Electrical Gremlin

[svxcess]

My 96 LSi has had an electrical system which was operating FLAWLESSLY. Every bulb works, all switches operate as designed, alternator cranks out 14 V and I never had an electrical problem of any sort.

Last week I took my car to the Subaru dealer. I had a "check engine" light and it turned out to be Knock Sensor #1. I know the tech had to pull the alternator to get to it and whetever else was in the way. He replaced it, cleared the codes and all seemed to be well...

BUT

About 2 hours later I tried to use the front wipers and they didn't work. I figured somehow I blew a fuse and replaced it. Every time I put a 15amp fuse in the #2 slot (front wiper) in the fuse panel under the dash and turn on the ignition, it blows. I have no idea if there is a relationship between this and whatever the dealer did. I also have no idea where to start in trying to diagnose this problem. Currently, my rear wiper/washer and front wipers/washer don't work.

As I said earlier, I never had an electrical problem ever. My wipers, front and rear, always worked perfectly. It wasn't until I tried to use the washer that I discovered the problem.

Any help, insight or suggestions are truly appreciated.

[svxxx26]

Any luck finding your electrical gremlins?

[thundering02]

Take it back and make the dealer fix it cause they did it. And did you figure it out?

[svxcess]

I just cannot figure out what they did that would cause ONLY that one circuit to fail. Every other switch and light works normally. I thought that if they caused the problem I would have a lot more going on.

I don't think that switches normally fail, so I don't think it is in my wiper switch. Plus the wiper fuse blows when I turn the ignition switch to the on position (I see it arc in the fuse panel) This is when the wiper switch on the column is turned off.

Its going in tomorrow so we shall see. I thought someone here might have insight on what to check.

[SubaSteevo]

Did you feed the car after midnight?

[oab_au]

Originally Posted by svxcess

I just cannot figure out what they did that would cause ONLY that one circuit to fail. Every other switch and light works normally. I thought that if they caused the problem I would have a lot more going on.

I don't think that switches normally fail, so I don't think it is in my wiper switch. Plus the wiper fuse blows when I turn the ignition switch to the on position (I see it arc in the fuse panel) This is when the wiper switch on the column is turned off.

Its going in tomorrow so we shall see. I thought someone here might have insight on what to check.

Bit of a curly one John. The only thing that I can see, is the rear wiper relay, it has a diode in it, across the winding. If it was shorted it would cause a short to blow the fuse. Pull the relay, see if it still blows the fuse. Can't see anything else, see what the Dealer finds.

Harvey.

[lee]

Originally Posted by oab_au

Bit of a curly one John. The only thing that I can see, is the rear wiper relay, it has a diode in it, across the winding. If it was shorted it would cause a short to blow the fuse. Pull the relay, see if it still blows the fuse. Can't see anything else, see what the Dealer finds.

Harvey.

to add to Harvey's idea, you might try unplugging the rear wiper/wash pump motor - according to the wiring diagram I have only two things are hooked to #2, the relay and the pump.

[svxcess]

I went to the dealer today, armed with the above information. The mechanic said he pulled both the relay for the rear wiper AND the electrical connector to the rear washer pump and it still blows the fuse when the ignition is turned on.

He is pretty convinced that the problem lies in the wiper/washer switch itself. he said maybe there is a ground that has come loose and is touching 12V somewhere.

A new switch is $430.00, plus installation. he said he could unplug the harness from the old switch and connect the new one, to verify that it works, prior to removing the old switch.

This all sounds very unlikely to me. Has anyone ever had a switch like this fail? Switches wear out and cease to work, but do they do what he said? How difficult is it to get this switch out? Does the steering wheel/airbag need to be removed or can I remove just the upper and lower plastic panels behingd the wheel to get to it?

My confidence in this Suby mechanic is not high. He is still "going to school"

[Earthworm]

Why not unplug the harness first to see if it stops blowing fuses?

[svxcess]

Sounds like a good idea. But how difficult is it to unplug the harness? Is there a place in the FSM that describes this procedure? Does the steering wheel/airbag need to be removed or can I remove just the upper and lower plastic panels behind the wheel to get to it?

Any help here is definitely appreciated!!

[Subafreak]

You should be able to unplug it from under the dash, you just need to figure out witch bunch of wires it is. And if it is the switch, I'm sure someone here can hook you up for alot less than $400

[Subafreak]

Well looking at the book, the only place that fuse sends power to is the front washer motor the front wiper control unit and the wiper switch. for some strange reson my genaric book does not list any thing on the rear wiper assembly. If you can find the plug for the wiper switch under the dash try unpluggin it and see what happens. If it still blows try finding the wiper control unit and unplug that. If it still blows, unplug the washer pump motor. If with all those unpluged it still blows than you got a wireing issue.

You might want to actually check around the washer pump motor first as that is the only thing in the engine bay that he could have been near. Maybe he unbolted something he didn't have to and pinched a wire somewhere when he put it back?

[svxcess]

In Section 6 of the FSM the wiring diagrams (section 6-3) show the front wiper and washer system on page 48 and the rear wiper and washer system on page 69.

The front system uses fuse #2 (the one that blows). The rear wiper system uses fuse #2 and #11 (fuse 11 is okay)

[Subafreak]

Well my book sucks then Well in that case the rears are probly not working just becaouse of the #2 fuse blowing. And it's probly only in the rear circut for the switch power. So I would still try checking out the things I listed and go from there. Good luck

[svxcess]

I took the SVX to Heritage Subaru in Owings Mills this morning, hopefully to get my wiper gremlin resolved. The SVX Master Tech dove into the problem with a lot of enthusiasm. First he disconnected everything that was fed by the FB11 circuit (Fuse #2) He disconnected the wiper combination switch in the steering column, the front wiper, rear wiper, control module and a lot more and the fuse still blew.

That led him to the fuse block itself. While moving the fuse block he could hear the sizzle of a short circuit. Thinking it was a bad connection in the fuse block, he removed the fuse block and installed an inline fuse, bypassing the FB11 circuit. When plugging the harness to the wiper control module back in the fuse blew again.


Upon closer inspection he found that the control module harness had been routed improperly during the car's manufacture and the green/red power feed wire to this circuit was pinched between the back of the fuse block and the body. It took 9 years of vibration and whatever else for the insulation to chafe and finally wear through and short to ground.

The SVX Master Tech, Rick Waterman, repaired the shorted wire and rerouted the harness properly to avoid this ever happening again and thoroughly checked and rechecked every harness, connection and function.

He was very fastidious in his approach. I know he must have stopped to wash his hands at least 6 times to avoid getting any grease or dirt on the escaine dashboard and trim. Everything went back together perfectly and it was as it had never happened, although at one time I saw a lot of dashboard trim pieces, switches and parts piled on the passenger seat. His ability to follow the electrical wiring diagrams and determine what he needed to do was amazing!

This may be something to keep in mind if an electrical short occurs and the problem is elusive. Check the fuse block first and the harness to see if something similar exists to what I described. He also wrote the repair order in such a way as to put the blame for this back in Subaru’s court. Even though nine years have passed since this potential problem was set up, he thinks I may be able to have Subaru pick up a portion of this bill, because of negligence on their part, as a goodwill gesture.

Subaru got back to me within 2 weeks and decided that since this was a factory error, that they would pay heritage Subaru for the labor. Heritage credited my card for $412.00.

.