my 92 - No headlights at all

[torxxx]

Ok my 92 is starting to show signs of age. Worked fine for a month or so and then one day my wife came into the bedroom and woke me up and said honey the lights are on on the SVX...

I wake up flipping out because everyone knows that when the key is off, the lights are off in any subaru. Thats one my favorite features of soobs is that we dont have to worry bout turning off headlights.

Anyhow, Engine bay fusebox melted around the headlight 1 and 2 relays so I grabbed another fuse box off a 93 Legacy and a 95 SVX. took both of them apart and they look identical so I used the 93 lego fuse box cuz it was in better shape less corrosion etc.

Long story short, new fuse box is installed all relays in the two fuse boxes are good. I'm not getting power to the 15 amp headlight fuses (the ones that are in the row of 5 dual blade fuses) not the SBF fuses. I've looked over diagrams left and right and I cant figgure out where the power is supposed to be coming from that powers up those two fuses.

I threw in another combo switch I had on the 95 at the shop and nothing seems to work there either.

One thing I do remember is if I messed with the illumination dial on the headlight switch it'd short out the lights so I stopped using that immediately. Has anyone else had headlight issues with the 91-92 MY SVX?

And if so, what did the problem end up being? Thanks in advance to anyone who helps out with this. I need to sell the engine out of my lifted wagon so I can get some $ to start buying more stuff for the SVX but it goes hand in hand. I have to have the SVX in working condition before I down the wagon for a few days or I will be walking to and from work. Please please tell me someones had issues like these headlight probs I'm have!

[torxxx]

This is a post in regards to my other headlight post. Problems gotten worse down to no lights now. The auto start was had T's wired into everything, so removing the autostart wouldnt cause a break in any of the wires. they all used snap in spade connectors. I went through last night and checked every spot where the command start tied into and checked online with a manual for that brand of command start and it was a standard install just like every other auto start I've taken out of cars over the years.

And yes I've checked manuals. I dont have direct access to a FSM for svx's but I do have alldatapro and mitchell online accounts and I've checked both wiring diagrams. Everything seems to be in place did some studying of harness connections and what not on alldata and found a headlight diode and a DRL/HI beam Relay thats way up under the dash, not sure if these have anythign to do with the light issue but I'm going to attempt to find them.

*Note* I do have lights if I click the combo switch to passing lights. Other than that, its like the headlight switch is NOT turning on the headlights. I've tried 2 diff combo switches and whats the chance of both of them being bad?

[torxxx]

dicked around with the car again after work today, I found that if I remove one of the two headlight relays, and probe with a test light, on the ground leg of the relay connector, it will turn the lights on.

So I'm missing a ground some where, which I'm at a loss at, cuz I havent removed any grounds anywhere. I did add a few grounds at the battery to body and body to engine, engine to battery etc. So grounding shouldnt be an issue.

I'm not familiar with the timer thing thats on the passenger side floorboard. Could that have something to do with the ground issue?

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by torxxx

dicked around with the car again after work today, I found that if I remove one of the two headlight relays, and probe with a test light, on the ground leg of the relay connector, it will turn the lights on.

So I'm missing a ground some where, which I'm at a loss at, cuz I havent removed any grounds anywhere. I did add a few grounds at the battery to body and body to engine, engine to battery etc. So grounding shouldnt be an issue.

I'm not familiar with the timer thing thats on the passenger side floorboard. Could that have something to do with the ground issue?

The headlight relays receive battery voltage via the ignition switch and are then switched on/off by being connected to ground by the lighting switch, or the dimmer/passing switch.

You are providing a ground circuit for the relays by means of the test light. This means that the switches are not providing a ground connection as they should do.

Does the passing switch flash the lights? If neither switch works the relays and then the lights, the ground to the switches is likely to be faulty and appears to involve two separate black wires, running to a common ground point. The actual ground connection will serve several other circuits, so that as only the head lights are involved, this is not likely to be faulty.

You must suspect the switches or the adjacent wiring or connectors.

The timer unit is not involved with the headlights.

[torxxx]

thanks man you cleared up a few things for me. The timer thing was the biggest. Yes the passing light thing does flash the lights. I'm thinking that I have a open wire on the purple wire coming from the headlight switch to the engine fusebox. I'm gonna go wire it up and see if they work with that wire replaced temporarily.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by torxxx

thanks man you cleared up a few things for me. The timer thing was the biggest. Yes the passing light thing does flash the lights. I'm thinking that I have a open wire on the purple wire coming from the headlight switch to the engine fusebox. I'm gonna go wire it up and see if they work with that wire replaced temporarily.

The wiring diagrams do not show a purple or mauve wire coming from the lighting or dimmer switches, and only a yellow wire running from the lighting switch to the fuse box, so that you have lost me.

[torxxx]

Look closely at the diagram for 92 SVX without DRL (DRL was canada only)

The main ground control wire off teh switch is purple according to Mitchell Online and the purple wire ties into the dimmer diode and then up to the headlight relays

Ok I found the diagram that you are reffering to. Alldatapro uses that same diagram, source is the FSM or a chiltons manual (checked teh alldata diagram vs chiltons manual and they are identical) I wonder why Mitchell shows completely different colors. Over the years I've found Mitchell to be more accurate than Alldata but then again weird things happen.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by torxxx

Look closely at the diagram for 92 SVX without DRL (DRL was canada only)

The main ground control wire off teh switch is purple according to Mitchell Online and the purple wire ties into the dimmer diode and then up to the headlight relays

Ok I found the diagram that you are reffering to. Alldatapro uses that same diagram, source is the FSM or a chiltons manual (checked teh alldata diagram vs chiltons manual and they are identical) I wonder why Mitchell shows completely different colors. Over the years I've found Mitchell to be more accurate than Alldata but then again weird things happen.

You are dead right.

I have the US and Canada manual issued by Fuji Heavy Industries, and now on very careful scrutiny I believe what I thought was a “Y” for yellow, could be a “V” for violet, which equates with purple and puts things on track.

Simply grounding this wire at the switch will test the circuit overall. Then if a jumper to the fuse box does not work, you can suspect the relays or fuse box internal connections. As there are two relays for left and right headlights it would be unlikely that both are faulty.

You appear to understand the rather weird and complicated circuitry correctly, so that all you have to do now is follow your nose.