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SID replacement cost & will it last?

5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Heath 
#1 ·
When i bought my saab (used), i was told the SID had been replaced ... however, a year later the pixel issue showed up. so i have 2 questions:
1. does anyone know how much i should expect to pay for replacement in the U.S.?
2. will the replacement last the life of the car?
 
#2 ·
selysaab said:
When i bought my saab (used), i was told the SID had been replaced ... however, a year later the pixel issue showed up. so i have 2 questions:
1. does anyone know how much i should expect to pay for replacement in the U.S.?
2. will the replacement last the life of the car?
1. $79 for repair or $99 to exchange for a new one. Shipping I believe is from Massachusetts.
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=bba-remaninc

2. Lifetime warranty on all parts. So if it screws up, send it back.

If you need a testimonial, PM NahumCC on here.

Search for "Ultimate SID Repair" on this forum if you want to try your hand at fixing it...
 
#4 ·
The design is faulty and even the fixes will eventually fail

I was told by one of the internet SID repair sites that they guarantee their work but that even the repaired SIDs will most likely fail eventually (hench the need for warrantee) The tech that I spoke to said that they get a lot of work from Saab dealers as well (thousands of SIDs) and the fix may last a while but eventually the odds are not in your favor. That's not to say you couldn't get lucky or that the repair might last you until you wish to replace the vehicle, but the ribbon's contact to the LCD is inherently flawed and the "fix" is just that. It may break again. Long after Saab knew of the flawed ribbon to LCD design they kept producing them in new models. (that puzzles me)
I have a failing SID and was going to get it fixed but have since learned to live with it and found other saab replacement parts to take priority $. When the "check display" light comes on, I blindly guess what it might be, a burned out bulb, low washer fluid, etc. and so far no I've alway turned up the culprit. I'm not sure what the most critical "Sid message" might be. Maybe I'll learn the hard way.
 
#5 ·
A new SID from the dealer is about $500 here.

I had it replaced twice under warranty. It seems to last about 2-3 years before the pixels cause problem again.

Does anyone know how the paid repair is done? I'm curious because the ribbon cable that attaches to the LCD is glued using conductive epoxy and it's not amenable to being reworked.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I'm amazed there hasn't been someone who reproduced the cables. It is a fairly simple cable. I think all the internet sites use the same procedure as everyone else (just reheat with pressure).

My current SID, I tried to fix but the cable had come undone (at least 1-2 inches on the end) so I couldn't get the connectors to line up. I wonder if the repair services take off the cable and reapply it with some conductive glue or something similar?

I assume they don't since they auction off their bad ones...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Saab-93-Information-Display-SID-1-or-SID-2-1999-2003_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ40017QQihZ012QQitemZ220158576326QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V


I just bought one off ebay for 60 bucks, so we'll see if I can get it to work this time. I might send it away to a repair service just because I plan on keeping the car for a while, ($80 bucks for lifetime warrenty is good!).

I wonder who built the sids, the cables should be cheap to produce but finding the exact specs are probably the problem. I wonder if one could somehow get a better cable designed for it. Any electrical engineers out there that could figure this out? The hardest part of installing a new cable would be aligning the cable and the connector.
 
#7 ·
I'm in the process of reparing mine. I'll post some pictures once it's done. I am indeed replacing the ribbon cable but the task of making all those fine connections very accurately is taking a lot of time. I'm not really doing this to save $$. It's a long story but it's become something of a foolish person quest. :cheesy:
 
#11 ·
Tweek's Turbos said:
I wonder if somebody can splice in a ng900 cable? We don't seem to have as many problems as the 9-3 sid does. (not compatible swap).


I would have it repaired.
Exactly. Both of my 900's are reaching 200k miles (okay, the SE has surpassed 200k miles) and both have perfect SID's. Maybe I shouldn't have said something. you know Murphy :roll: . . . .
 
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