[GrantStanley]

I reacently saw a Saab 9000 that I'm considering buying but there are two problems with it:

1. There is a strange rattleing/buzzing type noise behind the dashboard near the clock/controls for the heated seats/cabin temp sensor area. The nose starts when you turn the car on, and when the engine is running the noise is louder (the climate control might have been on when I noticed that i'm not really sure), but the noise is still there when the climate control is off. When you turn the car off the nose only stops after several minutes. Does anyone know what this is and why it makes a noise for so long after the car has been turned off? There is also a sometimes louder rattling noise from the driver side vent.

2. The Check Engine light is on when the car is running, could this mean there is a problem that could end up costing me a lot of money? The person I'm buying it from will give me a 1 month warrenty, but they might just reset the light and it may come on in a couple of months or something.

Is there anything else I should check.

It's the 2 litre model Saab 9000, and I think its the 1995 model.

Thanks for any help,
Grant

 

[si_90002.3t-97]

Welcome to Saab Central!


Sounds like an intresting one, I would suggest getting it looked over by a Saab specilist. If the guy who's selling it is happy for you to get a 1 month warrently then he should mind someone else looking over it

Can i ask how much your looking at paying for it?

 

[GrantStanley]

I was going to pay £1750 for it

Apart from the two problem that I mentioned it seem to run well and the body and interior are in very good condition.

One other thing I've remembered is that when you are in Drive and are stationary with you foot on the break, there is a slight vibration but its not that much and it stops (or at least more or less stops) if you put it into park/neutral.

 

[djtaylor]

I'd request that you get the car to a specialist to have the check engine fault code read. More than likely it could be as simple as a faulty fuel cap or a faulty lambda sensor. It's generally an emissions thing, there are no sensors for mechanical condition as such.

I even tripped mine once when I washed the engine bay but that one cleared itself up once everything had dried again and I'd done a couple of journeys.

You haven't stated what the mileage is but auto boxes if not looked after have a reputation of dying at precisely 100.113k miles or on the day you desperately need it, which ever is the most inconvenient.

Have a look at a buying guide http://www.saab9000.com/information/buying/buying.html

David.

 

[si_90002.3t-97]

I agree with David, it's not a bad price depending upon condition miles etc.

You should get a specialist to have a look! I got my 9000 2.3T CSE for £1200 with 110K on the clock full history and in very good order, you may find some better bargins arround to. :roll:

 

[GrantStanley]

I'll have a look through the buying guide.

The car is a 9000 CDE Auto and has done 95000 miles. The car does seem to have been looked after and has a full service history.

They guy selling it said he would put it through it's MOT, and get the Check Engine light looked at (although he made it sound as if he'd just get it reset), so I could make sure it's fixed before buying it.

Grant

 

[boxman]

the buzzing is alsmost certainly the cabin temp sensor, remove it and clean it then refit it back up side down

the CEL is a result of the engine management picking up a fault, switch on the ign' but with out starting the engne and count how many times the CEL flashes.

2 = MAP sensor
3 = inlet air temp sensor
4 = coolant temp sensor ( can some times be caused by faulty thermostat)
5 = throttle pot'
6 = lambda sensor
7 = adaptation fault
8 = evaperation loss system purge valve
9 = ECU fault

 

[GrantStanley]

Thanks for the infomation on the CEL flash codes, if I go back to see the car again I'll check to see what code it gives.

One thing about this car is that it's from a small time dealer who bought it 1.5 years ago, except for some reason it wasn't sold over this time. The dealer said that he had used it for about 1000 miles and had only advertised it sometimes. It seems kinda strange to me as I would have though he would have been able to sell it sooner. Is it normal for Saab 9000s to take a while to sell? Or does this situation and the car just sound dodgy?

Grant

 

[djtaylor]

I would say that from personal experience, for a not in huge demand 9000, in otherwords, not an Aero or Anniversary, or low mileage car then yes it can take ages to sell. You're in the bargain car category (which is a good thing!) but it's competing against all the other cars also in the budget line.

On the engine codes, the only problem is that you're not necessarily going to get much help because even if says lambda sensor for example, that could be any one of a number of reasons for the lambda sensor going out of range and might not be the sensor at all.

I have an LPG converted Volvo which coughed on start one day and put up a number of codes, mixture, lambda sensor, oxygen, whatever. I dumped the codes and cleared them with no further consequences.

You can use the information you get but don't be put off by it, just get it checked, fixed and ask to see receipts of what was attended to. That's the trouble with all these warning lights, they can give a totally false indication. The other great one on the 9000 is if you disconnect the instrument cluster and then turn the ignition on. Result will more than likely be that when you put it back, you are stuck with an SRS light on because the SRS sensor thinks the bulb is faulty.

There's an irony there of trying to turn on the warning light to indicate that that very warning light has failed! In this case, fix is to visit a dealer and get them to use TechII to clear the non-fault.

David.

 

[Superaero]

Buzz is certainly the ACC cabin air temperature sensor. Easy to clean, pop out the ACC unit (it is a clip fit) and the temp sensor can then be removed from behind the fascia and cleaned with compressed air ina can such as may be used for computer cleaning. On the other hand if the buzzing is pretty quiet, lik on my 97 then just ignore it. These units eventually fail and are easy to replace if a bit pricey. The fan runs all the time the ignition is on unless the ACC is OFF. It runs for 4 minutes after ignition switch off to preserve the ACC memory settings in case you are just getting out of the car for a minute. Pre 92 (?? or so) the ACC used to re-set to the beginning of its program each time the igition was switched off.


As for "check engine " that could be a loose filler cap or a failed O2 sensor or any number of things. Any SAAB dealer can plug in his hand held Trionic reader and get it diagnosed in about three minutes.

My money is on the air temperature sensor on the turbo outlet pipe (the aluminum pipe from the turbine outlet to the throttle housing. These are a frequent failure item.