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9-3 p0245 p0201 p0202 p0203 p0204 please help!

94K views 39 replies 22 participants last post by  redonculous12 
#1 ·
I have a 2003 9-3 and have a reoccurring fault. It throws the codes
P0204 P0203 P0202 P0201 P0245. I know these are the 4 injectors and the boost pressure control valve. I changed the valve with no change Wiring at this valve is fine changed the injectors no change, changed spark plugs and coil packs. inspected for chafed loose connections and all of that good stuff and nothing everything seems to be fine.

sometimes it fires up no problem and runs great, other times it will start up and run very rough flashing cel (misfire) and smoke coming from tailpipe with a heavy gas smell.

wierd thing is restart ecu dissconect battery terminal and go back to restart the car runs bad for about 30 sec and then everything is perfect.
i get about a good day or 2 out of it the problem comes back.

please help im not sure what is wrong i am a student in high school and my budget is not very high.. anybody have expierience with this??? any help i can get would be greatly appriciated.

thanks in advance.
 
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#19 ·
Mutiple error codes related to ECU issue?



Same problem here on my 2004 9-3 (automatic, gas, $164K). I had the P0245 along with P0201, P0202, P0203 & P0204. The P0245 made sense since I was having hesitation while trying to accelerate. I replaced the Turbo Boost Solenoid ($55) which helped the hesitation issue. But the problem remains. After driving on the highway for about 15 minutes, when the car comes to a stop at the light, the smell of gas and blue smoke from the tail pipe. The car idles rough and dies. It won't start until after about 5-10 minutes. At which time it starts with rough idle at first and after a few minutes the problem goes away!

After replacing the Turbo Boost Solenoid, I now get P0203 (injector circuit/open cylinder 3) and P0003 (fuel volume regulator control circuit low).

The question for those who had similar problems. Was ECU the culprit? If so, how much did the mechanic/dealer charge to replace the ECU?

Thanks!
 
#20 ·
I have the same issue with my beloved 2003 9-3 Vector. P0300, P0245, P0201-204 codes come up occasionally. Sometimes the turbo functions at about half boost, A/C stops working but the car continues to function. Other times, the it starts to pump blue fuel smelling smoke and barely runs. Once the exhaust caught on fire, fortunately we had a fire extinguisher in the garage. I disconnect/reconnect the negative battery terminal and it limps home. I let it sit for hours and the thing starts right up. It drives ok for a few days and then it the whole cycle begins again.

Are there any considerations for the Vector? I know it's a little different - ECU, programming, performance. Where can I find a decent used ECU for the Vector and find someone to reprogram it? There are no Saab specialists that I can find to do it in the Santa Fe/Albuquerque NM area. I already took it to Jeff's Saab and Sprinter Shop. No dice.
 
#23 ·
The ECU was the culprit!



Since I wasn't planning to buy a new ECU (~$1K), I bought a used ECU with stage 1 tune from BSB and had my local Saab garage marry it to my 9-3. All issues went away! AND, I have ~50 more HP now! It is like having a new car. The stage 1 tuned ECU was about $465 delivered and the cost to marry it to the car was about $115. No more blue smoke, rough idle or engine light with bunch of random codes. ;ol;
 
#24 ·
Well looks like im in for the same thing new ecu ... Fml.... Car ran like crap for a few . thought i could dodge the bullet and swapped the ecu relay out .... Was good going and coming from work . on way home stopped for gas and wouldnt start up after . got blue smoke and raw fuel smell .... Lucky for me i keep my tool box in the trunk cuz i just never know with this car ... But pulled the spark plugs and they were all wet with fuel. dried them up an sat at gas station for about 10 min and finally it started ... Had only half boost and still pulling all codes for failing ecu. Got home and let car sit for 10 min and started right up with no problem this time ...so tomorrow is another day another problem just hope it starts so i can at least get to work and drop car at mechanic and see if he can do anything for me on the cheap . not looking to put too much more into this car .
 
#25 ·
New ECU for me too

I am having the exact same problem with my car as the rest of you guys with the the open injector issues. 2003 Saab 9-3 turbo with the BSR racing upgrade. I have an appointment with Bluegrass Saab in Louisville, KY on Tuesday to get a used ECU married to my car. I really like this car but it's been giving me issues since I got it but I got a hell of a deal on it less than $1k in the car and is awesome other than the open injector issue. I will post an update and let everyone know how that goes.

I have found a way to get the car started when it gets "flooded" from the
open injectors.

1st disconnect the battery cable.
2nd reconnect the battery cable.
3rd floor the accelerator pedal, I know it sounds crazy since the car was flooded but its actually the opposite, when flooring the accelerator while starting the car it actually tells the ecu to to not inject any gas to the engine so the fuel will get pumped out of the cylinders and will eventually fire, it takes a little longer to start but keep cranking after about 20 or 30 seconds it will start but keep the accelerator floored the entire time. The car will smoke till the excess fuel is burned and will run until next time it decides to act up.
 
#26 ·
UPDATE on injector circuit issue,
I had a used ECU programmed and married to my car at the Saab Dealership as I had previously posted I was going to have done and it stopped all the injector issues on the cylinders and starts up every time now but it runs rough, it died on me a couple times and it wasn't doing that before the ECU swap. It would idle rough before, half boost and would not start due to injector issues every now and then, but now I am getting a P0327 which is giving a knock sensor description on the OBD2. I could really use some help on this subject. Thanks.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I just experienced MANY (not all) of the symptoms mentioned here, two weekends ago. All of last week my car was at the indie ...... one by one, the coils, injectors, wires, connectors, turbocharger, CPS, plugs ..... you name it, they were ruled out as potential culprits. But very intermittently, cylinder #1 would run very rich, to the point gas fumes was coming out of the exhaust. He took out plug #1 and it was covered in gas. Then did a systematic swapping of plugs #2, #3 and #4 into cylinder one and each time, they came back out wet. He did this in tandem with swapping the injectors to different cylinders. Eventually we deemed the ECU was somehow telling injector #1 (whichever actual injector was in cylinder one) to stay open and choking cylinder one with fuel.

Indie found three used ECUs at a local wrecker, sent me to go pick one up. I picked the newest (2005 9-3 Aero) and best condition one they had. Brought it back to the shop, and before the day was over my car was running completely normal.

This was last Friday. I re-flashed my BCB Stg 2 back into the ECU on Saturday, did a few adaptation runs, and everything is back to normal :)

In the process I did get him to replace a brake booster vacuum pump that's been weeping for awhile.
 
#28 ·
Same here...

Codes P0245/P0246/P0201/P0202/P0203/P0204 with low power on the turbo, occasionally petrol smell, some good days and some bad days... Happening for a few months now. I've been cleaning sensors and the garage did some pinch checks and earth checks.

The ECU went away to the warranty company but they said there was nothing wrong with it... They didn't road test it but in terms of circuits I guess they feel it's not something they will replace. Would road conditions do anything to the ECU?

I'm just loathed to buy a new ECU and then the issues again! But I'm getting tired of not having the car work okay!

Sounds like I need to try it though...

My garage was saying it has to be set to my vehicle, presumably a Tech2 job.

Richard
9-3X 2.0T XWD – 2010 UK model
 
#29 ·
Codes P0245/P0246/P0201/P0202/P0203/P0204 with low power on the turbo, occasionally petrol smell, some good days and some bad days... Happening for a few months now. I've been cleaning sensors and the garage did some pinch checks and earth checks.

The ECU went away to the warranty company but they said there was nothing wrong with it... They didn't road test it but in terms of circuits I guess they feel it's not something they will replace. Would road conditions do anything to the ECU?

I'm just loathed to buy a new ECU and then the issues again! But I'm getting tired of not having the car work okay!

Sounds like I need to try it though...

My garage was saying it has to be set to my vehicle, presumably a Tech2 job.

Richard
9-3X 2.0T XWD – 2010 UK model
Richard, I think if you can source a used ECU that is compatible with your 9-3X (I'm assuming a non "X" 9-3 of same year should work) then by all means do it. That's the ONLY way to know for sure, if nothing else does.

2 weeks in after its brain transplant, and my car is running as normally as it ever did before. Knock on wood !
 
#30 · (Edited)
Cleaned some sensors... 2 days okay so far...

I know I'm probably going to get the same messages or power loss in a few days, but I thought it was worth a try! Numbers 14 and 15 were pretty dirty, but 7 and 9 looked okay but kind of hard to see much. It's a slim chance, but maybe a few bad sensors and bad pressure readings set off the ECU.

Anyway, I'll see how it goes...
 

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#31 ·
Lasted 5 days and just error code P0246 but not the others...

Well, that was a good 5 days of normal Turbo-ing... Then reduced power on the motorway this evening with just P0246 00 (P) as the single error code on the eSID2 dongle.

I've cleared the code and I'll see how it goes the next few days... Then I think it's ECU time if/when it goes again.

The last 5 days have been a reminder of how nice it is when it's just being a regular Saab 9-3X XWD!
 
#32 · (Edited)
Waiting for an ECU...

My garage are trying to locate a suitable ECU and hopefully it'll be fitted in January... I'll update this thread once it's fitted and tested for a few weeks...

--------

ECU update: Being fitted on Wednesday... Fingers crossed this works. The car wouldn't start today, so I followed the flooding advice above and it eventually calmed down and started. Hopefully it'll get me back towards London tomorrow on 180-mile trip...
 
#33 · (Edited)
New ECU - seems to be okay, but ....

New fresh hell is a zero fuel gauge after putting in 50 litres...

I hear the fuel sender unit (two of these on an XWD?? or just part #11 from the pic??) is the cause...

Tempted to just use a notebook and jot down the mileage each trip. Someone tell me a Mercedes is worse...

(PS - the eSID2 has paid for itself over and over since I bought it in August.)
 

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#36 ·
New ECU - seems to be okay, but ....

New fresh hell is a zero fuel gauge after putting in 50 litres...

I hear the fuel sender unit (two of these on an XWD?? or just part #11 from the pic??) is the cause...

Tempted to just use a notebook and jot down the mileage each trip. Someone tell me a Mercedes is worse...

(PS - the eSID2 has paid for itself over and over since I bought it in August.)
Had the same issue on 93 2007. I had the ECU controlled and recheck one I/C inside was out. Replaced and works fine after\
New ECU - seems to be okay, but ....

New fresh hell is a zero fuel gauge after putting in 50 litres...

I hear the fuel sender unit (two of these on an XWD?? or just part #11 from the pic??) is the cause...

Tempted to just use a notebook and jot down the mileage each trip. Someone tell me a Mercedes is worse...

(PS - the eSID2 has paid for itself over and over since I bought it in August.)
Did this only happen after the ecm was replaced? I take it you have the AWD, correct? If so the ecm's have to be part number matched when using the Tech2 method. When we clone them all the T8's will work for any year any model.The only difference is the AWD require a bit more work to address the gas gauge issue, still no a big problem though. Using the Tech2 method it goes like this; 2003 w/SAI is by itself then 2003 thru 2006 are interchangeable then 2007 up.The hardware is all the same, it's the OS and firmware that dictate what cars they will work on.
 
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