Econmancer

I don’t have any advice about repairing the SID, or “SAAB Information Display”, on a SAAB 9-5 except to say that I only made mine worse by trying to make it better. There are several methods for DIY repair of missing pixels on the information display. I tried the foam spacer and warm iron methods and only ended up with more missing pixels.

There is a reputable company called BBA that will repair the SID and garentees its work.

SAAB Central has a thread about SID repairers that is worth reading before choosing a company.

My SID will be off to BBA soon for repair and I will post about the results at that time. For now, here are images from the inside of the SID for your entertainment:

A video about repairing dents with canned air was posted on SAABCentral. I went out and got a can of air and tried the technique on a door ding I had collected a few weeks ago.

The dent is about the size of a nickel.

I heated up the area for about a minute with the hairdryer and then sprayed the air upside down until the spot was frosted over. The dent is not gone, but it is more like a shadow of what it was before. There was no damage to the paint as far as I can tell.

This would be a good thing to try before sending the car to the body shop and would be interesting to see on a larger dent. Anyone willing to give it a try on a larger dent?

At any rate, you might be satisfied with the results and would save some money. If you aren’t happy with the results, then you aren’t really out anything and can get the car fixed by a professional afterwards.

The two images look strange because I ran the photos through some filters to enhance the dent area. Both photos had the say filters applied. The dent doesn’t show up well in the untouched photos. I marked the spots so you can at least look in the correct area. See the dark spot on the right edge of the dent in the “after” photo? That’s where it didn’t change and can still be seen when looking at the door in person.

Before:

After:

So, the bottom line- the dent didn’t disappear; sort of flattened itself out around the edges instead.

I guess it is really a $5 repair, since I had to buy the air, but it would be free if you have a can of compressed air sitting next to your computer already.

From Amazon:
Memorex 10OZ 152A AIR DUSTER ( 32028021 )

This is the most frustrating repair I’ve ever had to do on my 9-5. Supposedly the dealer charges up to $2000 when the ACC throws an 08 code. I heard they fix the problem by replacing the entire heater box. I can understand why they don’t dink around under the dash with this repair.
The symptoms of a broken stop arm and/or blend door are a clicking noise behind the dash, and no control of the temperature or venting on one side of the vehicle. This can be confirmed by pressing the “off” and “auto” buttons simultaneously on the ACC controls. The computer will check the system and any codes will show up as a series of numbers. An 08 code will a classic confirmation of a broken stop arm or blend door lever on the driver’s side.

Once I had my code I got under the driver’s side dash, removed the four Torx screws, OBD-II port, and plastic panel, this exposes the offending parts.

The motor, vent elbow, and blend door are located under the dash near the gas petal, behind the center console.

I started removing the screws holding the motor and vent elbow. There are about six of them and they are all hard to get at. You will also want to undo the wire harness on the motor and the sensor on the elbow.

Here are the parts to set aside

This exposes the blend door

I had a broken stop arm, but that soon became a broken blend door shaft when I started banging on it with a jeweler’s hammer. Not my most brilliant moment, I admit.

I was unable to fix the the blend door arm as described on other online sites, so I set out to fix the arm my own way.

I started by lining up the broken arm and using jeweler’s glue to set it back in place (super glue on the tip of a toothpick would work). I let it dry and then used a two part epoxy that hardens into a clear plastic to coat the entire shaft. I used the epoxy to build up several coats. By the time I was done the shaft was extremely rigid, possibly stronger than when it was new.

With the shaft fixed, I was able to focus on the part that started this whole ordeal. I had ordered a new stop arm from The Saab Site.

The stop arm goes on the end of the shaft between the box and the motor. I had to file down, and ultimately remove, the small plastic clip on the shaft.

This, along with some grease, made it possible to slide the new arm on the repaired shaft. Make sure you press from both the front and back of the blend door to keep from putting pressure on the repaired shaft.

You will want to move the blend door stop arm all the way down. Then turn the metal shaft on the removed motor so it looks like this, with the notches facing in this direction:

Hopefully you can skip the next step by matching my photo above, but I found this shaft position by taking the motor apart and turning the motor’s shaft until it fit the blend door shaft before putting the motor back together again.

Once the motor was back together, and aligned to fit the blend door shaft, I reinstalled the vent elbow (after gluing the loose foam rubber) and reassembled motor, hooked up the wiring harness and sensor, and tested the ACC again.

No more 08 ACC error. My vents work and the temperature is correct again.

This repair isn’t technically difficult, but it’s a hassle because the area under the dash is tight and the blend door area is even tighter. There are a lot of tiny screws to remove and they don’t go back easily.

I used a headband lamp to light what I was looking at while I was under the dash. I don’t know if I could have done it with a drop-light or regular flashlight.

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.

This one is easy after you have done it once, but I remember being worried about it before I actually inspected how the wiper blades were attached. I figure I can’t be the only one with this wiper anxiety and I imagine people that are only familiar with what I would call a “peg” style wiper blade attachment will be interested in this explanation.

These instructions are for removal and replacement of the entire wiper blade, that is to say the rubber and the metal or plastic that holds the rubber to the wiper arm. Personally, I recommend replacing the entire wiper blade and not just the rubber strip. You have a wonderful car and new blades will look great on it. The replacement blades don’t cost that much more than the refills. And because of all the brands and styles of wipers, it is often a nightmare to find the correct refills anyway.

Windshield Wipers

Photo of the wiper arm and blade ready to install 

The wiper arms on the SAAB 9-5 have what I would describe as a crook bend or a flat hook. The wiper blade is wedged into the bend of that hook. Depending on the blade manufacturer, there will be a clip or tab that might need to be pressed before the entire blade is slid out. The blades that came with my SAAB needed a small screwdriver to push the tabs in, but the replacement blades have a tab big enough for me to push down with my finger. I could picture some blades not even having a tab.

Lift the wiper arms away from the windshield around 90 degrees and they will stay in place by themselves. With the tab pressed, the blades should slide down the length of the arm and out of the hook with just a little pressure. You do this once and you suddenly see how easy it is.

The replacement blades might not have the correct attachment already in place, but they will have a small set of weird plastic pieces included with the package. One of those pieces will fit the hook at the end of the wiper arm. Attach that piece to your new blade by following the instructions included with the blade. Then slide the new blade up the wiper arm and securely into the hook bend. When seated correctly the blade should freely spin in place, but it should not slide easily out of the hook. You can now gently lower the wiper arms back down to the windshield.

My SAAB takes 22 inch wiper blades. I like to change them once a year in the fall and I use blades designed for winter. Winter blades are just a personal preference. I like the way they work in snow and ice and when it’s not cold I just like the way they look. Companies are now making very streamlined blades with almost no structure apart from the rubber strip. They claim this style works like a winter blade but grips the glass better and reduces drag from the wind. I have not used this new style, but plan to give them a try and post my opinion sometime.

Headlight Wiper Blades

My 2000 9-5 has small wiper blades for the headlights. I have never seen these blades in the auto parts store, but they can be purchased online at a number of websites. They seem to be very hardy, my set has to be original and they are still holding up for the most part.

Photo of the headlight wiper arm and blade

They are really easy to remove and install. You lift the blade and arm away from the light and then try to turn the blade 180 degrees. At some point it snags, but if you continue to press the blade it will pop loose. The replacement blades snap back in by lining up the blade and pressing the center back into the arm. This is a five minute job for something that rarely needs to be done. If only everything was this simple.