Impreza Glove Compartment Light

Watch out. That little light can drain your battery of you go on vacation for a couple of weeks and leave it on. That happened to me some years ago because of a faulty switch in a coin drawer. The light was always on but I couldn't see it with the drawer closed.

Well, in an '09 this will surely be a standard old-school bulb so, until you figure out what is going on, you can simply remove it. Never having had it before you probably won't miss it. A visit to your local parts department will probably earn you a peek at the detailed breakdown so you will at least know where the switch lives.

Thanks to both Johns, one other thing that happened is my outside temperature LED used to blink when the temp got to 37°F - something to warn me of near freezing going on out there.

This is why I would really prefer less electronics rather than more - just one more thing to go wrong. Given that, a radio is preferred over a Mariachi Band in the back seat.

Maybe a wire got pinched after a cabin air filter service?

Thanks. That will be next on my list when the temperature gets back into double-digits. ;)

What kind of switch are you looking for? On each of our three Outbacks (1995, 1997, 2002) there is a little push switch, normally closed, that the door pushes in when closed in order to turn off the light. As I recall they moved the switch from one side of the upper edge of the opening to the other side between series 1 (the 1995 and 1997) and series 2. So if all is working correctly you would see the light whenever you open the glove box, and when it went off you would not be seeing that. So you might get the impression it was always on... Like a typical refrigerator, or many kitchen ovens.

Thanks, but the door is open just enough that I can see the light on inside the compartment, and especially at night, of course. But I've looked around the edges and can't seem to find a button/switch. Not really a problem other than I can't seem to 'fix' it.

Is the light still on when the ignition is off and the key removed? If it is not still on, then I suspect that you really needn't worry too much about it, other than minor annoyance of "something not right" with your vehicle.

Even if the light stays on, it will take a very long time to significantly run down the car's battery. One could always remove (or break) the light bulb if one wanted to eliminate that possibility -- say if the car was to be left without starting for a long time.

I believe you are correct, the light is only on with the key in the ignition. It's is an annoyance more than a real problem. My manual didn't say anything about a light in there at all.

I'll just chalk it up to one little quirk, but if I figure it out, I'll be back. ;)

Several years ago, I inadvertently left my dome light on in an airport parking lot. Returned two days later to a dead battery.

After a jump start from a nice guy exiting the parking lot, the battery recharged and was still going strong when I sold the car a few years later.

That depends on what is meant by "a long time". As I mentioned upthread, I found my Honda Prelude battery dead on return fron a two-week vacation because of a little light in a change drawer.