Category Archives: Saab Tech

EnG Techie Snippets

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In another welcome diversion from the gloom and doom of the automotive market crunch and crushing cash burn rates, I present a few little digital gems that will enhance any Saab lover’s life.

Featured: A cheap dyno/skid-pad program for iPhone and iPod Touch, some great podcasts for your PC and/or mp3 player and an accessory from one of our sponsors.
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The reason for this post — I’ve just purchased my first actual iPod. I was a long-time satisfied user of an iRiver Clix that was either lost or stolen on a trip to New Jersey last summer. Faced with the decision, I decided to buy a factory refurbished 4GB iPod Nano 3rd Generation from the Apple store online. With shipping it was around $85 — a great price if you ask me. I grudgingly admit that this little gadget is a huge upgrade. I still have a fundamental issue with the proprietary Apple compression format, but I must admit that it sounds great and having video in your player is also a huge plus.


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This has my wheels turning in that direction, so here are a few Saab-related revelations that accompanied the iPod-ing of my life. (For a non-Saab related revelation, see here.)
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I’ll start with the great-looking iPod/mp3 add-on kit for your 9-3 available from Elkparts. This setup avoids the compromised sound associated with FM transmitters and other add-on adapters. Using a direct interface, this harness gets you connected the right way. Works for me, except that I don’t own a 9-3!

(Swade has looked at this option in the past, but I’m assuming that since the Viggen is no more that little project went by the way.)
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I love this little software package from Dynolicious for Apple iPhone or Apple iPod Touch. It uses the accelerometer inside the device to measure acceleration in all directions that can be used to translate engine output, 0-60 times, quarter mile time, lateral grip and braking performance. For only US$13, you get a little performance monitor for any car! I’m sure that it’s not very precise, but for $13 I could live with that. It requires no connections to the car and you can download the results to your PC. Very cool.


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If you haven’t checked out the Saabcast site on Saabusa.com, have a look. There are a few great video podcasts there. I found a couple of additional videos from Saab USA on iTunes that I could download free of charge, including this video on “How to change a tire.” Nicely done, and the Dame Edna 9-5 and an attractive actress make it easy on the eyes, for sure.


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GM Europe has a cache of iPod-ready videos for we Saabisti, too. Some very polished stuff such as this video of the Saab 9-X Air concept with Mark Adams.


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Finally, there are a few Canadians out there actually racing Saabs! Swade has featured JL Racing before, but they’ve posted some great information on their website including a few great audio podcasts (click on the podcasts banner on the right column of the front page). They certainly had some late-season success in the Canadian Touring Car series with three wins in late August! I highly recommend all three podcasts for some great Saab techie tidbits.

There’s got to be an easier way to get a convertible!!

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UPDATED! – ‘before’ pictures now added.

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Fellow Tassie Saabnut, Drew B, is at it again. He’s always looking for a project and many of them involve cars that other people would just pass by. Take this Saab 900 S, for example. It was a low mileage car owned by an old lady – a classic vehicular pickup – but it had also had its roof caved in courtesy of a wayward tree that got lost during a wind storm. Perfect.

I no longer have the Here are the ‘before’ photos…..

……and here’s what Drew got up to last weekend:

Drew picked up the car for a song with the intention of fixing it up for his mother to drive. It’s only done around 90,000kms and apart from the dented lid, it’s squeaky clean.

Getting the replacement roof panel was a story in itself. Drew ordered the panel and it turned up in it’s box, though when he checked it out he found that it was a 9-5 roof panel, not a 900 panel. A check of the database showed that the 900 roof panel was now obsolete and there were none in stock. A few phone calls, discussions and arguments later, it was found that the panel was, in fact, still available, despite the database showing it as being unavailable. The 9-5 panel was shipped off and the new one arrived a few weeks ago.

Back to the repairs…..

So how do you remove a roof panel? Well, it helps if you have one of these to drill out all of the spot welds.

So the roof is now off. I’m sure we’ll get some updated pics when the new roof is attached and the car is put back together. Then Drew can get on to fixing the silver convertible, restoring the blue 99……..

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Reader question: what fuel are you using?

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I got an email in from Renee the other day. She wanted to tap my technical expertise.

Seeing I have no technical expertise, I thought I’d post the question here and let you lot get in on the act. Renee’s question is a two-parter, as follows:

I love my used Saab 9-3t convertible 2004, which I bought about six months ago. I wondered if you could help me with a techie question?

Ever since I bought the car it has had a problem with randomly revviing up as I am driving. Do you have any idea what could be causing this and how I can get it fixed if it is random?

Secondly, what brand gas is best? I was using Chevron premium but have switched to their regular due to cost. However, I hate to support mid east gas when I could buy American…any suggestions?

Firstly, congratulations on your wise choice in picking up an irrestivertible. A fine drive in anyone’s terms. I suggest getting a BSR upgrade for some enhanced zippiness. It’ll really bring it to life. Our email circle here in Australia have been discussing the BSR unit over the last few days and one guy who’s done the modification to his 1.8t SportCombi absolutely loves it.

Of course, that’s got nothing to do with your questions, but I thought I’d offer it up anyway.

On the first issue, I’ll have to defer to those that tune in here and actually know what they’re on about. Something electrical, perhaps?

On the second issue, I have to confess that I’m an absolute believer in the marketing of the oil companies. I only use premium. BP Ultimate, actually. I don’t know if it’s just phychological, but my cars definitely do feel like they’re running better, and are more responsive, on the premium juice.

Standard fuel here in Australia is 91 Octane, though I think we use a slightly different measuring system to the US. The BP Ultimate stuff is 98 octane, so it’s certainly supposed to have some more zip than the normal stuff.

I think it’s even more important to use the good stuff if your car is modified and the new tuning is based on an expectation for good fuel.

In terms of the origin of the oil – stuff it. Everyone you’re buying it from is way wealthier than you, so you’re lining someone’s pockets either way. Just whose pockets they are is almost impossible to tell at any given filling station. The only way you could be sure is to buy a diesel and start making your own.

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They’re just my token thoughts. Over to the rest of you.

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SaabUSA post Saab technology section

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SaabUSA have posted a technology section to their website, aimed towards educating people abot two key Saab technologies, one old and one new: Turbocharging and XWD. Each of the pages involves multiple steps and takes the reader on a quick journey to learn about each of the new technologies.

This is a useful addition for those who arrive at SaabUSA’s website and don’t have much background with what are going to be Saab’s two core technologies for the next few years (along with hybrid technology when it comes).

Turbocharging isn’t new, of course, but there will still be some who find the graphics and the brief lessons useful in understanding how it works (and why their Saab moves so effortlessly up hills!).

XWD is new, so I’m sure some people are going to find that very useful as the word spreads around.

We’ve been calling on Saab to talk more about their capabilities and sell their credentials a bit more, so this is a definite step in the right direction.

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Thanks to Dan S from Racing Ready for passing this on.

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Turbo X startup question – answered!

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I got a question via email the other day, and as I know we’ve got a number of Turbo X owners (and Aero V6 owners) here, I thought I’d share it with the wider audience.

The question comes from Dan, who writes:

I purchased a Turbo X back in May, I have noticed that during the first minute or three of a cold start it has superior performance and a deeper exhaust note (perhaps more air intake?, wish it would stay that way). I have consulted many mechanics and received no positive answer. Perhaps, with your expertise you could lend some information on this matter. Thank you. Sincerely, Dan

Seeing as how I don’t actually have a clue about these things (I am a mechanical gimp – but learning), I passed the query on to our friendly GM Master Technician, Tedjs, who provided the following:

He is basically experiencing two things – one is advanced ignition timing that is used during the engine warmup cycle which essentially is used to pre-heat and ignitie the richer air fuel mixture in the cylinder. This will produce some additional mid-range torque and power during warmup.

The other thing is that exhaust cam-phasing is commanded to add some additional valve overlap on engine warm-up to light off the catalytic convertor. Basically what they are doing is in conjunction with the turbo is letting some additional air run through the cylinder to help heat up the exhaust quicker. That is causing the change in the exhaust note in conjunction with timing. I have noticed it on my car as well.

The 2.8L warms up amazingly quick – more so than any car I have ever owned. Even in cold outdoor temps it really gets up to operating temperature in short order to maximize fuel economy. Compared to the lump of cast iron that was in my old car which took a lifetime to warm up – and used a lot of fuel in the process.

So if you’re experiencing the same symptoms as Dan when you start your V6 in the morning, now you know why. Enjoy those first few minutes. If you’ve got a cocky neighbor with an A4 3.2 quattro, perhaps right on startup is the time to show ‘em who’s boss :-)

My thanks to Tedjs for once again stepping up to the plate.

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FAQ and not-so-FAQ about engine oils

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I just spotted this on an Alfa forum, only it wasn’t originally placed on that forum. It was first published at what looks like a different forum all together and as I’m loathe to try and find the original source I’m just going to reproduce the entire thing here.

We’ve had several discussions about oils and this Q&A seems to be pretty comprehensive and useful. I thought it would be a good resource to record here for future reference.

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We get asked many oil related questions every day and decided to put some of the most frequently asked ones to an Oil Expert called John Rowland. He has been the Chief R&D Chemist for Fuchs/Silkolene for many years and previously developed ahead of their time ester based oils for the RR Jet industry. What he doesn’t know about oil is not worth knowing in our opinion!

1) How is an oil manufactured; transformed from the black sludge that comes out of the ground, into the nectar-like substance we pour into our cars and bikes?

Crude oil, which is usually very thin, (contrary to popular belief!) is distilled into light and heavy fractions, with several intermediate ones. (The evil left-overs are used to fuel the 15 million cc/40RPM diesels in the giant oil tankers that bring the crude to the refinery.)

The lighter fractions, usually more than 90% of the original crude, are converted into petrol and diesel. Some of the heavier oils, (still dark and smelly!) go through several processes to clean them up and remove wax. Out of about a dozen oily products 4 clear, bright amber oils are commonly used to blend modern engine and gear oils. These are roughly equivalent to SAE 10, 20, and 30 engine rating and 140 gear rating. Oil refineries also produce all sorts of gases and chemical compounds which can be used to build up ‘tailor made’ lubricants: synthetics!

2) What are the most important substances added to the refined base oils? What do they do?

In the Dark Ages, engines used blends of refined mineral oils ‘straight’, with nothing added. The trouble was, even in the slow-revving engines of 80 years ago the oil didn’t last very long, and the engines didn’t either.

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More Saab AMM/MAF’s and crank home mechanics

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As a quick follow up to my AMM post from yesterday (the car ran magnificently this morning – smoother than butter), I thought I’d share the following.

Tedjs, our GM professori, emailed me a few photos of a modern Mass Air Flow sensor. He uses these shots for his automotive class at Tri-C in Ohio. I’ll attach his comments from my original post as well, as I think they’re quite relevant for anyone looking at a faulty AMM/MAF.

In these shots, you can clearly see the filament I was talking about. The object of the game is to keep that filament at a constant set temperature using an electrical current (think light bulbs). Air rushing past it cools the filament and the change in voltage required to keep it at temperature tells the computer how much air is rushing past, and therefore how much fuel to pump in.

Whilst my old 900 sensor had an adjustment screw, it seems that modern MAF’s don’t. A possible solution for a malfunctioning MAF, in the absence of an adjustment, is to clean it. Following are some comments Ted wrote about cleaning the sensor:

We would let the sensor cool off for a bit and hit the sensing wire with a quick shot of cleaner which is a key point here – a very small amount would clean the sensor if it was contaminated. I only say this because I watched someone use half a can on a sensor and I think it damaged the sensor as brake parts cleaner is a strong solvent. Unfortunately some people live with the adage if a little is good – a lot must be better. Don’t get me wrong – it was entertaining watching him, but that was kind of his method of operation. The guy could not fix a sandwich.

Sometimes if you would clean them the problem would come back and the sensor would have to be replaced. The sensor wire generally gets about 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.78 degrees Celsius) higher than ambient air temperature so I think things would get cooked on it occasionally.

CRC recently introduced a mass air flow cleaner here in the USA that is for sale at most auto parts stores. It is less caustic than brake clean and is less likely to damage the sensor housing and attack the electronics. I know some shops are selling it as a maintenance service as newer cars are so reliable they have little to do in terms of routine maintenance, but I have mixed feelings about that. That sensor is expensive and cleaning a clean one might damage the filament. Sort of a ‘if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it’ approach if you know what I mean.

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Inspired by my successful venture yesterday and a desire to learn more, I’ve just ordered a Bentley manual for the Saab 900 16V to go with my Haynes manual that’s already on it’s way from Elkparts.

The Bentley manual seems to be pretty well regarded, so I’m sure it won’t hurt to have it on the shelf as well. There’s probably areas of the car that one manual handles better than the other.

I don’t think I’m going to be replacing timing chains or anything like that, any time soon. But it’s fun to learn, especially with our young bloke hitting 17 and looking for a car to buy too (He’s scoping out Honda Preludes).

He’s got a natural aptitude for this sort of thing so I’ve got to keep up!!

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What I learned today – Saab 900 Air Mass Meter

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All ye who are technically competent, please pass on to the next story. This is for the tech duds like me.

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Some of you may recall that I had some issues late last year with my 1985 Saab 900 Aero. The car would develop this tendency to jerk around a lot.

At first, we thought it was the fuel pump playing up, but $400 and a replacement later, we learned that wasn’t the case. Matt the fudgepacker correctly diagnosed the problem as being the Air Mass Meter. These are pretty expensive to buy new (around $800 here in Oz) so any sort of fix would do. Matt provided the simplest answer possible – A quick tap on the head of the unit and it seemed to right itself. It worked on the odd occasion it was needed after that, so I didn’t worry too much.

The problem was long forgotten until earlier this week, when the car developed it’s jerkiness once again and no amount of tapping on the AMM would set it straight.

Hesitating to pony up for a new unit, I rang a spare parts supplier in Melbourne and got them to ship over what they thought was a good second hand unit. I fitted the unit to the car today and it ran even worse than when I had my old part on it. Here’s the part, so you know what it looks like:

Saab AMM

That’s actually upside down to how you see it in your engine bay, but the battery ran out in my camera before I could take another shot :-(

So whilst my part was off the car, I thought I’d take it into my local Saab specialist, Steve E, so that he could have a look. Steve tested the unit and found it had been adjusted at some point. Once it was adjusted back to the proper settings, I took it home, reinstalled it, and now the car’s running as good as gold.

So what was the adjustment?

Here’s a look at the unit from a different angle:

Saab AMM

As you can see, there’s six pins in the plug for this unit. The test involved putting a multimeter on pins 3 and 6 and measuring the ohms. It should read 380 ohms. Mine was reading somewhere up past 530 ohms. The supposedly good replacement part I got from Melbourne was reading 995 ohms!!

You can see a gold-colored adjusting screw just to the right of the plug in that photo. That screw adjusts whatever it is that adjusts the ohms readout. Steve simply turned the adjusting screw until it read 380 on the multimeter.

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How the AMM works (my limited understanding) – the computer sends a current through a filament in the AMM, which is cooled by the air passing it. If there’s more air passing by and cooling the filament (and going on into the engine) then the AMM boosts the current in order to maintain a set temperature in the filament. The variations in current required tell the computers how much air is coming into the engine and therefore, how much fuel is needed to match the air and create an optimum mix.

I assume that if there was an incorrect setting, such as that on my unit (where it was 500+ ohms instead of 380), then it would be misreading the volume of air that it’s meant to measure, hence the rough running that I was experiencing from time to time.

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I believe the AMM is also commonly referred to as the Mass Air Flow sensor (or MAF)

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