2000 to 2002 9-3 SE Interior Swap

[the kev master]

I just got two Saabs 9-3s as summer project cars. One is a 2000 and the other is a 2002, both SE models.

The 2000 has a much nicer interior (all power seats in front with memory for the driver, front and rear heated seats and automatic climate control), hence we wanted to swap it out into the 2002, which is going to be my new daily driver as the 2000 has some damage from my classmate sliding off into a ditch.

I initially thought it would be a straight swap like most Japanese cars would be. However, the connectors are different.

My friend suggested we take the ECU and the TWICE boxes from the 2000 and stick it in the 2002. My concern is that the security system and immobilizer will not work once we do this as they both different keys with the 2000 having a key with the banana remote while the 2002 has the remote built into the keys. I'm wondering if I can just swap the wiring harness and get away with that.

The experts' inputs are very much appreciated and needed on how to do this the right way.

Thanks

[93se]

First things first

TWICE unit.

All you need to do is swap the computer below the drivers side seat carpet.

This will let you use the 2000 remotes on the 2002. But all the key cylinders for the 2002 will still need the physical 2002 key. But the question is what is wrong with the 2002 TWICE that you would want to use the 2000? I would rather have the all-in-one key.

The ECU is not plug and play. You will need to have the 2002 VIN programmed into the 2000 ECU to make the car run. T5 cars WERE plug and play, not T7.

What seats does the 2002 have? The half cloth/half leather ones? If so, the drivers side connectors should be the same. The passenger one is the hard one since I believe that 2002 interior had a manual passenger seat. You'll have to get creative.

Someone has done this before here

And don't bother trying to swap the ACC into a manual control car. There is too much to try to move over even with a full donor car.

[the kev master]

Thanks for your quick reply.

There's nothing wrong with either TWICE. His rationale was that it would be easier for us to swap everything out as a complete swap.

Yes the 2002 has a part cloth/part leather type, which would have been fine except the 2002 had been smoked in while the 2000 was a 2-owner car that is in pristine condition. Also yes, the 2002's passenger seat is manual while the 2000s is power.

The 2000 is going to become a 24 Hours of LeMons car once the motor is rebuilt.

The ACC swap is the bottom on my priorities.

[BobSaabit]

If you swap the ECU, DICE, and TWICE then it will work. The electronics have no way of knowing what chassis they are in - they just check each other for a match-up. However, if you are in a State where they hook up to the OBDII connector for inspection, the VIN will no longer match the one stamped on the dash label. Someone with a Tech II can match them for you.

The remotes are swappable from car to car as long as they are known to the TWICE or made known by a Tech II. The only hitch is that the banana remote has a separate key with a transponder and the all-in-1 has the transponder built into the key along with the remote... and you can't swap the physical key blades. Best choice would be to swap physical locks too.

[the kev master]

Bob is it possible to just swap the wiring harness? Or splice it somewhere to get the power, memory and heated front and rear seats to work?

[BobSaabit]

No idea on the harnass. I would have assumed they'd be the same. I do know that one seat does feed the other since a problem in the driver's seat will sometimes affect the passenger seat.

If it's not obvious, you should probably get a copy of the WIS and spend some time puzzling over it. They do have all circuits and connectors and such, although it's not the easiest thing in the world to follow.

That other thread mentioned has some info in it you could use.

[93se]

I still don't see why you would swap the ECU/TWICE/DICE over. There is nothing between them and the seats.

If they are both SE's, then they will have the same power output anyway. And the all-in-one key of the 2002 is better than the key+banana of the 2000.

Not sure why you would go through the trouble of swapping that stuff over.

Also I would message that guy on saablink in the thread I linked to you. He did a manual seat to power conversion where everything works.

[the kev master]

Yeah I think it too much work to move the whole thing over but the wiring is not the same and neither are the pins, so I'm going to have to study this carefully. Also the 02's seats don't have side airbags but the 2000's does.

My chief mechanic has interesting ideas but I don't think that's going to happen this time cause if screws it up, we're going to have to tow the car 80 miles to get to someone who has the Tech 2 tool.

[93se]

Cut the seat adapter out of the 2000 car, the one that matches the 2000 seats, and then splice that connection into the 2002 wires.

But how are they not the same connector? I thought that just the pin-outs were different.

[the kev master]

We've found that some of the pins are different but can be made to work. Will keep you guys posted for the benefit of other 9-3 owners.

We located the wiring schematics using the WIS I managed to find on the net for this car.