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Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 01:19:27 GMT
From: "Bill Jackson" <wjacksonnospamesterdotrr.com>
Subject: Re: How many people have SID problems?


Dave I have a 99 9-5, I didn't know of a TSB but the dealer told me that there was nothing out there. (do you have a reference to the TSB?) The car was just out of warranty at 62K when it started. It's now got 99k on it and the SID is almost useless. As for the fixes, they worked for a while (see my other posts in here) but they're fleeting. Mine worked for about a year and then all hell broke loose. I lost several rows and then started with columns until the display was not readable. I didn't appreciate the snide remark that I could have found this myself, as I've done a considerable amount of work trying to do the simple fix. If you had "googled it yourself" you'd have found a good number of posts from me on this topic of trying to fix the silly thing. I then tore the SID apart and put the flex circuit under a microscope in the lab at work. The flex is hot-bar soldered to the PCB and has delaminated to the point where the pads on the flex that contact the circuite board have come away from the flex and are stuck to the circuit board. After delamination the pads then with the slightest movement (heat did it for me) will then break away from the traces in the main part of the flex. My SID would work OK when cold, but after about 10 minutes would start losing rows and columns. If I could get a new flex circuit, I coudl fix it myself, but I'm sure that this is a custom circuit as this is also a custom display. In the end this is a design that is not robust. If my engineers designed something that had this kind of failure rate (and we design things that people cary around and drop) they'd be out of a job. The flex circuit has too much stress on it because of the way that it's bent and the hot-bar solder job makes that end of the flex more brittle. As for the small claims thing, it's my only avenue at this point. I'm not a lawsuit type either,but this kind of disregard for their customers pisses me off. If I do go that route, I'll surely pay more than the $314 that it would take to replace the damned SID in time, effort, etc. I called SAAB and they told me that they might do something for me if I took the car to a dealer (pay for a serivce call) and the dealer is willing to participate in the process based on my service history. The net is that IF they do anything, they'll sell the SID installed for the dealer cost of the part. The dealer has to do the install and charge me for it, and the part doesn't cost them anything. I doubt that'll cost any less than the SID by itself from the parts department and I can put the silly thing in the car before I drive out of the parking lot. I've gotten good at taking it out and putting it in as I was trying to diagnose and figure if I could fix it somehow. "Dave Hinz" <DaveMay2004nospam-creek.net> wrote in message news:2h2dlrF8itooU1nospamberlin.de... > On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:41:18 GMT, Bill Jackson <wjacksonnospamesterdotrr.com> wrote: > > I've been thinking about this for a while, especially since my SID is now > > pretty much useless. I lost a couple of more columns this week and can't > > tell what radio station is on or what the temp is anymore. > > > > SAAB won't acknowledge that they have an issue with SIDs. > > So, that TSB was an illusion then? What year do you have? > > > So, I'm thinking of filing a small claims charge against them for the > > replacement price of the SID for my 9-5. I've seen so many people here and > > elsewhere, along with people who have fixed their SIDs with the foam rubber > > and other methods. > > I'll go out of my way to _not_ participate in a lawsuit for something > as minor as this. Yeah, mine acts up, and I strenuously don't care > enough to bother with it, let alone file a freaking lawsuit. > > > So, how big a problem was this? Should I just shut up and pay the $314 for > > the SID and give this up? > > Maybe if you asked how it could be fixed (trivial fix) you'd get a more > helpful response. As it is, I'm uninspired to google for it for you. >

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