[Zeek050189]

A few quick questions about my 2000 Saab 9-3:

1) I recently got my car back from the shop (it needed a new fuel pump at 163k...not bad) and my cruise control no longer works. What physical components of this system might fail so that the cruise control is non-functioning?

2) The head on my motor is a replacement that I got for a VERY good price, but ever since I put it on, the car has been idling rough and vibrating like mad under 2,000 RPM. The car is also throwing a P0300 (cylinder 1 misfire) code, and it seems to run better when it's cold. These symptoms lead me to believe I have a bent valve on cylinder one. Does this sound likely to you guys?

3) When I turn on the cabin blower fan with the A/C on, the air is cold for a few seconds, and then it gradually warms up to ambient temperature. The A/C compressor clutch also makes an intermittent rattling noise at idle. Does this point to a bad compressor, a bad A/C clutch, or just the need for a system recharge? (or something else I've overlooked completely?)

Thanks in advance for the help, you guys are really invaluable to a new Saab owner like me, and hopefully in time, and with a few scraped knuckles, I'll be able to return the favour.

P.S.: When answering the questions above, please begin your post with 1,2, or 3 to indicate which question(s) you are answering.

Thanks!

 

[win_k]

On your cruise, does the cruise light come on the dash when you try to engage it or not?

If not, I'd suspect the fuse, turn signal switch, brake switch or cruise control module.

If it does, check the both ends of the cable between the cruise control module and the throttle body.

A miss at low RPM is often a sign of a vacuum leak. Spraying the area with starting fluid is a very good way to prove or disprove that. If the ether gets pulled into the engine, it'll temporarily smooth the rough idle.

Your A/C problem sounds like low refrigerant. The clutch noise you hear is likely it kicking in and out based on the low pressure switch.

 

[Zeek050189]

Win_k, thanks for your swift reply.

1) The "cruise" light is not coming on, and the fuse is good (I swapped it with another 15A to confirm). The problem originated after I picked it up from a shop where the fuel pump was replaced. Is there any way to verify that the system hasn't been tampered with or removed?

2) Your vacuum leak suggestion makes a lot of sense, especially considering that the car is also throwing a P0455 code (gross vapor leak). What, specifically, do you mean when you say to spray "the area" with ether?

Thanks again!

 

[win_k]

If you're getting a miss on cyl #1, I'd spray the intake manifold around #1 with the ether to see if that would change the idle.

Normally, I'll start with a broad heavy spray to get a quick location and then narrow it down with much lighter, more directed spray to pinpoint the leak.

If the cruise light is not coming on, I'd first suspect either the system thinks the brake (or clutch) pedal has been pressed or the turn signal/cruise control switch is acting up.

Basically, the entire cruise control system is at the (when looking from the front) the left rear corner of the engine bay. Has a wire connection to the car and a cable running to the throttle body. It is near the fuel lines at the back of the engine, it is possible those fuel lines were disconnected when the fuel pump was serviced and maybe the cruise control module was disturbed.

 

[john bernard]

2.It doesn't sound like a bent valve to me. But to ease your mind a compression test is easy and should be cheap. I think more likely is a defective ignition or fuel injection. I'd inspect the spark plug first.

 

[MaseratiMike]

1: Is your car a manual? When I got my car from the dealer the cruise never worked, tracked the problem down to the switch on the clutch. Just another thing to look at

2: if its an intermittent, rattle type wobble sound I bet its your compressor bearing. I had that happen with mine. Shine a flashlight down the front of your engine and watch your A/C pulley. If you see it wobble as it makes the rattle noise then thats your problem.

 

[Zeek050189]

1: Is your car a manual? When I got my car from the dealer the cruise never worked, tracked the problem down to the switch on the clutch. Just another thing to look at

2: if its an intermittent, rattle type wobble sound I bet its your compressor bearing. I had that happen with mine. Shine a flashlight down the front of your engine and watch your A/C pulley. If you see it wobble as it makes the rattle noise then thats your problem.

1) Yup, my car is a manual. I guess I just have a little figuring to do. I'm still a little worried about tampering. I called the mechanic who worked on the car and asked what he did in the engine bay, and he said absolutely nothing. Then when I pointed out that the grill had been removed and reinstalled impropely, he fed me a line about a screwdriver in his pocket snagging it...so we'll see.

2) Took a look at the A/C comp at idle,and it's wiggling like crazy. +1 for the comp bearing suggestion. I'll be picking one of those up soon and then recharging the system. I don't know which I dislike more, the rattling noise or the inability to keep my cabin cool, lol

 

[Zeek050189]

Update

1) My car randomly started idling at 2500 RPM on Saturday, so I unplugged the MAF, and it went back to normal...so I need a new one of those. Then, as I was driving back home, I accidentally bumped the cruise lever to "on" while using the turn signal, and it worked without issue. So...somewhere there is a connection between a bad MAF and non-functioning cruise control. God help me if I know where it is, lol

2) Bought a compression tester today. Might get the chance to do that after work tomorrow. At this point, I'm hoping it's a bent valve. THAT I can easily diagnose and fix, lol.

3) Took a bit of a closer look at my A/C compressor today, and the clutch is not engaging when I hit the little snowflake button (I have the base model A/C, by the way). What is likely to cause this? Bad clutch? Bad snowflake button? Bad wiring between the two? Bad comp?

Again, thanks to everyone. The junkyard MAF I bought smooths out the idle considerably and nearly doubles the perceived horsepower. So I'm slowly getting closer to having the car in an inspectable condition. And I live in Pennsylvania, so that alone is a feat byitself.

 

[Zeek050189]

Did a compression test last night, and here are the results. The values below are an average of 3 tests per cylinder:

Cyl 4: 185.5 psi
Cyl 3: 182.5 psi
Cyl 2: 186 psi
Cyl 1: 77 psi

So yeah...something's up with Cyl 1. I poured a few mLs of oil down the plug hole and tested it again, and got an average of 125 psi. Then I put the plugs back in and started it, and it idled PERFECTLY until the oil burned off.

Does this sound like a bent valve, or bad piston rings? Or something else entirely?

 

[sdibbers]

If you get better results with oil in the cylinder I would say piston ring or piston.

 

[Zeek050189]

If you get better results with oil in the cylinder I would say piston ring or piston.

... D4mn

 

[sdibbers]

:-( my thoughts exactly. Sorry to be a bearer of
Bad news.

 

[Zeek050189]

:-( my thoughts exactly. Sorry to be a bearer of
Bad news.

Ah well, c'est la vie. I guess it'll be cheaper to just pay of the guy who inspects it, :lol: heh heh heh.

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

It sounds like you should do a leak-down test. The other test that could have been done when the head was off was to fill the the compression area of the head with gasoline and let sit overnight. If the gas drained out past the valve seats, you know that a valve is leaking in that cylinder... Ron

 

[Zeek050189]

It sounds like you should do a leak-down test. The other test that could have been done when the head was off was to fill the the compression area of the head with gasoline and let sit overnight. If the gas drained out past the valve seats, you know that a valve is leaking in that cylinder... Ron

"Leak down test" is a phrase I've heard before, but I'm not entirely familiar with what it proves. Would you explain a leak down test in a bit more detail?

Thanks!

 

[teeuwen]

Hey, i am a relative new guy to saabs, but i had a similiar issue.

first check if you car is in limp mode,

second clean that maf sensor with a maf sensor before you replace it, take the time to pull it off and give it a very good cleaning.

your cruise control not working can be triggered by the CEL, my previous issue with the car when it was in limp mode and before i cleared the codes was my cruise control would not work, aswell as my tcs would not turn off, it always stayed triggered in the off mode.

check under the hood for any wires that look exposed or any loose connections aswell.

hope this can help you some.