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OK, so I've been an '03 9-5 aero owner for 2 weeks and I love it. I've stumbled upons this forum, which is great, and in my search for a definitive guide for installing an aftermarket handsfree solution in the vehicle, I noted that with careful searches, the information is out there but it's not easy to find. So, giving credit where credit is due, I'm going to post a clear, definitive guide for installing a handsfree cellphone system in the '03 Aero.
As far as I understand, all '03 aeros have onstar. From my numerous conversations with onstar, I've discovered that the equipment in our vehicles is analog only, which means that 1) it will be phased out in 2008 2)It's not upgradable to digital 3)They can't do a remote door unlock 4)The onstar calling plans with verizon do not work for these vehicles.
I mentioned onstar because in installing a handsfree system you will have to decide whether or not you will want to keep the onstar functioning in your vehicle. Given Onstar's limited functionality in our cars, that it will be phased out and that it's pretty expensive, I am going to gear this guide to those who don't want to keep onstar and give a footnote at the end for those who do.
Proceeding further will involve disconnecting your onstar system in favor of a completely integrated handsfree solution. THis means that the depending on the kit you choose, phone audio will be routed through the car speaker system, microphone input can come from the already installed mic adjacent to the rearview mirror (i opted to use the kit microphone for reasons I'll get to later), the radio will mute when an incoming call is detected or an outgoing call is made and you can adjust the volume of the speakers via the steering wheel controls.
Parts needed:
1) Saab Handsfree hardness - found here - cost $19 - http://www.genuinesaab.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47_52&products_id=233
Note: this part is very different than the harness you can buy though the dealer. They don't work the same, install in the same places and so anyone who uses this guide would do well to purchase the adaptor from genunine saab.
2)A handsfree car kit. This is the part which connects your phone and routes the audio to the car speakers, input to an external microphone and provides various other functions depending on the kit. I chose to use the motorola IHF1000 because it's a bluetooth kit which integrates with any bluetooth enabled phone, connects to the phone via a wireless (BT) connection and has built in support for voice dialing, etc.
Once you have the above two parts in your hands, you will need to connect the harness to the car kit. THe harness will then plug into the car and you'll be good to go.
Alcoop was nice enough to provide us with the wire-colors for the harness back in 8/2005
"B. Wire Colours
Pin 1 Red - 12V direct to battery - always live
Pin 2 Red\Blue - 12V live with ignition on
Pin 3 Green - Microphone Ground
Pin 4 Black - Ground
Pin 5 Yellow - Radio Mute
Pin 7 Grey\White - Telephone lineout +
Pin 8 - Blue\White - Telephone lineout Ground
Pin 10 - Grey\Brown - Microphone +
There are also two input levels for the microphone which may have to be changed on the overhead console - depends on phone\handsfree - may be easier to use the Mike which comes with the handsfree.
Pin 1 - High
Pin 2 - Low
Pin 3 – Ground"
After connecting the harness to the main "brain" of the car kit, yyou'l have to install the whole thing into the car. There have been confliciting reports as to where to find what you need, but in my car, an '03 9-5 aero with onstar, I found the connector by removing the A/C control panel on the dash - just use a very small flat headed screw driver to pry the face forward and it will pop out. behinf the a/c unit, there's a small plastic plug wrapped up in loom. This is where the onstar wires into the car audio system. You need to unplug this, plug in the harness you bought from genuinine saab and mount your gear. You're done. Onstar won't work anymore but your phone will.
I decided to use the microphone supplied with the kit rather than the mic in the headliner just becasue I couldn't be sure it would interface well. Questions to motorola went unanswered. I mounted the mic at the headliner on the high side of the windshield, just to the left of midline.
I hope this helps someone.
If you do have onstar and want to continue to use it, you can purchase the "triad" from uhltronics. It costs $130 and lets you keep onstar and handsfree functionality. Since I've not used it, I won't comment on how to install, quality, etc.
I can tell you that after much mental prep, research, etc, this install took me 30 minutes once I brought the already soldered harness to the car. It works great. I love the IHF-1000 bluetooth kit by motorola.
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