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Crank but no start

2K views 34 replies 8 participants last post by  biklmon 
#1 ·
I'm home instead of work today because my 9K refuses to start. I suspect the fuel pump because I don't hear its hum when I turn the key and the exhaust doesn't smell like fuel. I looked for a fuel pump relay but could not find one. I have a reasonably equipped garage, but the tank is full. How can I test the fuel pump, and if it is a failed pump, do I need to drop the tank to get to it? Thanks.
 
#6 ·
Solid Snake said:
After frantically putting together my project car so I'd have a ride tomorrow, I removed the DI from the engine, reinstalled it and it fired up. ;oops: What's going on here?
When you did this did you disconnect the DI wiring? Just trying to get a handle on this weirdness.

Mine did the similar thing but I then replaced my DI and it has not done it since.

Somewhere I thought I read the DI can tell (wording, nomenclature, anyone??) the ECU to not turn on the fuel pump if there is a fault??

Jim, If your reading this can you clarify?? Thanks..... John
 
#8 ·
When you did this did you disconnect the DI wiring? Just trying to get a handle on this weirdness.
No, I just pulled it off the plugs, looked at it, then put it back. Now I carry a torx driver in the back.

It seemed to only run the fuel pump after I left it alone for a while, maybe once the pressure bled down? It's noise was more obvious with the silver cover off.

Do you guys carry a spare DI around in your trunks? I figure it might be a good idea for me since I should be able to get one online cheaper than the $379 advance auto wants or the $469 at pep boys. Also, neither of them had any in stock. If nothing else, it might be useful in diagnosing no start issues.
 
#10 ·
You might talk with Gold Wing Saab parts There is bound to be an ad for them around here somewhere. Ebay is another thought but be wary. A new unit would be best if you have the money. Have you hooked up the car to one of the scanners at the autoparts store. since your is a 98 model you might get some fault codes to look into.
 
#11 ·
You might talk with Gold Wing Saab parts There is bound to be an ad for them around here somewhere. Ebay is another thought but be wary. A new unit would be best if you have the money. Have you hooked up the car to one of the scanners at the autoparts store. since your is a 98 model you might get some fault codes to look into.
I picked up a new one online just now for $149. It's going in the trunk along with a torx driver. I have a code scanner, but it didn't pick up any codes. My other cars throw a check engine light if there are codes available, is the 9000 the same way?
 
#16 · (Edited)
It's still broken!!!

The car decided to start on the old DI so I drove around a few days like that. I put in the new DI and drove around for a few more. Then today when I tried to start, it wouldn't.

The DI's are obviously good and I jumped the fuel pump right from the battery, so I know for sure that it runs. What else could this be? A crank position sensor??

Help is desperately needed, thanks in advance.

EDIT:

I hooked up a 35A charger and now all the electrics are dead. The only signs of life in the car are power seats, and the chime from the relay panel. What could this be?
 
#19 ·
OK guys, I'm a lot closer to figuring this out. It was a main 30A fuse under the hood that blew, so now the electrics are back.

I flipped the DI upside down, put a spark plug in and had my girlfriend watch it, and a voltmeter as I cranked the engine. There was no spark. Battery voltage was 12.3v unloaded and dipped down to 9.9v while cranking. The starter didn't sound like it was struggling.

Then I attached a 35A charger that brought up the voltage to 14.4v unloaded. I cranked the motor and she said she saw sparks. After I shut the ignition off, I saw the burn-off.

I put the DI back onto the engine and confirmed. On its own, the car cranked but didn't fire. As soon as I attached the charger, it fired right up.

Is it just me, or is it stupid that the battery has enough energy to crank the engine but not fire the plugs? I'd hate to think that I'm a few hundred mV away from being stranded somewhere. Which grounds are responsible for feeding the DI system? I'm considering giving it its own small SLA battery that won't be loaded by the starter. Anyone got a pinout of the DI harness? Maybe all these "cold start" issues are just the result of reduced winter CCAs and the starter loading down the battery to the threshold where the DI will not fire. Any thoughts?
 
#20 ·
I just went and checked mine

Voltage is 12.0 unloaded, drops to 10.1 when starting.

Please note: I am just putting mine back together. (93 griffin) I don't have the alternator, power steer, a/c hooked up yet. The water pump is being driven by pantyhose!!.

And I checked the link above for a DI, not so cheap, $379.00, for us over here that would be about NZ$850.00. I think I will keep my 2nd hand spare for now! My DI's have done about 100 000 km, another has done 200 000km.
 
#21 ·
Voltage is 12.0 unloaded, drops to 10.1 when starting.

Please note: I am just putting mine back together. (93 griffin) I don't have the alternator, power steer, a/c hooked up yet. The water pump is being driven by pantyhose!!.

And I checked the link above for a DI, not so cheap, $379.00, for us over here that would be about NZ$850.00. I think I will keep my 2nd hand spare for now! My DI's have done about 100 000 km, another has done 200 000km.
Thanks for the reply! It looks like the DI went up in price, but I did snag one for $149 and it works save for the above problem that both my DIs suffer from. I think I'm going to try using a small SLA battery and see if it solves this problem. I just need to identify the power pin in the DI connector.
 
#22 ·
I'm another step closer.

I measured the voltage at the DI. Without the charger, I get no power whatsoever. With the charger, I get the same voltage that's across the battery. This leads me to believe the relay supplying the DI is lazy. Which relay is responsible for powering the DI?
 
#23 ·
well i dont know about the DI power sorce or what not.
but i find with issues like that its a bad ground.
just take a multimeter set it to the ohm scale 20 ohm, and attach 1 side on any metal on the engine and the other side to the negative on the batter, then do the same with the car body, 1 side bare metal on the car body and the other 2 negative battery terminal. (u have to disconnect the positve if its connected u get false readings)
if u have a resistance higher in 2 ohms (well i dont like to see higher then 1 ohm usually i see .2-.4 ohms) then u have a ground problem and u need to clean and check that all ur grounds are good.
i hope this helps
joe
 
#26 ·
Yes, I used a jumper cable to ground the plug. Why are relay diagrams so hard to find for this car? I just got the Haynes manual yesterday and it tells me how a relay works :roll: but won't tell me which one does what. Does anyone know what other things are tied to the DI's power supply and which relay is responsible?
 
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