[jon_slider]

2006 Subaru Outback Wagon 3.0 LLBean w automatic climate control.

The Climate display is still visible, I can only change the temperature dials.

Recently the climate control cannot be turned off. AC and Defrost cannot be turned on, and fan speed and Mode cannot be changed. Recirculate button also does not respond.


I looked under the hood in a fuse box on the driver side. I found one melted “Rear Relay”, picture explains.

So, Do I order one of these?:
Horn Relay - Subaru (82501AL000)
https://www.subaruparts.com/oem-parts/subaru-horn-relay-82501al000


Fuse box
black arrow is “Rear relay” and it looks melted

fuse box cover:
yellow arrow is “A/C Relay”

I dont know if I should order an A/C Relay, but I could not find one, and it “looks” fine.

and a noob question, how do I get the Rear Relay out?

thanks for any pointers

 

[plain OM]

Neither the Tail and Illumination relay (black arrow) nor the AC relay (yellow arrow) would cause the HVAC operating controls to stop working.

Have you looked at the threads here about the "frozen" controls" on the 2005-9 auto HVAC? There's been issues with solder joints on the main printed circuit board, and with spring-type contacts between the main chassis and the front control panel sub-board.

 

[Zedhead]

With the relay looking like that, the FIRST thing I would do is inspect the rear hatch wiring harness where it passes from the body to the hatch. You definitely have a problem there.

It's a well known problem, and there is plenty of info here. You'll find lots of info with a quick search.


As for the climate control. This is a well known problem also. Pretty easy repair if your handy with a soldering iron. Or, get a later model one from the salvage yard.

 

[cardoc]

Yep, try to find the short that melted that relay before you put in a new one. Or, you can put in a new one and watch for smoke. :wink2:

 

[jon_slider]

Thank you all for the replies
atm Im feeling ill and cannot follow through with your suggestions
but I appreciate them very much

 

[jon_slider]

solder joints on the main printed circuit board

Ive been searching and reading for the past 2 hours. For some reason I cannot find the thread you are referring to

are you talking about a board on the climate control?

As for the climate control. This is a well known problem also. Pretty easy repair if your handy with a soldering iron.

thanks for trying to help
I did fix my overhead map light console solder joints, that caused the red airbag light to come on, some time back
https://www.subaruoutback.org/forum...3130-intermittent-airbag-warning-light-3.html

so Im willing to redo solder joints. Im just trying to narrow down where those are.

can you point me to a picture, or a thread that describes what solder joints need fixing..

I do have experience pulling the Radio/Climate control system, since I added a Tranzit Link to my stereo, which allows the use of my iPhone to output sound through the car speakers.

I followed

to pull the radio/climate control module

Thanks for the suggestions, including the info about broken hatch wires. If there is a thread you recommend I read, I would welcome a link.

 

[plain OM]

I cannot find the thread you are referring to . . .?

Should be in https://www.subaruoutback.org/forum...-08-o-b-radio-hvac-control-lighting-prob.html, or links there.

 

[jon_slider]

Thanks for the link plain OM

here is the readers digest:

The problem turned out to be cold solder joints on the main pc board in the stereo,
(not the front panel,the power for the front panel comes from the stereo) in the center of the board is a torroidal core,a round ferrite core with wire rapped around it ,on the solder side of the board the flash soldering done at the factory was poor in the center of the board,about 6 joints were the problem,resoldered them problem solved!,Craig.

====

directions to remove the stereo:

===
original post #43 of 81 here

Car: '07 Outback 3.0R LL Bean

OK, update on my problem (it appears that it was NOT fixed by strengthening solder connections).
…
In this thread, fod1 suggests a different solution:

So, I pulled stereo back out, and unclipped the front panel. Sure enough, there were 4 fairly weak prongs that must make the ground connection between front panel and case. I couldn't tell how weak the connection was, since in order to see them the panel has to come off. I bent them out

===
original post #51 of 81 here

…
I don't believe the solder joints were causing my problems.

I found another issue. I removed the front face of the unit (4 or 6 screws around the edge of the front panel & then working off the clips around the edges). After removing the front panel/circuit board, there appeared to be oxidation on the metal housing at the two points where the circuit board's metal-springs contact the housing.
..
I tried cleaning off the oxidation with alcohol, but it did not remove it. Eventually I just used the corner of a screw driver to scrape away the black oxidation & expose clean metal. I wiped off the scratch residue & re-assembled the unit. I've re-installed & haven't experienced the problem since.

=========

original post #55 of 81 here

…Cleaned the case contact points with deoxit and deoxit gold and reassembled it. The project took two hours.

===

original post #68 here

Ok, she's all better now.

…
Only removed the face of the unit.
Cleaned the contact points on the steel panel with a 3M spot sanding tool (fiberglass abrasive) and then coated with DeoxIT Gold.
Very slightly bent all the spring tabs out further.
Tightened the screws for all the spring tabs on the PCB.
Attached a small wire jumper from one of the spring tabs to the steel chassis face.
Sprayed DeoxIT Gold in the two PCB electrical headers, just because.
Put face back on.

I couldn't find my crimp terminal assortment so I just attached the wire the best I could by clamping the one end between the PCB and spring tab and the other end I split and twisted the end to make a --o-- in the wire for the screw to go through.

Pretty confident this fix is permanent.

===

original post 73 here

Big thank you to everyone that has contributed to this thread. I recently started noticing the flickering on my '08 OB... stereo and HVAC displays would both go blank, sometimes for <1 second and sometimes for several seconds. I think it's been doing it for a while but hard to notice when you're driving during the day. My wife as passenger would notice it even if I didn't.

Taking everything apart was pretty easy and straightforward using various youtube videos and the information here. I got some Deoxit D5 from Guitar Center and scraped / cleaned the points on the stereo case where the pins contact it. Very lightly bent the pins outward so they'd make good contact, then put it all back together this morning. We went for a short drive and so far so good, no flickering!

Here's the link to the video I found most helpful for stereo removal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIyQGdXUxS4

Another one I watched that was also helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzoGJBNMwmU

========

original post #74 of 81 here

2006 Outback 3.0 R LL Bean model. Has a ton of miles on it, (212K)
...
I noticed when I test drove it that the radio display did not light, but the climate control display lit up but were fixed on 70º and nothing worked. AC seemed to be on, with a very slow fan speed.
...
I also found this set of two videos on Youtube that shows the removal and repair. It helped me to visualize what to do when I get to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKhzjElE_wU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhgiagWy0zY

Will post when repair is complete... Thanks again to all that contributed.

 

[jon_slider]

Climate control problem solved!
I pulled the radio/auto climate unit out of the dash, though I could not figure out how to disconnect all the wires, I was able to access the small silver screws that hold the faceplate on. There are 2 screws on top and 2 on each side, none on the bottom.

I had to remove the Emergency flasher button from the faceplate, because one of the mounting screws goes into the radio/climate control backplate, and the other Emergency flasher mounting screw connects to the faceplate.

After figuring out how to get the faceplate off, by prying carefully with a screwdriver until the little catch bumps released, I cleaned the ground contact points that the spring tabs push against. I used a bit of vinegar on a paper towel to remove the black marks as pictured in the posts quoted above, plus I used some 600 grit emery paper to make sure the little black marks were all gone. I also bent the grounding spring tabs slightly outward, AND added a ground wire as pictured in the post by @Plastixx quoted above. Extra thanks to Plastixx for the added ground wire idea.


All climate controls work normally again, I can turn AC on and off, can change fan speeds, can change modes. I also can again use Defrost, both in Front and Rear.

All Good on Climate Controls!

btw, I did not check for any cracked solder joints. I was confident the issue was the grounds.. and Hurrah, thats all it took.


Regarding the blown fuse under the hood, I have not addressed that yet.
I did find one license plate light had burned out, replaced and works. All exterior rear lights work. Rear wiper motor and washer also work.

Honestly I cant tell what the blown fuse does, since everything at the back of the car seems to work normally, with one exception. I cannot switch the dome light over the luggage compartment On, although it does turn on when I open the rear hatch.. For now that is good enough..

Maybe some other time I will try to figure out what wire in the harness going through the hatch, is compromised. As far as I can tell, the only abnormal issue is inability to turn the rear dome light over the luggage rack ON constant. For now its good enough that the dome light over the luggage compartment turns on when I open the rear hatch, and it turns off when I close the hatch.

I will not replace the blown fuse in the engine compartment, since I understand it may be blown due to a broken wire in the rear hatch door. Though as I said, there is no indication of any non working light on the rear hatch. Thats a mystery for another day.

The dome light over the rear seat works normally in all 3 positions.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread.