuator correct? I'm guessing since I am not hearing any movement or grinding or clicking, the actuator itself may be bad. If the actuator was functioning it would at least attempt to move the linkage and make noise. idosubaru to answer your question from above, no it wasn't a Subaru. It was a video on a 2003 GMC Safari which has vacuum actuated mode doors. Here's the video link if you are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcZNtRsD4jI lmdew - if i really get stuck I've got a guy at my church that can help me out, but I think I can probably figure this one out a step at a time. I'm a novice, but I like to learn.

Thanks all, I will check out these leads and report back.

Hi there, trying to diagnose this problem. 2.5L 1999 Outback Wagon Air temperature is fine--its hot when set to heat and AC works, everything just blows out of defrost only. I pulled the vents off the center console to reveal the blend/mode door and it does not move when I change setting from feet to vent, etc. I even gently push on it and it is stuck closed pretty solid. I did some digging around and a lot of people are saying it could be a vacuum line. I hear a lot of vehicles around this time were made with pneumatically actuated mode doors. I haven't seen any obvious lines that are disconnected or broken. Perhaps someone could direct me to exactly which lines I should be looking at for this? Im hoping the problem is just a simple vacuum line, but in the case that it is the vent mode actuator, does anyone know where that is located on this model? I also confirmed the issue is not the EGR solenoid. I know that may seem unrelated, but I saw a video of a guy with a Ford having this problem, and he replaced that solenoid and solved the problem. I tested mine and it works. Thanks for your time!

Thanks to everyone responding to this post. We figured it out! I replaced the single wire sending unit, that was not the problem. The gauge itself was the issue. I pulled the cluster, and then pulled the temp gauge off. Swapped it with my other '99 Legacy and did tests with those gauges. The gauge from the '95 was bad. Went to the wreckers and snagged a gauge off a 95 Legacy, cost me $10 and about 4 hours trouble shooting.

The gauge stays in the middle when the car is on.Even when only the ignition is on, it goes to the middle. Then back down when the car is off.Goes straight to the middle on a cold start, and stays there when warm and never moves (until I turn off the engine).I unplugged the coolant temp sensor (CTS) and turned on the ignition (not the engine) and the gauge went to the middle again. This also kicked on the cooling fans.Then I unplugged the temp sender unit (right next to the CTS) and the gauge still went to the middle again when I turned on the ignition.What is wrong here? Any ideas?