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New to SAAB - Hi... and Help!?

630 views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  JustinP 
#1 ·
Hi just thought I would pop a post in saying hello as I have been looking through the forum which kind of sealed the deal on me buying a '99 Saab 9-3 2.2TiD


Now for the dumb noob questions...


I bought the car at a bargain price because it had a few problems that I am hoping to sort out with some ingenuity and not too much cash!


1st up – the stereo controls on the steering wheel – Volume down works but some egit has obviously broken the switch on the volume up, I am hoping just fitting a new microswitch inside will fix the problem.


2nd - The heater control has broken leaving it blowing hot, is there a fix for this cheaper than buying the whole front panel? I was wondering if I can solve the problem by just stripping the controls back and using a different conrol for the heater so it looks normal from the front but with a different controller behind.

3rd – Here unfortunately is the biggy – when you take the car over about 80mph the engine malfunction light comes on and it goes into it’s safe mode. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the engine or turbo up to that speed, it accelerates fine and isn’t using any fluids. Has anyone seen this before and have any idea what it could be?

-edit- oh and if I should be asking for help elsewhere please point the way!
 
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#2 ·
Frequent your local friendly junque yards, use epoxy ,and employ the DIY lifestyle if you really wish to save money...and this no easy task in this day and age...

3rd – Here unfortunately is the biggy – when you take the car over about 80mph the engine malfunction light comes on and it goes into it’s safe mode. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the engine or turbo up to that speed, it accelerates fine and isn’t using any fluids. Has anyone seen this before and have any idea what it could be?

This CEL light has nothing to do with how well the engine is running as we percieve it.
The CEL is based on emissions - a little emission control malfunction may have triggered this.
Have the codes read...
I guess you have another troublesome luxury item , the ACC(automatic climate control)..
http://www.saabservices.com/9-5%20ACC%20codes.htm
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=382099
HTH
 
#3 ·
'99 Saab 9-3 2.2TiD – when you take the car over about 80mph the engine malfunction light comes on and it goes into it’s safe mode.

I would strongly suggest you direct your questions to Saab owners residing in the European Union as they would better understand your vehicles MIL system, plus your vehicle is a Diesel which was never available to North Americans, so I don't see how we could provide useful information.

Over in North America we use OBD2 on vehicles manufactured from 1996 onward. I know in the UK the EOBD standards are somewhat different than our OBD standards so North Americans might be feeding you inaccurate information.

-------

In 1996 in the United States, a Federal Law came into force requiring all US-sold cars to be OBDII compliant. Most OBDII tools are therefore advertised as working with all cars from 1996.

The OBDII Federal Law applied only to cars sold in the US.

In the UK and the rest of Europe, our equivalent law (European On-Board Diagnostics, or EOBD) did not come into force, and more importantly, was not fully implemented by our car manufacturers, until 2001 for petrol cars (2003/4 for diesels).

Where an OBDII tool is sold in the UK/Europe claiming to work on all cars from 1996, this is highly unlikely to be the case.

Even where a seemingly identical car may have been sold in Europe and the US before 2001, from our own testing and research, it is rarely the case that the European model will be OBDII/EOBD compliant.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies - I had no idea that the diesel wasn't sold to the US.

"The CEL is based on emissions - a little emission control malfunction may have triggered this.
Have the codes read..."


I will give the dealer a bell and ask. What I find weird is that I can take the car right through the rev range in 2nd and not trigger it, but however gingerley I drive her a slightly heavier foot above 75mph and the CEL comes on. Always off again when I restart and drives fine again. Will post more when I have some further info or a fix.

"I guess you have another troublesome luxury item , the ACC(automatic climate control).."

I was told it was a common fault- ho hum! Thanks for the links though looks like I am going to be playing with the multimetre over crimbo.

Cheers again.
 
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