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Re: New Used
Posted by David Prantl (more from David Prantl) on Tue, 11 Sep 2001 23:47:39
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

>  1992 9000 Turbo 5-door, 91K miles.

Be aware that this car has electronic throttle.  Officially known as ETS, it 
consists of a motor-controlled throttle body, a pedal sensor, a couple of 
vacuum-control solenoids, a backup (limp-home) throttle cable and a 
brain-box (under the driver's seat).  It's function is to enable the car to 
take away throttle control from the driver under wheelspin conditions, or in 
other words, it enables the Traction Control (TCS) feature.  Wheelspin at 
low wehicle speeds is dealt with by automatically applying the front brakes 
intermittently, and by reducing the throttle opening.  Wheelspin at higher 
vehicle speeds is limited by reducing the throttle opening only.

The ETS system should be calibrated with the use of the SAAB scan-tool 
(Tech-II) any time the battery is disconnected.  It doesn't hurt to have the 
system calibrated and checked for fault codes periodically (like, say, once 
a year).  ETS fault codes are not erased no matter how long the battery is 
left disconnected, and can only be reset with the scan-tool.  ETS faults and 
component failures can lead to limp-home or break-down conditions, when the 
car becomes almost or completely un-driveable.

>  Questions: (1) the ABS, Brake Fluid, and TCS CTRL  warning lights take a 
>good 8 to 10 seconds to go  out when the car is started cold.  They don't 
>come  on while the car is running,

The ABS and Brake Fluid lights indicate the accumulator pressure level in 
your braking system.  It takes some time for the pump to build up the 
required pressure after the car sits for a few hours.  Your description 
indicates *normal* operation.  I am not 100% sure whether the TCS CTRL light 
should behave this way, but my intuition tells me that it too is *normal*.

>  (2) there's a TCS button in the console, but it doesn't  'catch' and 
>seems to do nothing.

This is intended to be a TCS-OFF button.  After the car is started, this 
button should be pressed once to provide a momentary ground to a particular 
wire from the ETS brain-box.  This tells it to cease all TCS functions and 
allow wheelspin at all vehicle speeds.  It must be a momentary signal, and 
that's why the button doesn't stick.  If the button stuck (or if the driver 
held it down for too long), the ETS brain-box would interpret this as a 
ground-short in the wiring and ignore all further TCS-OFF requests from the 
switch wire, thus remaining locked in the default TCS-ON mode.

You can test the TCS function quite easily by putting down more power in 1st 
and 2nd gears than you have traction for.  If it works properly, it will 
back off the throttle for you to stop the wheelspin.  Then press the TCS-OFF 
button once, and you should be able to maintain wheelspin without automatic 
brake and throttle intervention.  Note that the TCS-OFF request is not 
stored in memory, and is lost when the car is turned off.  Each time the car 
is started, TCS is ON.  This stuff is all very nicely explained in the 
owner's manual BTW.

>  (3) When folding down the rear seat, the center seat  belt receptacles 
>scrunch into the immaculate seat.

I believe that this is by design on all 9000 cars, and the upholstery is 
expected to fully recover from being scrunched.  You could try to jam the 
belt receptacles under the seat-back before folding it forward.  Not sure if 
that would work or not.

>  (4) Battery voltage at cold start is about 9.5v.  According  to the 
>manual,  this is too low, but in the local pleasant  climate, the car 
>starts just fine.  The battery is not the  original but looks old.  Should 
>I ignore this until I  actually have trouble?

9.5V during starting would be too low for me personally.  I would look for a 
new battery, preferrably one with 800 or more cranking amps no39sdcx6spamx782 0degF.  Don't 
wait until it dies.  It'll leave you stranded looking for a jump-start, and 
will set fault codes in the ETS.  Replace the battery at your earliest 
convenience, and then visit a competent scan-tool-equipped SAAB mechanic to 
have all electronic systems (LH, DI/APC, TC/ABS, ETS, SRS) checked for error 
codes and repaired as necessary.

Why wait ?  Consider your annual benefit of keeping those seventy 
battery-bucks invested nowadays...

>  (5) Does anyone out there have experience with hitch-mounted  bike 
>carriers?  Where can I get a trailer hitch for one

A company called Da'Lan makes a very nice hitch for the SAAB 9000.  It's 
available at some SAAB dealers (http://www.andrewsofprinceton.com),
some 

independent SAAB garages, some specialty parts vendors 
(http://www.sasab.com), and some hitch vendors 
(http://www.hitch-web.com/hdescrip.asp?name=DaLan&product=Class+I+Pro+Frame+Receiver&ProductCode=DA257220~C9994).


I mail-ordered mine from Andrews on 7/7/98 for $161.08.

>  I do NOT expect ever to tow a trailer, just bikes.

Why the heck not ?  The 9000 is excellent for towing.  It's factory rated 
for 1000lb un-braked and 2000lb braked trailers, just like, say, a first 
generation Isuzu Rodeo SUV.  If you're very careful when slowing down, you 
can get away with 2000+lbs and no trailer-brakes.  Just don't overload the 
rear axle by putting on more than 300lb or so of tongue-weight.  After all, 
it ain't no dually !

David Prantl
david_prantlno39sdcx6spamx782hotmail.com
'84 900S, 5M, 210kMi, RIP as of 2/98
'89 900, 3A, 116kMi, restored and SOLD on 3/24/01
'86 9000T, 5M, 188kMi
'88 9000S, 5M, 142kMi
'90 9000S, 4A, 133kMi
'93 9000CSET, 5M, 72kMi
'68 97 Sonett V4, 4M, 76kMi, #000467

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