Maybe not so Saaby?

I even hesitate to post this, y'all might slam my car /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Give me 2 more months and I might be slamming it too. Anyway this is a pretty good story so I will share.

Well this is a new one on me. Preface: I often refer to it as 'my' car, but I don't have a car. I still live with my parents and the Saab is my dad's.


So I run to the bank and decide I'll grab a bite to eat on the way back. I am not a big Carl's Jr. fan but I was in the mood for a Western, so I stopped and (naturally) went through the drive through. They were a little slow so the car was in park a lot, but I never shut it down. After I paid, while I was waiting for my food, car stalls and the oil/battery lights come on. "Hmm, maybe it just was idling too slow." So I try to start the car. Cranks and cranks and...won't turn over. Wait a few seconds and try again. Crank, crank, crank, what's that smell? Smells electrical. Better stop.

So the kid brings my food to the window. "I'm stalled, can I get some help?" "Have a nice day!" he says and shuts the window. Heh, guess he got a clue when I didn't move. He came back and I explained again that I was stalled, I would probably need to get a tow but I would need some help getting pushed out of the drive through first. So his manager comes to the window. I plan to go into automotive engineering so I know a thing or 2 about cars, not like I was only turning the key half-way or something. "It won't start?" she says. "No I have tried a few times and it won't. Can I get some help getting pushed out of your drivethrough?" Deer-in-headlights look on her face. "Uhhh, Chris and Steve, go help him." So a few seconds later 2 Carl's guys show up and start pushing me.

Push me out of the drivethrough and I get ahold of my dad first of all. We've got roadside (Or parking-lot side as the case may be) assistance through the dealer but he doesn't have the number, so I get out and look at the license plate and call.

Then I wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. Fortunately it's been warm today, in the 60s instead of the teens. Didn't dare run the radio as I didn't want to kill the battery.

Exactly 1 hour after I called the tow truck arrived. He jumped in the car and tried to hit the 'lock' button on the key a few times. He seemed dumbfounded that the car wouldn't lock. Maybe cause the driver's door is open? I don't know what he was trying to find out. Cranks the car for a good 15-20 seconds and says "Such a slow crank..." I told him we had the battery replaced a month ago (Because we did) and he goes "Well if it's cranking it's not the battery." Well, there's a difference between a dead battery and a dying one, but whatever.

Pops the hood and has me crank for a good 30 seconds. Decides that's good enough for him and loads it up on the truck.

Ah, but I forgot the best part. He makes a comment: "Man, these things are dying in epic proportions today." I make a nervous little laugh and say "All makes or.." to which he replies "No, they've all been 9-3s or 9-5s. This is the 6th one I've towed today."

Maybe it's a flaw in the firmware for the car, December 11 = Go to dealer

So it's headed to the dealer now, as soon as we get the official word on what's wrong I'll let you know! Really sounds like a DI cassette to me though, although the car wasn't stuttering or stalling or anythign before this point. This is the first time it's stalled on anybody.


2001 Sun Green 9-5 2.3 t Sedan
Automatic, 36,857 miles as of today.

Last visit to dealer: Monday for key programming, before that about 34,000 miles for an oil change.






Sorry about the rotated second one, I'll fix that when I get home from work.

Like I said at the beginning, I still have high hopes for this car. It's been pretty trouble free so far except a few tiny, non critical flaws. Guess we'll give it another 6 months and see.

man that is bad luck Sabby. I hope it all gets worked out for ya.

Nah, having your car stolen with rare lithium batteries in it is bad luck, this was more of a comedic adventure.

Image rotated.

those modern cars with this fancy electronic stuff sometimes make me worry .... no one seems to really know them ....
And your conspiracy theory might in fact have captured a glimpse of the truth /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
bernhard

Sorry to be so "dim, but what is a "DI casette?"

Six Saabs towed by one driver in one day?!? Sounds like a Saab recall may be in the works...?

[ QUOTE ]
flashfan said:
Sorry to be so "dim, but what is a "DI casette?"

Six Saabs towed by one driver in one day?!? Sounds like a Saab recall may be in the works...?

[/ QUOTE ]direct ingintion cassette

Gotta be the mangelfreuzer switch

Sorry, I posted this to a Saab board first and they might not know what a Luxeon is but they know a DI Casette /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It's something you see in Saabs and a few other cars, implamented in a few different ways. It is for "Direct Ignition." Instead of a distributor and a cap and spark plug wires, you just have a connector and a big plastic cassette that drops in over the spark plugs. It is less parts and lets the car actually have more control over the spark, so it has it's pros -- but the cons are that the life expectancy is completely random, some last 40k miles and some last 100k. Sometimes you'll get warning signs, but usually when it fails it just goes without warning, making it impossible for you to start your car since you have on spark.

Some companies put 1 little DI module over each cylinder, the way Saab did it (Up until 2003) was to have 1 cassette for the whole engine.

Jury is still out on weather it is actually more reliable than the traditional, distributor way.

.

Dealer just called. DI Cassette. Too bad we didn't have a spare in the trunk /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Under warranty, I hope?

Yup. Reprogrammed the ECM too, supposedly the next one will last longer. The tow and shuttle service from our house to the dealer this morning was also warranty/complimentary dealer.

My dad talked to the service guys about all the towed in cars. I guess there were 7 of them total over the weekend! Doesn't sound like much until you realize there are only like 10 Saabs in Utah /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

1 of them was a theft recovery, 1 was a collision, and 1 was a couple that lost all their coolant but just kept driving until the car died /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

curious, is the DI cass. something any mechanically inclined person could swap? I'm thinking about the road trip your family took recently; losing a DI cass would be a major deal in the middle of the boonies.

Definitely. 6 bolts and 1 Molex. Takes about 2 minutes to do if you've done it before, 6 if you haven't.

http://www.saabclub.com/237/di-cass.htm

Google search

Sounds a lot like the ignition box on the 80's Ford vehicles. Be just fine and all of the sudden, nothing.

In a lot of ways points distributors were better!

Did anyone try removing the fuse for the computer?

We have a 90 Chevy Lumina that keeps dying about once a month, just poof, dies, and wont start, it just sits there and cranks.
Pull the computers fuse out, wait one minute, replace the fuse, try to start it, BAM starts RIGHT up. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif stupid computers

I don't know if I like the DI cassette seutp; seems like people recommend carrying a spare in the car, just for the random failures that seem to crop up more regularly than they should. I'd rather carry a small ignition module rather than something that big and expensive, at $300 per.
Luckily the two Saabs I have haven't had any problems in that regard, but this is all somewhat disconcerting.. wonder if carrying a spare DI should be de riguer-
These things are more sensitive to spark plug condition and gap too, so that may be something to keep up on, though I wouldn't expect that to be a factor on a car as new as yours.

You're up to 2 Wingerr? Do share!

Theoretically the DI Cassette should be more reliable. The problem is you're replacing something with years and years and years of refinement (Distributor and variations of...) with something that is much newer technology. I would *hope* that in another 20 years we're all in electric cars. However, should we still be in ICE cars, I hope the DI system will have improved enough that it is more liable than anything before it.

Yeah, just got a second one, 93 9000CSE 5spd- couldn't resist- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The first one got totaled while parked, by an older gent who lost it in a parking lot and took out 5, count 'em, 5 cars in one fell swoop. How he managed that in a parking lot is beyond me, but he didn't actually touch my car. It was billiards style, he actually hit the primary cars with enough force to knock it into mine-
Still driving it though, since the damage was the rear bumper being canted down at 45 degrees, but no apparent damage to the running gear. Cost to fix vs. perceived market value totaled it though.
I consider these 9000's to be a more modern day substitute for the Merkur Scorpio; being so similar.

[ QUOTE ]
I hope the DI system will have improved enough that it is more liable than anything before it.

[/ QUOTE ]
It seems the DI is more liable right now- liable to go without warning- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif kidding- yes, hope it's be more reliable soon.. (though I won't benefit from it; I got what I got right now)