ac/heat doesn't turn off and drains battery, which fuse?

OK, I noticed that the ac/heat doesn't turn off and that is what is causing the battery drain that makes my battery run down every night unless I pull the fusible link before I go to bed and hook it back up in the morning before I drive it.

What fuse goes to the ac/heat on a 91 subaru legacy wagon and is it in the main box inside or in the engine compartment?

Reply to
osote
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Reply to
Edward Hayes

Do you mean the interior "blower motor"? Do you mean "high speed" if you meant "blower motor"? If so, most cars have a blower motor relay that sometimes gets it's contacts welded closed. On a 91 Subaru... I am not sure.

Reply to
=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul =?x-user-defined?Q?=BB?=

I don't know for sure what the word is for what I mean. The A/C OFF button is pressed in but you can hear the fan going and if you slide it from 1 up to 4 it blows harder even when the OFF button is clearly pressed in.

How do the relay contacts get welded closed and how can I fix this?

I tried pulling the 2 heater fuses and the main fan fuse and the damn thing still worked!

Reply to
osote

I don't know for sure what the word is for what I mean. The A/C OFF button is pressed in but you can hear the fan going and if you slide it from 1 up to 4 it blows harder even when the OFF button is clearly pressed in.

How do the relay contacts get welded closed and how can I fix this?

I tried pulling the 2 heater fuses and the main fan fuse and the damn thing still worked!

Reply to
osote

Usually there is only one relay and it is for high speed operation. Current draw at high speed may too much for a dash switch and so a relay is used. HOWEVER... that does not sound like your problem because you can change blower speed. Isn't your A/C off button only for the compressor and not the blower? Most (all???) cars that have that button use it to turn the compressor on and off, only. Could Subaru route ALL fan power through the relay? I don't know. Relays sometimes get burned contacts due to excessive current draw or wear.

Reply to
=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul =?x-user-defined?Q?=BB?=

Usually there is only one relay and it is for high speed operation. Current draw at high speed may too much for a dash switch and so a relay is used. HOWEVER... that does not sound like your problem because you can change blower speed. Isn't your A/C off button only for the compressor and not the blower? Most (all???) cars that have that button use it to turn the compressor on and off, only. Could Subaru route ALL fan power through the relay? I don't know. Relays sometimes get burned contacts due to excessive current draw or wear.

Being an electrical engineer, I am astounded by the foolish routings of electrical circuitry in the Subaru! I love the car but what is the reason the cruise control is routed through one of the horns? Or why is the heater motor routed through the other one! I had a gas tank full of rust and found out the next years tank Which I found to replace it, although all the connections were all identical, blanked the digital dash. I had to change the float in the tank to make the dash work again!

Reply to
JW

And why modulate panel brightness by varying resistance *to ground*....weird! 8^B

Reply to
CompUser

You are not approaching this right, looking for a quick fix rather than understanding what you are doing. The blower fan should work whether or not the A/C is on. The main fan is the main coolant fan, not the heater-A/C blower fan.

It would be best if you purchased a workshop manual that included wiring diagrams, but as was suggested some time back you might be able to make some progress without them if you would follow the good advice previously given. Place an ammeter between the battery and ground and test each circuit individually for a current draw by removing one fuse at a time. If you find one that drops the current, that circuit is the likely problem. Then you'll have to examine that circuit and the items on it, which might or might not be easy without a circuit diagram, but at least you'll know at that point whether you'll need one.

Proceeding methodically is what is needed here.

Good luck, Steve

Reply to
SteveG

It would not seem as though an ammeter is really required if he can hear the fan running when it should be OFF. All he has to do is find the control that is not controlling it and fix it. Puling the fusible link stops it. Then find the actual fuse that stops Then find the switch or relay. Elementary my dear Watson.

Reply to
John G

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