[benimal]

My sister-in-law purchased a used 2003 Saab 9-3 a few years ago (2005 or 2006). She tells me that both the front fog lights (seem to be factory installed) and the rear defroster never worked since she's had the car. The SID shows no problems for either the defroster or the front fog lights.

My questions:

1) Rear defroster: I checked to see if there was a blown fuse. According to the manual, the rear window heater (same as defroster?) has a Relay R4 in the engine compartment fuse box. The space where that relay would go is empty. Am I confusing the rear defroster with the rear window heater? If not, should there be a relay there? If I am confusing the two, is there a different fuse that I should be checking?

2) The fog lights: I've checked the fuses for the front fog lights in the same engine compartment fuse box; both fuses are in tact. The other accessories (lights) that are associated with those fuses are fully functional. I replaced one of the fog light bulbs, but that did not fix the problem. Yes, I've explicitly pressed the front fog light button to test it out (given that they don't come on automatically or stay on through a powerdown/up cycle). The rear fog light (single) does work fine.

I welcome any tips or hints. I've already done some searching on here, but "foglights" returns 8 pages which will take a while to go through. I've read a few threads about defroster issues, but haven't reached a concluseion about the logical next steps there.

Thanks.
Ben

 

[GBS]

For the fog lights, make sure the headlamp switch is in the correct position.

 

[benimal]

Thanks for the reply and the post of the video. Sadly the suggestions in the video didn't solve the problem. I tested the front foglight button in all three switch positions with key in and out of ignition. The fog lamp indicator light on the dashboard lit up as it should (given a specific set of conditions), but the front fog lamps themselves remained dark/unlit. The SID still shows no problems.

Guess I'll keep searching before giving up and going to the local dealer.

Ben

 

[brownpower]

my right fog bulb burnt out last week. i replaced it with a h3? bulb and it worked fine for 3 days and then went out?

i pulled the bulb and it still looks brand new. the old bulb i removed was clearly burnt out. i also checked all the fuses, for some reason most of the fuses/relays that are head/fog light related dont have any effect when removed?

 

[Nocturne]

my right fog bulb burnt out last week. i replaced it with a h3? bulb and it worked fine for 3 days and then went out?

i pulled the bulb and it still looks brand new. the old bulb i removed was clearly burnt out. i also checked all the fuses, for some reason most of the fuses/relays that are head/fog light related dont have any effect when removed?

Corroded wiring perhaps?

 

[Civil Action]

I have the same problem with the fog lights. I have a 2003 Saab 9-3 arc. I bought it second hand and the fog lights have never worked.
I took a look underneath the car because I had a radiator leak. It appears that the original owner yanked the bottom bumper a bit probably trying to reverse from a parking stop.
The bumper looks fine from the outside and is not loose, but I can see the scraped underneath the bumper and the wires on the rear of the fog lights are torn.
The radiator leak was also a broken clamp and loose lower radiator hose. I assume that the radiator leak and the fog light problem are connected to a common occurrence. Specifically, reversing from parking stops.

 

[jcboal]

The fog lights may need to be "programmed" on with a tech II

i had my daytime running lights reprogrammed off, but the dealership accidently turned off the ability for me to turn on my fog lights as well.

 

[BlakPanThor]

My sister-in-law purchased a used 2003 Saab 9-3 a

My questions:

1) Rear defroster: I checked to see if there was a blown fuse. According to the manual, the rear window heater (same as defroster?) has a Relay R4 in the engine compartment fuse box. The space where that relay would go is empty. Am I confusing the rear defroster with the rear window heater? If not, should there be a relay there? If I am confusing the two, is there a different fuse that I should be checking?


Ben

Did you find a solution?

 

[bobmwsc]

I had the same issue on my 03 that I bought about a month ago. The front skid plate / splash panel was missing and the previous driver must have rubbed the underside hard enough to damage the fog light harness connection. I bypassed the torn wire and i'm back in service. (new harness on order). Neither the fog lights or the outside temp was working but this fixed both issues.

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218875

 

[124saab]

Fog Lights

Not sure if this will help you at all, but my fog light on the driver's side was out. Maybe if you take it apart and wiggle things around it will work when you put it back together. I took the bulb out of the housing and it looked brand new. I tried to disconnect it, but was afraid that I would damage the wiring because it wouldn't release. I finally gave up and put it back in and figured I would try again later. There must be something loose or some type of short in the system because when I got it back together, it worked. Funny thing though, the little marker light inboard of the high beam light on the passenger side was working before I got started and now is out. That one must be loose/have a short or something. Don't think it's related to getting the fog light on the other side working, but who knows. It seems to work sometimes and not work sometimes. When I first test drove the car, it was working. When I went back to buy, it wasn't. I thought it was burned out since it had been working a day or so before. I had the oil changed right after buying it and asked to have the light replaced, but the service station wouldn't do it because it looked complicated and in a tight spot. Next time I checked it, it was working again. Seems it has been working most of the last 2-3 weeks since I bought it, but not right now. As a side note, I figured out how to get the low beams adjusted a little higher, so hopefully I can drive a little more safely at night (they were pointed down just in front of the car--that was a nice surprise the first time I drove it at night).