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2002 Saab 9-3 SE Audio question

17K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  idbrian 
#1 ·
Hello all

I think this might be my first time posting (or second) so please be nice :)


I want to replace my standard premium audio setup with a new receiver.

I was specifically interested in these two
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-FH-P8000BT-Double-iTunes-Receiver/dp/B001411BZ2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233601627&sr=8-7

and

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-AVH-P4000DVD-2-Din-Multimedia-Receiver/dp/B001604QGW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233601627&sr=8-2

I really like the first one.

My question, can I do it? I'm sure you guys have answered this question before and I did try to search the forum but was not able to figure this out so I apologize right now.

Does the car come with an amplifier? If so, do I need to bypass this if I put in this new car stereo?

Do I need a special fit or will a DD fit in my car?
Will someone be kind enough to help? :D


Thanks in advance.
 
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#3 ·
Hello, after an exhaustive search through this forum i am in need of an answer. I recently bought a 2002 9-3 SE (my first Saab) and i'm trying to determine what the deal is with the front door speakers and factory Amp. I want to buy a new head unit from Crutchfield but in order to get the right unit and know what i'm getting myself into i need to know whether my car is a 4 speaker set-up or 6 with an Amp.

I've listened and i can hear no bass or sound come from the front door speakers, yet from what i've read from my search here on the forums is that "all US 9-3 SE models have the 6 speaker set-up." So i'm confused.

What does the 2002 SE come with?

-If there is no Amp or front speakers then i'm going with just the head unit.
-If there is an Amp and no speakers, but the wiring is there, i'll get door speakers.
-If there is an Amp and speakers, then apparently something needs fixing in order to get sound out of those door speakers.

Thank you.
 
#5 ·
What i found out is that the 2002 9-3 SE does not have the cookie cutter configuration that people allude to. The Audio set-up depends on whether or not you have a premium package or not. The tell tale sign is whether or not you have fully leather seats and digital climate control. In line with those packages come door speakers that are either installed (with the premium sound package), or pre-wired (if no premium sound package).

I have a 2002 SE with leather trimmed seats (fabric down the middle), and knobs for climate control. These version does not come with pre-wired door speakers. From all the research i did it also looks like installing those speakers is pain mainly due to running new wires.

I ended up installing a sub in the back, replacing the front (windshield) speakers with mid range and tweeter component speakers and leaving the rear componenets. Installing the new head unit and power to the sub was such a pain in the **** i gave up on the pain of replacing the 6X9's.

I recommend getting the head unit adapter from geniunesaab.com and a wiring kit from cutchfield.

If you have fully leather seats your door speakers should be already wired.
 
#6 ·
Saab Wiring is a PITA

Yes, I agree with you, understanding the wiring of this car is a pain in the butt. I do have the premium package with the digital climate control and leather seats. So, it's wired and has speakers in the door. I already tore out the Saab factory amp so, I am already on my way... As far as I got figured out is... all I need is to find the damn wire that heads to each door. I think I', going to run the DS tweeter wire under the steering wheel, then up to the tweeter spot and tap into this line and patch it into the door speaker (right before it heads through the door). Again, the trick is goingt o be tracking down this wire. OPh yeah, adding crossovers in the PS kick panel. ...not sure if I ever should have started this.
 
#7 ·
You clearly know more about car audio than i do. This was my first time dabbling with it. I'm surprised you can't find the wires to the door speakers seeing as you removed the amp. I thought that the amp powered the door speakers so they should be right there. If i had the premium package i would have left the amp in place, used the wire kit which included an adapter for the amp. I would then have replaced the speakers in the door re-using the wire, and then run the amp and sub from the trunk like i did. The main theme being reusing whatever wire i could.

Running wire to the back isn't very easy either as the panels at the base of the door can't have screws on them for convenience, instead they have plastic snaps that often break and getting them back into place was a pain. Running the power through the fire wall took as much time as the rest of my install.

And good luck with the head unit. The fit kit from Genuine Saab is on back order. I used the fit kit that was sent from crutchfield which isn't made for the 9-3. I had to cut the fit kit and it looks OK, but clearly not professional.

I still love the car though. Thing is built solid, no rattling even with the sub cranked, which came as a big surprise.
 
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