cjg

+1 Thanks to all that generously offered information on this issue, saving me many hours of diagnostic time. I just got through replacing the (14) wires going through the rear hatch's passenger side rubber boot on my wife's 2005 Outback wagon. The symptom was no power to license plate lights. At first, I was skeptical of broken wires since all wires were wrapped in electrical tape and flexible rubber. After much head scratching, I finally cut off electrical tape in the area just above the body's boot connection point and voila, found the broken wires. I also found ten (10) additional wires with cracked insulation and/or conductors which clearly would have broken completely (and soon). From the feel of the wire, this appears to be a problem with the insulation hardening over time and causing insulation and, eventually, wire breaks. Subaru did a very nice job of protecting the wires, but the wire insulation properties didn't hold up over time. I fixed it by splicing in (14) ~ 6 inch lengths of 18 gauge stranded automotive wire using insulated "butt" connectors. I performed the splice so that the butt connectors could be wrapped up (with electrical tape) and tucked inside the hatch metal work, and tucked underneath the headliner on the other side. I had a good quality ratcheting crimper and "Ideal" wire stripper which made the job do-able (it took about three hours), but it was still a mild PIA (labeling wires, banging fingers, etc.) In hindsight, it might be worth taking it to the dealer and complaining to see if they'd fix it for not too much money.