Hi all I am a new member to this forum, but I have already found tons of useful info. I do have a few questions regarding my 97 legacy outback wagon.

 

1.) Is anybody running aftermarket fog lights in place of the originals? I have a broken fog light, and I can't find a replacement for a reasonable price. I can get two new ones, like a hella 500, for less than the cost of one new one from subaru. Used prices are crazy as well. Anyway, what types are people buying for this? I would want something that looks like the original. Would I cut the plug from my old fog light mount and use it or wire the new lights without that plug?

 

2.) My damn power locks are getting flakey. Sometimes I hit the switch to lock or unlock and nothing happens, or they unlock or lock part way. Subsequent pushes of the switch do nothing. I have to leave it and come back to try again. I would blame the switch but it happens on both doors the same way, and doesn't help to try the other when one doesn't work. Should I be looking for a relay, connection, or what? I can't find a specific relay for the door locks.

 

3.) There is a glitch in some circuit where the radiator fan will run when not needed. While this is happening, the heated mirrors and heated seats do not work. If I reach under the dash and jiggle the fuse box, or perhaps one of the bunches of wires going into it, I can make the fan stop and that circuit work again. Seems like a flakey connection, any tips on how to track it down and fix it?

Oh, and while we're on the fan, it is a dual fan type. I haven't done this in a while, but last time I looked at it while it was running, only one of the two fans was moving. Are they always supposed to work together, or will there ever be one working by itself?

 

Thanks for any help, this site is great! I already used some info to track down an egr code, which I think I successfully fixed. I also recommended it to my father, who's going to do a vanagon/subaru conversion soon!

I have a 98 Subie OBW, the front end is the same as your 97. So, I know what you have. Someone, about 6 months or so ago, talked about an inexpensive way to replace the fog lights. He bought the low beam sealed beam headlights that were used in cars back in the mid 60's through mid 70's. The system where cars had four round sealed beams for their head lighting system. This type bulb is easily found at all auto parts stores. The guy said he removed existing fog light, leaving the backing shell, then glued the sealed beam to the remaining backing shell. Bulbs fit in the shell perfectly. He drilled a hole in the middle of the backing plate, then used existing wiring to wire the bulbs. Finished job was said to look great, perform well in the fog, and was very inexpensive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sI think he drilled a hole in the middle of the backing plate to attach wiring. If you hit the search function on this forum, should be able to find the original post. I seem to remember the guy was happy with the result. The new bulb fit nicely, and worked well in the fog, and the bulb was inexpensive, according to my memory.

1- you can fit Hella's to that space where the fog lights are, do a search here as i think there are other posts on it.

 

2-Powerlocks usually just work. The first suspect to check is the switch itself. They are easy to rebuild and clean. next suspect would be where the wires pass through the door.

 

3-can be as simple as a corroded terminal in the fuse block

 

3a- one fan is the primary and one is on with the AC.

Hi all I am a new member to this forum, but I have already found tons of useful info. I do have a few questions regarding my 97 legacy outback wagon.

[...] I haven't done this in a while, but last time I looked at it while it was running, only one of the two fans was moving. Are they always supposed to work together, or will there ever be one working by itself?

Welcome to the forum. You might find http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/CoolingInfo.pdf informative.

Great, thanks for the responses everyone.

On the fog lights, if I do go with Hella 500s, as I have seen some people do on this site, should I bypass the original fog light wiring and wire in the hella system on its own? Any tips on how to go about it? What are the disadvantages of using the original wiring?

 

For the door switches, I will mess with the switches and check the wiring. What had me believe the problem was beyond this is that the same thing would happen on both doors, always. I'll look into it further this weekend.

 

For the circuit problem, I'll pull the lower dash panel off this weekend and look around in there for corroded connectors or anything that seems out of whack.

Thanks!