Stouppi Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 First of all I would like to give a shout out to you all for all the tips and advice i have recieved from the forum over the past 5 years.... Every question i have ever had I have been able to find the answers for.... Until now. 2011 Legacy 3.6 Started the car in the early hours yesterday (5am) and the low beams flashed out and then died. Mentioned this to a guy at work and he told me that the day before he noticed one of my DRL lights was out (still daylight then). I have replaced both bulbs in the past 2 years...so i dont think it is a lightbulb problem. Front turn signals still work. Checked fuses 4 and 5...no problem. I believe there are minor relays that are beside those fuses but havent done a power test on them. Looking to replace the DRL module located on the left behind the brake pedal. Am I jumping the gun wanting to replace the module.... Does anyone have experience with this issue... Thanks to all. Peace KB - Montreal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorbreath Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 The fact that they both failed simultaneously is suspicious, statistically it is not supposed to happen. What makes you think the DRL module is the issue? Could it not be a voltage regulation issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stouppi Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) From what i read, the main issue of a failed daytime running lamp module is when the daytime running lamps that do not come on. Since the module is what controls the lamps and feeds them power, if the lights fail, the daytime running lamps will be left without power and will not function as a result. One site says... A dedicated daytime running light module is used in some vehicles to automatically control low beam headlight operation. The module receives input from various sensors and switches including the ambient light sensor, ignition switch, headlamp switch and parking brake switch. It then uses this information to adjust the low beam headlights as needed. A defective daytime running light module can result in low beam headlights that stay suck on, operative erratically or don’t work at all Anyone else ever deal with this issue on a 3.6....???? Thanks KB Edited March 10, 2021 by Stouppi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humble Rumble Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 So, couple things real quick: the DRL module is not behind the brake pedal, it's tucked behind the front bumper on the drivers' side, near the washer fluid bottle. Secondly, your DRL bulb and your high-beam bulb are one in the same (the other tiny bulb in the high-beam area is the position/city light). If the DRL is burnt out, your high-beam should also be burnt out as well. These cars do go through halogen bulbs pretty rapidly, I'd recommend converting to an LED low-beam at the very least (VLEDs is what I run in my whole car, their Micro Limited H7 bulbs are a direct drop-in for our cars and have fantastic output for the price, are very well built, and installation is simpler than an HID. They also have an always active 10% off coupon SUBARU10 and often run sales as well, link to that bulb is here: https://www.vleds.com/shop-application/application-low-beam/h7/micro-limited-h7.html. You absolutely get what you pay for with VLEDs: quality). Beyond the low-beam, addressing the DRL, you can if you choose disconnect the DRL module up by the washer bottle (this requires removing the front bumper which is no more than a 15 minute job itself), which will disable DRL and help your high-beam bulbs last longer. Beyond that if you still want functioning DRL, you could swap in LED bulbs for the high-beams as well, but the caveat to this is that this will cause the DRL to essentially be the high-beam at full blast, as there's no dimmable DRL/Hi-beam LED solution available on the market at this time. All of that aside, some of the earlier models of 5th gen did have a recall for headlight bulbs burning out quickly, so it may be worthwhile to consult a dealership and see if you car 1. qualifies for that recall and 2. has already had it done or not. Hope this helps. 2012 Legacy 3.6R Build Thread 5th Gen Legacy BM/BR Body Kit Compendium Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVAKeith Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Here is a link to the “warranty enhancement” that covers the low beam bulbs for ten years from vehicle in-service date. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10111102-9999.pdf I’d like to know what changed in production in August 2011 to prevent the bulbs from burning out prematurely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillbert Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Sounds like you are going to have to trouble shoot this methodically. If I were you, I start by physically examining the bulbs first. Ive had bulbs fail early on. I attribute this to me contaminating the bulb with my oily hands during installation. If bulbs check out, you probably need to see if there is a 12v source going to the bulbs. If you aren't getting any power, then keep looking. See if any wires are damaged. Sent from my SM-N950W using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stouppi Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 Thanks for all the responses and advice.... I have been avoiding the problem the last week because I know that if it is electrical....that's a pain...and that bulb replacement is a pain!!! But I noticed something else this week. The running red lights on the front and on the back of the car are not working. The brake lights work The turn signals work But the front or back running red lights don't. So no low beams No red lights Ideas?!?! Thanks in advance... KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Both low beams in my Outback failed after 2 years much to my surprise, they failed within a week of each other. I tried different light bulbs as I used cheap ones the 1st time. I have been getting almost 5 years out of the bulbs in my Legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Swaping parts side to side is a good test, but darn it if our car's bulb access sucks horribly. The other lights acting up makes it even more complicated. Do Subarus have an LCM/Light Control Module? Other cars do and a faulty one can cause this sort of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Thanks for all the responses and advice.... I have been avoiding the problem the last week because I know that if it is electrical....that's a pain...and that bulb replacement is a pain!!! But I noticed something else this week. The running red lights on the front and on the back of the car are not working. The brake lights work The turn signals work But the front or back running red lights don't. So no low beams No red lights Ideas?!?! Thanks in advance... KB First thing to do is go through the engine compartment and under dash fuse boxes and make sure the fuses are all good (use a multimeter or a test light connected to battery negative) I'm not sure which fuses you are checking - if you go to the general chat forum, then go to the vacation pictures thread in the stickies, find what you need for your vehicle and look for a common thread. Could be a relay (tail and illumination relay, maybe) or a ground. When you say the lights are out, confirm the bulbs are good (as in pull the bulb and give it battery voltage and verify it works) and make sure they aren't just really dim (which would suggest something like a short to ground somewhere or something like that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVAKeith Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Does the interior backlighting work (HVAC control button lights for example) when the headlight switch is on? Do your parking lights flash when locking/unlocking the car with the remote? With the car off and key out of the ignition, if you open the driver door and turn the headlights on, does the buzzer sound to indicate the lights are left on? Wondering if the headlight switch is bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stouppi Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 The interior backlighting work...dash lights up when headlight switch is on...parking lights flash with remote... No buzzer sound for headlights...never was one... Possible low beam relay (larger blue 'fuse' beside the regular low beam fuses) burnt out... Or headlight switch? My big question is... Can a faulty low beam relay cause the red running lights to not work? Or what do these two things (low beam and running lights) have in common? Thanks all.... The mystery...and my learning... continues Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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