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This is a long post.
I just picked up our '93 9000 from the dealer where they said it needed a new computer. On the way back it came out of limp-home mode and the right hand TCS CTRL light went out. The left hand TCS lamp is glowing as it does when TCS activates, but not steadily and is tied to engine load.
Here's the full history - it goes back six weeks because I had to spend four in China.
1. The car was working fine and then stalled for my wife in the driveway. Both the TCS and the TCS CTRL came on, the car became a bear to start, stalled when your foot was fully off throttle, and was in limp-home mode. CHECK ENGINE flashed a code five and stayed on at start up. When I removed / waited / replaced the battery cable CHECK ENGINE would not be on but the car would go into limp-home during start up and then we're back to the same symptoms.
2. I checked all vacuum lines (they are already recent silicone lines), replaced the fire wall valve with a new one, and did the "swaperoo" without any luck. I cleaned electrical connections and few other things, but it was the same.
3. I Brought the car to Saab Works in Milford NH and left it over night. He said the computer was no good, he couldn't communicate with it. I went and got it and limped home, I noticed that the power hadn't been disconnected as the radio was still working.
4. I checked all easily checked signals at the ETS module (fixed voltages, etc). This is when I deduced it turns off its own power (turns off the main relay supplying it power) when it was in limp-home mode.
5. I brought the car to Acton Saab in MA. They called the next day and said it needed a new throttle body and found a used one. I assumed they read the codes, now I'm not so sure. I had to take off and go to China.
6. SAAB called my wife and said it was the computer, that they couldn't communicate with it, and they would just charge us for the cost of a diagnostic (I thought that was fair). I wondered about the throttle body diagnostic at that point - hadn't they read the computer to get that? Is there a different computer that they could have read the code from? Nothing happes for three week.
7. I finally got back from China yesterday and decide to go pick up the car. I notice it has a different throttle body in it since mine is on the floor. I start the car up and it is hard to start and keep going and starts up in limp home mode and drives terribly - just like before. But half way home the right hand TCS CTRL light goes out and the car is obviously no longer in limp home mode, though the left hand TCS is still on.
Now I'm really confused. It starts, idles, and runs fine now, but with a glowing TCS light.
I know neither shop disconnected the battery because the radio is still set. When I was looking at the signals in step 5 I decided that the ETS module turns off its own power when it thinks it is broken. I think (it's a month ago now, I need to recheck) that when I removed/reconnected the battery cable it would not turn itself off right away.
Is there a sequence you're supposed to follow when replacing throttle bodies that they may not have followed, leaving it in a mode where the ETS module turns itself off and so they couldn't communicate with it? Does this make any sense to anyone? Anders, you reading this? I guess I'll bring it back to SAAB on Tuesday and see if they can now communicate with it and calibrate it.
, Sun, 2 Sep 2007 08:01:47
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