idosubaru Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 It says only a very few number of early 2012s. Wow. The fix is indeed to replace bulbs for 10 years. No reference to causation - even though they surely know the cause if they have it dialed into a very specific production number. Come on Subaru! You mention fog on the lenses. Are you sure it’s not the typical exterior oxidation? That can be polished off and clear coated. Very common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 12 hours ago, idosubaru said: Doesn’t it seem like they’d do more than a bulb change? If they install a bulb then the next time you change bulbs yourself - you’re right back to where you are now. Seems like if they’d want more longevity than that. That would irritate customers more than help. When I worked at a dealership, that's all we did was throw in a new bulb. Didn't even use OEM ones, as the warranty would pay for aftermarket 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Inspect the pigtails. Look for signs of loose, overheated or brittle wiring. The pigtails suck in these cars and lead to healight failures. Dont go just by feel of the connection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddybob Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 On 4/28/2021 at 9:52 PM, idosubaru said: It says only a very few number of early 2012s. Wow. The fix is indeed to replace bulbs for 10 years. No reference to causation - even though they surely know the cause if they have it dialed into a very specific production number. Come on Subaru! You mention fog on the lenses. Are you sure it’s not the typical exterior oxidation? That can be polished off and clear coated. Very common. Well we do know they've made some mistakes over the years and tried to cat-cover them instead of coming clean. Crappy head gaskets being the most well known one. (I just finished putting MLS gaskets on my '98 Forester.) Oh well, we are dealing with human beings aren't we. Yes, I did polish the outside of the lenses and was able to determine that the insides were fogged. I haven't looked very hard but I'm guessing the lenses can't be separated to clean the insides. On other vehicles I have cleaned lenses and clear coated them. I thought I might do that to this one until I saw what the insides looked like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddybob Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 On 4/29/2021 at 11:31 AM, nipper said: Inspect the pigtails. Look for signs of loose, overheated or brittle wiring. The pigtails suck in these cars and lead to healight failures. Dont go just by feel of the connection. Good idea! I forgot that I've got that very problem right now on my 98 Forester, left side. I bought a new set of pigtails and haven't gotten around to installing them yet. Thanks for reminding me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddybob Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 On 4/28/2021 at 5:28 PM, Numbchux said: I've used drop-in LED "bulbs" in several applications with good results (brighter, but without being any more obnoxious to other vehicles, I've been on the receiving end of all of our vehicles' lights). But, being that it's not what the optics were designed for, every combination should be carefully tested, and aimed (I install one LED and compare the 2 patterns against the side of my garage). Would you elaborate a bit more? By "drop in" LED bulbs, do you mean you didn't have to do any installation of accessories like those big ballast resistors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 headlights? yeah,no ballasts. Some are designed to be rotated for best cut-off line then locked-down with an allen screw or ??? Others may require some creativity on the back side for heatsink or fan clearance. Turn signals may require a load resister or replacement flasher unit. Other installations are polarized I think. it is HIDs that need ballasts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, Daddybob said: Would you elaborate a bit more? By "drop in" LED bulbs, do you mean you didn't have to do any installation of accessories like those big ballast resistors? I mean installing LED bulbs in the factory housing. Some vehicles (Outback not likely one of them....but I could be wrong about the newer ones) have LED headlight assemblies available for them, aftermarket or OEM, which have considerably different optics to utilize the different light source. HIDs require a Ballast, LEDs require a driver. Frequently, the driver is built into the back of the LED bulb assembly, sometimes it's installed in the wiring a few inches from the bulb. These generate heat, so there's some form of heat sync and frequently a cooling fan on there. The '00-04 Outbacks (I have 6...so this is usually what I'm working on) don't have very much room behind the bulb, so the LEDs with everything built into the bulb assembly don't generally fit, but some use a flexible heat sync braid which are more flexible and can fit into tighter spaces. But basically, a drop-in LED "bulb" isn't much more complicated to install than a replacement halogen. I recommend https://www.gtrlighting.com/ and https://www.diodedynamics.com/ for high quality replacements. Although I've used many cheap alternatives with some success. Edited May 1, 2021 by Numbchux 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 That new shouldnt have internal degradation. Is that from the bulbs failing/overheating/exploding? Or do the headlight assemblies/wiring have some other issue that’s causing bulbs to blow and internal lens oxidation/coating damage? Moisture, aftermarket, wiring, previous work....? I don’t trust those LED fans for longevity. Moving parts on high heat light bulbs. Nope I’ll lean towards passive heat sink if they work. Pigtails doubtful. 90s pigtails were bad over the long term - worse than 80s and newer stuff. On a 2012 it would be caused by rodents, accident or hack job which you haven’t seen and said isn’t the case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddybob Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 20 hours ago, idosubaru said: That new shouldnt have internal degradation. Is that from the bulbs failing/overheating/exploding? Or do the headlight assemblies/wiring have some other issue that’s causing bulbs to blow and internal lens oxidation/coating damage? Moisture...? Could be from the combination of overheating and exploding last year when that happened to both highbeams at once, while we were having extended sopping wet weather, months of it. Whatever it was, it sure did a number on them. Both lenses have the same internal fogging directly in front of the bulbs. 20 hours ago, idosubaru said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddybob Posted June 8, 2021 Author Share Posted June 8, 2021 (edited) A lot of life got in the way but it's finally done. Both highbeam ground wires have had an extra ground wire soldered to them, then both of those are grounded back to the new SEALED battery. Thanks for all the suggestions. Edited June 8, 2021 by Daddybob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 hopefully that fixes it for you for the long term. and thanks for coming back to update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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