Did the stereo/HVAC unit go bad or something else?

[jmuz219]

I have a 2005 legacy. I was driving with the heater on and as soon as I turned off the heater the clock began flashing "ACC" then neither the stereo or heater would come back on. I started checking fuses and found the 15 amp audio fuse was blown, I replaced it several times and it kept blowing the new fuses. On the way home the engine acted like it wanted to stall, it was not doing that before this happened.

 

I got home and took the unit out and found that the red/yellow wire in the stereo's wiring harness was melted. I am under the impression that this is the 12v wire. I replaced the melted part of the wire and it stopped blowing new fuses but the stereo and heater still do not work. Also the clock will not work, it doesn't even display the error code now.

 

I had a line out converter wired in so I could run subwoofers and an amp without creating a huge project since the stock stereo is integrated into the heating unit. I took out the subwoofers about a year ago but left the line out converter in since I didn't want to pull everything out to get to it. I removed it today and spliced the original wires back together but it made no difference. I did tap into the ground and hot wires (the same hot wire that just melted) when I installed the line out converter but that was almost 8 years ago and I've never had a problem with it except once in a while the dash lights would dim but I figured that was just power draw from the subs. This has been the only modification to the electrical system, actually to the entire car.

 

Does this sound like the whole unit went bad? If that's the case I feel pretty confident replacing that myself but I don't have much in the way of mechanic skills so I don't know if there are any ways to make sure.

[Cougar]

The pathway to the problem is the with melted wire. That is where the excessive current flowed and damaged the wire. If the wire goes inside the radio then that is where the problem is at.

 

Check for power getting to the fuse you replaced and the things that aren't working. It sounds like power isn't getting to them even though you repaired the wire damage. There may be a blown fuse in the panel under the hood.

[gemologist]

Hmm. My experience with electronics is limited. Generally, when a short occurs, the components on either side of the short take the hit—that is the 'why' of the fuse. And why it is a bad idea to just replace the fuse without looking for the source of the issue first.

 

 

Footnote – I have heard complaints about the quality of Subaru Sound Systems before. I can not agree, my LS has the most natural sound. What I do find is that there are many 'bad' and even 'very bad' recordings.  I installed both an 'Isolation Transformer' and an 'iPod with remote control.'  The Subaru Sound System more than adequately handles the dynamic range of the digital recordings.