Replacing the Heater Control Lights

From SubiWiki

Well here it is, this is how you change those worn out lights on the older Legacies. It’s relatively easy and painless and won’t cost you much, like it would if you had a dealer do it. At the present moment I don’t have the part numbers for the bulbs, but any Subaru Parts Dept should be able to tell you/ get you them. These bulbs are Subaru Specific, you won’t be able to find them at an auto parts store. There are three bulbs that I know of that are part of the control unit and one in the Hazard switch, with that said, lets begin shall we?

What you'll need: 

   * Philips head screwdriver (magnetized preferably)
   * Bulbs from Subaru Dealer
   * Needle Nose Pliers
   * Regular Pliers
   * A few 5/16" and 3/16" E-Type Retaining rings because like me, you'll probably drop them and loose them
   * Small box to put the screws and retaining rings in
   * Cold drink of your choice

1. Disconnect the damn battery, you don’t want to short anything else out, now do you?

2. Alright here we go, hop into your car and remove the cup holder as shown below. I'm sure you all know how to do this, I'm just being thorough. Image:Cup_Holder_Tray.jpg

3. Next remove the two screws on where the cup holder used to be as shown below and take out the metal tray that held the cup holders Image:Cup_Holder_Screws.jpg

4. Now its time to get a little frisky with the car. First did you disconnect the battery? If you didn’t do it now, you don’t want to short out any more lights, or anything else. Whenever you mess with anything electrical on your car you should disconnect the battery. Alright, back on track. Remove the plastic faceplate that surrounds the controls and then disconnect the hazard switch, shown below

Image:Plastic_Surround_Removal.jpg

Image:Hazard_Switch_Removal.jpg

5. Next unscrew these 4 screws to loosen the Heater Control Unit, this is where the magnetized screwdriver comes in handy, you don’t want to lose these. Image:Heater_Control_Unit_Removal.jpg

6. You have to disconnect the heater control now from the wiring, so you have to release the following harnesses, shown below from the back of the unit Image:Heater_Control_Unit_Plug_Removal.jpg

7. Now flip over the unit and remove the following E-type retaining rings. If you accidentally loose them, its ok, I told you above what the sizes were, so you'll have some replacements on hand, I lost these 3 times and had to run out to the Hardware store to get more. The cable will then be able to disconnect from the Control Unit and you can remove it from your car and go inside out of the cold to do the rest of the work. Image:E_Type_Retaining_Rings.jpg

8. Now when you are inside and warm, unscrew the following two screws from the bottom of the Control Unit and remove the slider knob from the front side. The knob should just jiggle off with a little force, just don’t go crazy. After the two screws are removed, undo the two clips in front of where the screws were. Image:Slider_Knob_Removal.jpg

9. Now flip over the Unit and undo the clips. READ THIS AND HEED MY WARNING! THE BACK OF THE CONTROL UNIT WILL ONLY PULL OUT ABOUT A 1/4" DUE TO THE WIRING INSIDE THE CONTROL UNIT. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU PULL THIS OUT AND WHEN IT GETS TO ITS EXTENT, DO NOT REEF ON IT, YOU DONT WANT TO BREAK THIS!!! Image:Control_Ciruit_Panel.jpg

10. Now we finally get to the bulbs in the unit, these bulbs only need about a 1/4 turn at most to free them from the unit. They should turn easily with your fingernail, or the tip of a flathead screwdriver, be gentile, you don’t want to damage the electronics. The pic below shows you the location of the bulbs along with how much the back of the unit will separate from the front of the unit. Image:Bulb_Removal.jpg

11. Remove, replace and screw back together. You can now reconnect this to the car, you are done with the lights in the Heater control. WHEN YOU RECONNECT THE HEATER CABLE, MAKE SURE THE SLIDER IS ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT SO THE CABLE IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. THE CABLE SHOULD LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE IN STEP 7 BEFORE YOU PUSH THAT RETAINING RING BACK IN. To get that retaining ring back in I used a pair of regular pliers to push it back in. It needs to hold the black plastic sheath in place. Now for the Hazard switch I don’t have any pictures, but I can walk you through it.

12. On the Plastic cover with the Hazard switch in it, unclip the vents and remove. Unscrew the two screws that hold the hazard switch in and take that out. The silvery heat cover is basically a sticker and can be peeled off the side of the switch to reveal the bulb, remove, replace and congrats, you're all set. Put everything back together and reconnect the battery. The lights should be all set to go.

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