9-3 TWICE in a 9-5

[Vancouver Martin]

I had the misfortune of losing the only working key for my 99 9-5. That meant a new TWICE. I was assured a 9-3 TWICE works in a 9-5, and it does upt to a point: you can install and program the keys. But it will not communicate with the immobilizer so the car will not start.

Apparently there is fix for this. Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks

[MacNoob]

Originally Posted by Vancouver Martin

I had the misfortune of losing the only working key for my 99 9-5. That meant a new TWICE. I was assured a 9-3 TWICE works in a 9-5, and it does upt to a point: you can install and program the keys. But it will not communicate with the immobilizer so the car will not start.

Apparently there is fix for this. Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks

Martin, I think you should ask whoever told you that a 9-3 TWICE will work in a 9-5 - obviously they know how to make it work since they gave you that advice!

There are services out there that for about $500 will provide you with a reprogrammed TWICE and a couple of working keys. Some Googling and ebay searching will uncover them.

[sierra-papa-golf]

hey vancouver, I am in the same boat as you. My car is sitting in the parking lot at work. My keys could literally be anywhere across the country, I work at an international airport, and I lost my keys inside the cargo bin of an Airbus. If you are looking for a deal on a cheap(er) TWICE unit I have got a business with a 1-800 # for you, maybe they could tell you what to do to get the 9-3 TWICE to work in your 9-5. It is 18004483500. Let me know how it works out.

I have not changed the twice but have changed the dice and head unit between cars. Most likely what you need to do is have a mechanic or dealer with a genuine saab diagnostic computer change the VIN numbers in your new dice.

With any other part aside from the twice this would mean changing the record of said part number on the twice to the vin number of the donor car.

Since what you are doing is replacing the part which stores all of this information you now need to set all of the devices on your car to the VIN number of your car. As it stands the twice you have is trying to validate all the parts from the donor 9-3. Every part must be married to the car in this way to work properly.

[Vancouver Martin]

Well, having gone through the process, I thought I should post the complete guide to what to do when you loose your 9-3 or 9-5 keys and have replace the TWICE unit. (although this is not as useful as it could be, since you cannnot search for "TWICE". Perhaps T.W.I.C.E?)

If you, like me, lost the only key/transmitter, the TWICE needs to be replaced, and you need new keys and transmitters. A new key and transmitter cannot be programmed without an existing functioning one. The cost at the dealers for this will be over $2000. So here is how to do it cheaply.

a) Locate a used TWICE and matching key. Any used SAAB parts dealer should have one. The cheapest I ahve foudn one is for $235 from Saabdon on eBay.

Here are the facts about TWICE units:
--the 9-3 and 9-5 units are identical (in spite of what my dealer insisted on) except for the housing (you can switch the innards)
-- Any TWICE unit works with any style 9-3/9-5 key/ transmitter (no matter what Don says) I currently have one all-in-one key and one key with separate transmitter working with the same TWICE. So unless you really want to have two all-in-one keys or two separate key/transmitted combos, just get what is cheapest.

b) get new keys. This is real pain in Canada (I finally got one that worked after three tries and three weeks) because of some screwup GM Canada has with idenitfying keys from VIN numbers. Don got me one from his local dealer fo $30.

If you got a one-piece key with your TWICE, just get the key w/o the electronics (this is NOT available in Canada, so if you are Canadian, there's another reason to order from a US dealer) For a two piece you can order the key by itself in either country and transfer the conver and chip from the one that came with the TWICE. Note that there are two styles of keys, so make sure you get the one to match.

Now for the second key/transmitter. You can have a one piece or a two-piece system as you prefer, for about the same. For a one piece, either order the key w/o electronics from the dealer and buy a used key with electronics on eBay ($20-$30) to combine into a working key; or if you live in a big city, there will be a locksmith who will be able to copy a laser key, so you can buy a complete blank with the electronics from eBay for around $50-60. For a two-piece, order a key without a chip from your dealer. If he is like mine and keeps a bunch of old key bits in his drawer, he will be able to just give you the chip. The separate "banana" transmitters are easy to find on eBay.

Now, you might think that a non-elektronic key would start the car so long as a chip was nearby (so you could get an $8 key blank from eBay and a used programmable one-piece key to use as a separate transmitter) Well, I don't know how Saab does it, but only the chip in the key that is actually inserted is recognized!

c) find someone with a TechII to program the keys, immobilizer, and engine to the new TWICE. The dealer may not be the best choice, they rarely deal with this problem and are so good with used parts.

Total cost: a bit over $300, plus the labor (1-2 hours, depending on how good the technician is with the Tech II)

for that other guy i noticed a steal on ebay

[moronputz]

Originally Posted by Vancouver Martin

Now, you might think that a non-elektronic key would start the car so long as a chip was nearby (so you could get an $8 key blank from eBay and a used programmable one-piece key to use as a separate transmitter) Well, I don't know how Saab does it, but only the chip in the key that is actually inserted is recognized!

The "antenna" for the transponder is mounted around the ignition key hole and has a limited range, so unless the transmitter key is right there it will not be recognised.

[Vancouver Martin]

That is what I figured. But no matter how close you try to get a working key to one without a chip that is in the ignition, the key is not recognized. Not on the same key-chain, not even hodling the two keys next to one another while trying to start the car. It's very sellective, almost like the signal had to go down the key shaft from the ignition switch.