Econmancer

Two of the three bulbs in my “Fasten Belts” light have been out since I purchased by 9-5. I decided it was finally time to replace those bulbs.

I purchased replacement bulbs from Memotronics Electronic Components. It was an excellent shopping experience. I ordered five 2721 bulbs for less than fifty cents each. That is much cheaper than other online sources I found. I was unable to find a local source for 2721 bulbs. The bulbs arrived securely in my mailbox a week later.

Removal and Replacement:

Use a small screwdriver on the forward edge of the dome light lens to carefully pry it loose and then set it aside. This exposes the one size-24 Torx screw that holds the plastic trim of the console.

Remove the Torx screw and pull the trim down. Don’t pull too hard because there are wires attached to the thermometer and microphone. This exposes the three light sockets for the fasten belt sign.

You will want to use some small pliers or tweezers to carefully remove the old bulbs because the space up there is tight. I suggest putting on rubber gloves at this point to keep skin oil off of the new bulbs to extend life and reduce discoloration. The new bulbs then press back into the sockets. I was able to do this with my gloved fingers, you might need a combination of tweezers and fingers to get the bulbs in place.

You can see the two new bulbs on the right and middle, they are a little longer than the bulbs that were in the light before. Now you will want to turn on the ignition to see if all the lights come on before you reinstall the trim, screw, and lens.

And here is the finished product; a fully lit “Fasten Belts” light.

Lifehacker.com featured a website that sells custom car mounts for all sorts of electronic gadgets on their “Stuff We Like” series.

The idea is that you purchase two parts and end up with a totally customized setup. The first part is a device specific clip that then attaches to the second part, a vehicle specific bracket. The website says it securely installs in seconds without taking the dash apart.

I check out the ProClip company website and they seem to have brackets for four different mounting locations on the SAAB 9-5. The “Angled Mount” bracket even has a notch in it to keep the cup holder on the 9-5 functional.

I have not used this product, but my plan is to get a GPS navigator for the car, and now I’m going to get the ProClip to mount it in my SAAB. I will post photos and my impressions once I get one and install it. This looks like such a smoother and more professional installation compared to the cheap plastic universal mounts that come with car electronics.

**UPDATE:

I purchased the ProClip for my TomTom GPS and wrote a post about it.

This is an actively updated list of light bulbs used in my 2000 SAAB 9-5. Some of these bulbs might be different for a newer 9-5. I’m linking this post in the side bar so it is easy to find and I will continue to update it as I get more information. I will also post instructions on how to replace these bulbs and link each post to this page.

Press Ctrl+F in windows, Command+F in apple, type what you are searching for and the computer will highlight it.

H7
Low beam headlamp
High beam headlamp

2825
Front side marker
License plate
High mount stop light

1157 (amber)
Front turn signal

7507A (amber)
Rear turn signal

7528
Stop light/ Brake light
Tail light
Rear side marker

H1-55W
Fog/Driving light

7506
Back up light
Rear fog light

6418 (5 watt 35mm x 11mm)
Glove box
Map light
Dome light
Step/Courtesy light

6411 (10 watt 41mm x 11mm)
Map light
Dome light
Step/Courtesy light
Trunk light
Under hood light

2721 (LED code: 74)
Ash tray
Seat belt indicator (3 bulbs)
Instrument panel, including:
Check engine
Hi-beam indicator
Brake warning
Automatic transmission (!) indicator
Turn signal indicator

One evening I closed the hood on my 2000 SAAB 9-5 and as it slammed I heard what sounded like a nut hit the garage floor. I was confused and looked for what fell. I found a single large piece of clear glass under the bumper. I thought, “where did this come from?” I cricked my neck under the car and soon figured it out. My driver side fog light was busted. Most of the broken glass was in place and what wasn’t still intact was sitting inside the light.

I then thought back to earlier that morning on the highway when I had heard a rock hit the car with such force that I searched my windshield for a bulls eye. My windshield was fine and I continued to work. Little did I know that it was my fog light that I had heard break.

I ordered my replacement fog light from thesaabsite.com . I had ordered from them before (for the hood emblem) and was pleased with their service, plus they had a low price for my model year of fog light.

Fog Light Removal
The fog lights are held in place by two bolts under the light and a plastic brace on the outside edge of the light. There are two light bulbs. One bulb is on the bottom and the other is on the back side of the light. Disconnect the wiring on these two lights with the help of a small flathead screwdriver between the body of the harness and the red side of the harness. Prying the red side away releases the harness from the lights. The bulbs can be removed by twisting them anti-clockwise. Remove the two bolts on the bottom of the light and pull the light down and back to clear the plastic bracket from its slot in the bumper. The light is now removed.

I had to transfer the old plastic bracket to my replacement light. The replacement already had bulbs in place, which was good because the old ones didn’t fair well after the lens broke out.

Fog Light Installation:
Slide the replacement light into place and make sure the plastic bracket is seated in its slot again. Install the two bolts on the bottom of the light. Reconnect the wiring to the bulbs and press the red slides back into place on the harnesses. I also took time to secure the various wiring with some electrical tape and zip ties.

That is all there is to the fog lights. I think to took me about 20 minutes to remove and install the one light, but I was learning as I went and dealing with broken glass. I think I could do it even quicker today.

Be careful if your glass breaks like mine. The glass in these lights shatters into a mixture of large chunks and tiny little slivers. I had to tweeze glass out of my palm and fingers when I was done with the removal. I’m still finding glass on the floor in the garage.

Tools:
Small Flathead screwdriver
Medium Phillips screwdriver
Medium Torx screwdriver
13mm socket and wrench

I used the K&N RB-0900 in my SAAB 9-5. I purchased it from (of all places) Amazon.com and it cost less than $30 with free shipping. Any similar universal air filter with a 3 inch flange should fit. There is plenty of room behind the fender, so the size of the filter element is up to you as long as it has a 3 inch flange.

This took me less than one hour to complete.

The stock air box is located between the passenger side wheel well and the bumper. There is a plastic tube that goes from the side of the air box, across the back of the bumper and up behind the grill. There is a rubber tube on top of the air box that runs inside the fender and through a hole under the hood to the mass airflow sensor (MAF).

These instructions will remove the box and both tubes. The rubber tube is then reinstalled with the new filter attached.

Under the car: Remove the two nuts that attach the air box to the car and loosen the hose clamp on the side of the air box. A photo of this area

Under the car: Remove the screw on the under side edge of the bumper near the wheel well and the two screws that connect the plastic wheel well to the edge of the front bumper. Remove the four 13mm screws and four Phillips screws on the large plastic engine guard panel under the car and set it aside.

Under the hood: Remove the two plastic pressure screws that hold the grill in place and then remove the grill by lifting up and out.

Set the grill aside. Remove the 13mm screw holding the air intake tube to the bumper. The intake tube is already removed in the photo below, but the screw location is marked, along with the other half of the mounting bracket.

Wiggle the hard plastic tube to detach it from the air filter box. Store it someplace because it won’t be reinstalled on this modification.

Under the hood: Unscrew and pull out the passenger side corner lamp (I didn’t do this and ended up breaking the light clips as I pulled the air box out).

Loosen the hose clamp on the MAF that is closest to the fender and remove the rubber tube from the MAF with the help of the flathead screwdriver.

Under the car: Push the stock air filter box up and over to clear the bracket. Push the front bumper and wheel well to the side and pull the box down. It should come out with a little pressure.

Once out, loosen the hose clamp and remove the rubber tube. Put the box away because it isn’t reinstalled in the modification.

The rubber tube and your new universal air filter with 3 inch diameter flange will connect together and the hose clamp is then tighten.

The tube and filter can then be routed back through the fender and reconnected to the MAF. I used silicone adhesive and a small square of stiff foam rubber between the tube and the inside fender wall to keep down wear and rattling.

Reinstall the three fender well screws, the plastic under-engine panel with eight screws, and the grill with plastic pressure screws. Clean up the area and put away your tools.

Start the car and check out your work. Enjoy the test drive. Idle and low speed driving sounded the same on my SAAB, but the turbo can really be heard now when you give it some gas. I can hear the turbo with the windows up, but the most fun is with the windows down.

Some people will have concerns about rain water getting pass the filter and into the engine. You will want to install some sort of splash guard if you are worried. I’m running around without a guard and will report back if I end up having any problems. See update below.

UPDATE: I just drove in what we Kansans call a “toad choker” of a rain storm. The roads were flooded. It was more than the average rain storm, so I got home quickly and checked my new filter. It was soaked. No problems with how the car was running, but I will be finding some sort of splash guard to keep the bulk of the water from getting up there again.

UPDATE:

Getting a performance diverted valve, like the one made by Forge, and installing it in the reverse configuration will further enhance the sound of the turbo.