back up light switch?

[Suba9792]

So after replacing the backup light bulbs I still have nothing, not even a flicker, I picked up a new back up light switch, but to be honest I have no idea where it goes, its a 5MT 97 lego EJ22. I just figured that was the culprit, is it in the console by all the shift linkage or under the car, and how hard is it to replace.

[lmdew]

It's down on the drivers side of the transmission. Before you change the switch, pull the plug and jump the wires to make sure the lights come on.

 

It's a little hard to get to, but it just screws in.

[DTG]

Slight confusion. How do I disconnect the wires from the backup light switch before removing the switch itself? Am I supposed to pry the "cap" off with a blade? Twist it off with a pliers? There isn't much of anything to grab hold of.

[goof_ball]

Slight confusion. How do I disconnect the wires from the backup light switch before removing the switch itself? Am I supposed to pry the "cap" off with a blade? Twist it off with a pliers? There isn't much of anything to grab hold of.

 

Follow the wires away from the switch and you'll find the plastic plug which is where you disconnect the hook up. The switch and wiring comes out as one unit.

 

A pretty easy repair. I didn't even raise the car. Crawled under with an adjustable wrench and a drop light. Ten minutes later, reverse lights. Screw the switch in first or you'll just twist the wires around and around if the other end is plugged in. I jumped the wires to confirm switch malfunction as was suggested.

[dvancleve]

So I just successfully swapped out the backup light switch on my '97 Legacy Outback 5 speed. The part I got was from Rock Auto, brand was Airex but it was made in Japan and looks just like the original. Here is a picture of the plug. It is under the air plenum (or whatever that black plastic box that connects to the throttle body is called) on the left side and is the leftmost of the two switches. The one to the right is the neutral switch.

 

Under the car, at least on a 5 speed manual, the backup light switch is closer to the front of the car than the neutral switch (the super greasy one near the left side of the picture, view is from the driver's side behind the front wheel). The wiring is secured in three clips, two on the transmission and one near the plug.

 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, maybe my pics will help somebody else out a bit...

 

Doug

 

 

It's down on the drivers side of the transmission. Before you change the switch, pull the plug and jump the wires to make sure the lights come on.

 

It's a little hard to get to, but it just screws in.

Edited October 17, 2011 by dvancleve

[Zigarten]

Just to add an update, this pretty much matches the Empreza TS procedure.  The wire colours are red, the connector was cranky, I have no idea what finally made it release. I just snipped the end off and pulled the old cable through the guides. Rather than futzing too much with the new cable through the guides I just used cable ties to attach it to the cable guides.  The clip under the air filter box opened up easy enough but the other two were too far up to bother.

 

Being a new Subaru backyard mechanic I'll add; the bolt/switch head is on the drivers side, the wires were red and white (to differentiate it from the neutral switch).  I used ramps and a combination of from the side and from the front. Not a hard job.