Engraym Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I know others have wondered about this in both our Legacy's and Outback's. I never found a post where it was confirmed that a windshield with wiper deicers could be installed, plug and play fashion, into a vehicle not originally installed with this option. So I have a 2006 SE Wagon without the heated windshield and over the weekend, my rear view mirror came off, taking a small chunk of glass with it. Later that night I start doing Safelite quotes online. Oddly, both heated and non-heated windshields were the same price. (approx $300.00 dollars) I called my insurance company with little hope that a mirror falling off with some glass would be covered. To my surprise, it was! When asked if it was heated or not, I explained the car should have the wiring for the heated windshield so if it was okay, I would like to request a heated one. They had no issue with this at all. When I was at a salvage yard late last year, I picked up quite a few goodies from a limited. Anything my car didn't have, I tried to remove from this car. I ended up with a leather steering wheel, fog light switch/turn signal and relay, auto dimming mirror, heated seat switch, and heated windshield switch. So I installed the turn signal switch, auto dimming mirror, and when I removed my mirror adjuster/dimmer switch I was surprised to see a plug that fit perfectly into the lower portion of this assembly for the wiper deicer. The wiper deicer icon lit up but obviously didn't work because you need the windshield obviously. Looking at the rest of the wiring, a plug should exists but without seeing this plug, it's speculation. So I dropped the car off today and 2 hours later I got a call from Safelite today and they said the wrong windshield showed up and I'll have to wait til a non-heated one showed up. I explained the same thing about the wiring already existing and they were happy to see if the connector was under the passenger A-pillar cover. It was! So as my car sits right now, I have the switch, the windshield is connected to the wiring harness connector behind the passenger A-pillar. I now need to install the relay and maybe a fuse to see if this is truly a plug and play option, much like my fog light installation was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 So the relay is in but it did not do the trick. I removed the under dash panel and used a mirror to look behind the relay panel. All the wiring is present. Looking at the wiring diagram again, the line to energize the relay goes from the fuse box, to relay, to Body Integration Unit to dash switch to ground. I have a feeling that within the BIU, the connection may not be enabled leaving the circuit to energize the relay incomplete even when pressing the dash switch. I'll be giving the dealer a call to see if this is the case. Hoping they will be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRM Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Did you grab the heated mirrors also when you went to the yard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 Did you grab the heated mirrors also when you went to the yard? They were in pretty bad shape so I didn't grab them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 I know LL bean third gens came with this option. I wonder if it's the same method for my car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitrzac Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 How do you know that it doesn't work? The heater doesn't get that warm, it's only there to get slightly above freezing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 How do you know that it doesn't work? The heater doesn't get that warm, it's only there to get slightly above freezing. There is a small light that illuminates when the deicers are on which is not lighting up. There is a small chance that light does not work but it does not seem likely. I haven't had a chance to test with a multimeter yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.lee89 Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 From my understanding the deicer only works below 41F.Or the setting in the BCM needs to be changed to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidxsnake Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 From my understanding the deicer only works below 41F. Or the setting in the BCM needs to be changed to work. On my USDM model, the deicer light will turn on regardless of outside temperature (which by the way things are wired, means the deicer is also on). OP, is the relay clicking when you hit the switch? If it is, then the BIU isn't the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grovlet Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Maybe the circuit requires the mirrors to be connected as well - I would actually think it would - so you may need to find out how to mirror them being in the loop (Resistor?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grovlet Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 On my USDM model, the deicer light will turn on regardless of outside temperature (which by the way things are wired, means the deicer is also on). OP, is the relay clicking when you hit the switch? If it is, then the BIU isn't the problem. Well - I think the circuit does go on - but it's more for the mirrors - and it works for defogging.... I also would bet the windshield has an additional trigger setting to only come on below 41 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidxsnake Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Well - I think the circuit does go on - but it's more for the mirrors - and it works for defogging.... I also would bet the windshield has an additional trigger setting to only come on below 41 though. The mirrors operate with the rear defroster, the windshield deicer is an independent system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 Thanks for the 41 degree reference. It does indeed say this in the owners manual and also interestingly enough, Subaru can change the settings to run continuously if you wish. The relay is not clicking so the circuit isn't complete downstream (ground) If you look at the attached PDF. you'll see the energizer circuit of the relay goes from fuse, to relay, to BIU (where the magic happens), to switch, to ground. the circuit that carriers the higher current (switch side of relay) runs from fuse, to relay, branches to deicer to ground and to the switch (assuming to illuminate the LED letting you know that the deicers are working) to ground. I tried the frozen bag of veggies on the temp sensor trick but it only went down to 46 degrees. I know, 'corny' Tomorrow is supposed to have a low in the high 30's which if this holds true, we'll see if this circuit wakes up when below 41 degrees. If it doesn't, I'll probably give Subaru a call. If they can set it for 15 minutes or continuously, it probably can be disabled if not equipped from factory. Your SUBARU dealer can set your windshield wiper deicer for continuous operation. Contact your SUBARU dealer for details. Once the windshield wiper deicer has been set for continuous operation, pressing the button results in continuous operation. The windshield wiper deicer automatically stops operating if any one of the following conditions occurs during continuous operation. The outside temperature becomes 41°F (5°C) or higher.The vehicle speed remains at 9 mph (15 km/h) or lower for 15 minutes.The battery voltage decreases below the permissible level.29 Wiper Deicer System.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidxsnake Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Thanks for the 41 degree reference. It does indeed say this in the owners manual and also interestingly enough, Subaru can change the settings to run continuously if you wish. The relay is not clicking so the circuit isn't complete downstream (ground) If you look at the attached PDF. you'll see the energizer circuit of the relay goes from fuse, to relay, to BIU (where the magic happens), to switch, to ground. the circuit that carriers the higher current (switch side of relay) runs from fuse, to relay, branches to deicer to ground and to the switch (assuming to illuminate the LED letting you know that the deicers are working) to ground. I tried the frozen bag of veggies on the temp sensor trick but it only went down to 46 degrees. I know, 'corny' Tomorrow is supposed to have a low in the high 30's which if this holds true, we'll see if this circuit wakes up when below 41 degrees. If it doesn't, I'll probably give Subaru a call. If they can set it for 15 minutes or continuously, it probably can be disabled if not equipped from factory. Yeah, I have the wiring diagram. That's why I was asking if the relay was clicking or not Sounds like it (hopefully) may just be a setting in the BIU to enable/disable based on outside temperature. A lot of those settings in the manual that it says to go to the dealer to change, I could change on the stock nav system that came on my spec.B (dome light, lock/unlock beep, continuous or 15min defroster time), but I don't remember seeing an option for the windshield de-icer system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Well it was 39 degrees and it didn't come on. I'll be giving the dealer a ring tomorrow. I see three possible answers Yea, we can enable that $Not with your BUI but we can get one that will work. $$$Not possible because _________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 I got a surprising quote of 100.00 dollars minimum to go through the shop to see if this is a feature they can activate which would take 5 minutes at the most probably... Ridiculous! I am going to try to talk to someone in person when i pick up a few things in a week or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 Free geek nugget for those who don't know this. Add the following to the end of your google search query: filetype:pdf I had to do a code because "colon p" turns into lol This will return only results to pdf files. In doing so, I just found the documentation for the Subaru SSMIII OBD2 scanner tool/software which answered my question. First, here is a site where you can pretty much buy the scanner for any specific auto maker (link goes to the Subi scanner): http://efichip.com/shop/12/desc/subaru-diagnostic-kit if you scroll down, you will see a red circle with "PDF" in white. This is the front to back scanner. It covers everything. You may want to download this file for reference. I did a search for "deicer" in the PDF and a few results pop up. I found exactly what I was looking for in the Body Integrated Unit section on page 298 which states the following: Items to be displayed: wiperdeicer Units of Measure: support / no supportComments: Set value of the wiper deicer equipped or not equipped. Set to “support” for vehicles equipped with a wiper deicer.Remarks: When this is set to “no support” for vehicles equipped with a wiper deicer, the wiper deicer will not operate even when the wiper deicer switch is set to ON. That remark describes my current situation precisely and shows how this can be turned on in my car. I have another potential source to go to which is a very well known Subaru specialist shop that wouldn't charge $100.00 to change a BIU setting. If they don't have a scanner, I'll have to print this PDF out, point out where to make the change and take it to Subaru in person and see if they can do better than 100.00 dollars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engraym Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 So I contacted the local independent Subaru specialist shop and explained my situation and they knew exactly where I was headed with a change to the BIU. These guys are known for knowing the mechanical aspects of a Subaru inside and out so it's unfortunate but understanding that they didn't have one of the Subaru scanners. It seems it's not as easy for independents to get their hands on one of them. He did refer me to another shop that dealt with more of the electronics/computer related issues with Subarus so I gave them a call. Once again, he knew exactly where the conversation was headed and didn't have the Subaru specific scanner. Both of these guys felt my pain as they deal with the same issue from time to time and ultimately said that sometime they have to take a vehicle into Subaru. So I'll be talking to Subaru again and hopefully can get across that I know this is something they can change without getting the runaround again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitrzac Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Find your local subaru group, chances are someone works at the dealer. or bring a box of good cookies, everyone likes cookies:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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