1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I agree with the short trips being the basic problem, but I disagree with the comments about the electronics being related. I suspect it is more likely the lights.
Here's why: Lights draw a lot of power, computers do not. The headlights draw about 15 amps on low beam, plus you have the tail lights, the brake lights (5 amps), dash lights & whatever else is on when you start. You have a 130 or 140 amp alternator, my Ford Ranger does fine with a wimpy 95 amp alternator, so the alternator should be up to the job--if you drove enough miles. The Ranger has a lot of electrical stuff, but not as much as a Saab. BUT, the Ranger does not have daytime running lights and the Saab does.
If you don't care about the daytime running lights, which are a good safety feature, you can probably deactivate them. I recall something was said in my owner's manual for my '02 about how to do that.
When you start the car, those electronics and lights run off the alternator, not the battery. The battery is there just to start the car.
One other thing: Batteries like to stay at full charge. The more deeply they get discharged, the shorter their life. Some people have complained about short battery life on their Saabs and mine went south in about 2 years, while my '97 Ranger is still on it's original 10 year old battery.
When we got our Saab, I was frustrated with the lights being on but not being able to use high beam unless I manually turned on the light switch, so we simply started leaving the switch on all the time. After replacing the battery I noticed that when I start the car with the light switch on, the car tries to crank and run the lights all together, but if the switch is off, it bypasses the lights while in starting mode. Leaving the switch on puts a bigger load on the battery while cranking, draining it more deeply. Now I have gotten into the habit of switching the lights on after starting and off when I shut down. A cut off circuit should have been designed into the ignition switch to cut off the lights when starting, but it was not. I don't know how significant this is, but so far, so good, 3 1/2 years into the replacement battery.
Richard Scott
02 Linear
posted by 72.19.46...
, Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:34:41
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
