Saab 9-5 2.0t auto saloon 2001

Saab 9-5 2.0t auto saloon 2001

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DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
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Good luck with your MOT baptistsan. Always a nervous time but a great feeling if it passes!

It's been a trouble free couple of days (tempting fate now...) commuting to and from the office and enjoying comfy seats and relaxing drive.

I've found a couple of things I didn't know about by reading through the owners manual. First of all are the little pockets on the front of the seats driver and passenger, like a kangaroo pouch!). Secondly, there is the chilled glovebox you can use by sliding a small tab in the glovebox forward or backwards. I've also used the reversing-dip-the-mirror button. I'm only about half way through the manual so may find more.

Here is the latest fuel economy reading - traffic was better today even with a bit of stop/start both ways so it's creeping up. Found the fuel tank is actually 75 litres - pretty huge and larger than the 68 litre tank on the XC90 we have!


wormus

14,496 posts

202 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
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I installed my stage 1 Maptun tonight. Dis it in the dark which was dodgy as I couldn’t see what I was doing. It says remove the fan relay and connect a battery charger as a power failure can be catastrophic but I did the right thing and ignored it. Took 20 mins to download the original map and another 20 to upload the new one. Anyway battery lived through the fans and reverse light being on (I left it in reverse) so I took it for a drive. At first I thought it wasn’t much difference then it just got up and went. Feels like an OE map with smooth delivery and a strong kick in the back over 3k rpm. No warning lights or anything so I’m really happy.

Now I’m going to do the BCV/APC bolt mod to make sure it’s getting full boost and fill it with super unleaded to see what happens. Very happy so far. smile

baptistsan

1,839 posts

209 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
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Cheers Dan! Appreciate it. If it passes the plan is to slowly upgrade her. Following your thread with a great deal of interest.

Oddboy86

194 posts

182 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
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I didn't realise you were on here. Shame the remapped ECU didn't go to plan. The Aero's are good fun. I always thought mine would have been better with an auto box.

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
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Hello Hope your hunt for another 9-5 is still on? Yes shame about the ECU and I think I could trace and sort it by working through a check list but as the car is running well I’ll keep the tuned ECU and maybe look into it again in the spring.

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
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Wormus - sounds like yours is progressing well. You’ll certainly feel the extra power.

Another thing I found today - the auto-dimming rear view mirror has a button on the bottom to turn off the auto dim function. Never had that on an auto-dimming mirror before. As my missus said though - why would you want to turn it off and get blinded?! Any answers...?

lewis328

496 posts

197 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2018
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30+ mpg seems reasonable, mine is always sitting around the 27 mark. Re the auto dim mirror my guess would be it's just another example of what Saab were all about. Give customers the option to turn it off just because they could.

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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Well it's been a few days since my last update and I'm pleased to report that the car was running well on the original ECU other than perhaps feeling a little down on the supposed 150bhp it should have.

Fuel economy peaked at an indicated 31.2MPG before some more traffic jams and town driving resulting in a reading on the SID of 29.9MPG when I stopped at the petrol station to fill up again.

As mentioned, the car felt a little short of the full 150bhp and it felt like it was a boost issue. Having checked the vacuum pipes briefly already and not seeing any obvious defects I decided that rather than replace them all I would search online for advice.

A couple of threads on Saab sites mentioned cars that are down on boost benefitting from the "bolt mod" being carried out to the boost control valve - http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp...

I decided to give it a go and see what happened. Here is a side shot of my valve - it is the top hose that you disconnect and fit a bolt into the rubber/silicone pipe.


DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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The bolt I used that fitted nice and snug was a 13mm head and about 30mm long. I then taped black electrical tape over it although this was not really necessary it looked neater and then I zip-tied it to the boost control valve.

I took it for a test drive but as this was done in my lunch break I didn't have time for a run at speed but the car did feel like it was holding boost better.

After work I had a run home on the A12/A120 and despite the traffic I managed to leave a gap in front and accelerate at full throttle a couple of times from 50MPH to 70MPH and the car definitely felt like it was holding boost better and accelerating quicker although still no rocket ship with a maximum of 150bhp!

I got home and decided to try the Noobtune ECU again - so much for waiting until spring!

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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The Noobtune ECU took about 10mins to change - it really is easy when you've done it a few times but I made sure I took care not to drop any nuts down the hole where the ECU goes.

It was definitely running better than it was and held full throttle better and accelerated very well up to about 50-60MPH before a slight stutter resulting in the EML flashing but it cleared and didn’t stay on and the car then ran well again as long as I was a little more gentle with the throttle and didn’t quite use full throttle. A second attempt at full throttle past 60MPH resulted in another small stutter and a flashing EML but again it cleared within a few seconds of lifting off.

The car drives fine as long as I don't quite use full throttle once above about 50MPH and still pulls harder even then than the standard ECU.

I read a few other threads and decided to monitor the air readings that the Noobtune open SID gives access to and they do seem a little out of sync – the air requested and the air delivered should be very close to each other but a couple of readings I managed to get under hard acceleration did show a large difference. Here are the largest differences I recorded:




DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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I will continue to investigate it but the spark plugs are the new recommended ones gapped to 1.0mm and the DI all looks good so will focus on air/boost related issues.

I've emailed Karl at Noobtune to see if he can help as he has loads of experience, but I am sure it is a small issue somewhere on the car - I will find it so watch this space...

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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Karl at Noobtune has replied already - top bloke!

He has said regarding the air readings on the open SID:

"MREQ value is correct - if that drops then it means the ECU is being told something it doesn't like (DI/Plugs/fuel etc). If MAIR is too low then that's a physical 'turbo can't suck it in' thing e.g. bolt mod needed doing, dump valve going weak, faulty or dirty MAF, turbo actuator weak or not being controlled properly, faulty/dirty boost control, blocked exhaust or intake, incorrectly set wastegate, worn turbo etc etc etc".

So, based on this and my gut feel that there is a boost issue and with the bolt mod carried out having helped a little, my next plan is a new recirculating dump valve as mine is the original plastic one and may have a work/split/broken diaphragm.

I have ordered a new Maptun aluminium one from Neo Brothers for £44.94 including VAT and delivery and it should be here Thursday and only takes a few minutes to fit. I'll give an update when it is fitted.

If it doesn't solve the issue I will look at the actual boost control valve that is on the bulkhead next. The valve I disconnected the pipe from to carry out the bolt mod is actually called the APC valve and is often incorrectly called the boost control valve. I am still learning!

I'll also report on how the car runs on the Noobtune ECU over the next few days - I have left the original ECU and some tools in the car in case I have a problem and need to change it back to the original ECU.

wormus

14,496 posts

202 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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The bolt mod is quite common and I’ve done it to mine also following the remap as it was a bit flat. It made a noticeable difference. I’ve also ordered a new APC valve as a precaution. Only £30 so worth the money. I would be seriously looking at this if I were you as the overboost symptoms you mention can be a result of a knackered valve causing fuel cutoff.

Worth persevering as mine now goes very well indeed and behaves itself.

Edited by wormus on Tuesday 9th October 23:07

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Wednesday 10th October 2018
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Glad yours is running well wormus - hope mine will soon be 100%.

The drive to work this morning was pretty good - car pulled well and ran smoothly most of the time. Twice when accelerating hard I got a flashing CEL which is an ignition problem and now have a code an "fcod 4867" showing on the open SID. This translates as fault code P1303 which is a misfire on cylinder 3.

Despite the DI cassette appearing in good condition, Karl at Noobtune has already recommended this could be the issue and now I have this code I have bitten the bullet and ordered a new one from Neo Brothers for £137.54 delivered. I did consider getting a second hand one to save costs, but from what I have read this is a false economy as a second hand one is still at least £50 and no guarantee how long it will last or that it will even be a good one.

I really hope this and the new recirculating dump valve have the car running spot on again - I am confident they will unless there is something else going on in cylinder 3, but the lack of any other issue now other than the misfire under hard acceleration on the tuned ECU suggests all will soon be well.

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Thursday 11th October 2018
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Nice to come home this evening and see the delivery from Neo Brothers waiting for me. The car had been driving pretty well again today although still has the hesitation under heavy acceleration along with misfire readings on the open SID when it happens.

I got home and it seemed half my family had decided to visit but I said a quick hello before going out to fit the new parts. I'd opened the bonnet as soon as I got home to help cool the engine before I worked on it but as it was the DI cassette and recirculating dump valve there shouldn't be too much heat in these parts.

I knew the DI cassette would come out easily enough as I'd taken it out last week to change the spark plugs and hoped the dump valve would be just as easy. I was pleased to get the hose clips off easily and the pipes pulled off the dump valve without too much effort.

The new parts were an easy fit - just the 4 star head screws and electrical connector for the DI cassette and 2 hose clamps and the push on vacuum hose for the recirculating dump valve.

I had a look at the old parts - the dump valve looks OK but I can't find a definitive guide as to how to test if it is broken. If I suck on the hole where the vacuum pipe attaches it initially lets no air through then when I suck a little harder then I feel something move inside (the diaphragm?) and am able to suck some air through it.

More interesting was the DI cassette. Despite me not seeing any cracks or damage to it when I changed the plugs and even tonight the tube attaching to cylinder 3 looking all OK I did see the end tube is in poor condition with half a tip of one of the tubes actually missing:







Can't believe I missed that as now it looks so obvious! I do wonder whether it had a crack in it and part fell off after I removed it as it looks so clear to see now but who knows. I was looking for cracks between the turrets when I last removed the DI cassette as most advice I have seen says to check there but I should've known to have a really good loot at the tubes as well. Schoolboy error.

Edited by DanG355 on Thursday 11th October 22:34

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Thursday 11th October 2018
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Once it was all fitted (total of about 10 minutes) I had a small window of opportunity for a test drive before I had to mingle with the family. A quick run around the block confirmed no misfires, strong pulling through the rev range including with the throttle wide open. I could only test it up to about 55MPH due to the local roads and could only do a short run but things are looking good.

The drive to work tomorrow will give me a better opportunity for a full test. I'll also take some pictures of the new dump valve in place in the daylight rather than in the dark now.

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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I’ve driven the car a lot today and it’s close to being all good, but not there yet...

It pulls hard from low revs and goes really well but under full throttle at about 5k revs there’s a stutter and misfire on cylinder 3 code is showing on the open SID again. Turbo sounds quite loud and has a whooshing noise but as it’s pulling well I don’t think it’s a boost leak, but air mReq is still higher than mAir on the open SID so it’s a possibility.

I’ve got a busy weekend ahead but will check the spark plug gaps again especially cylinder 3. If I get time I’ll look for any sign of a boost leak but this might have to wait. It is only under full throttle that the gap between air mReq and mAir is there but could still be something. I got a mate to video the air readings and interestingly with mReq over 1,000 the mAir doesn’t get above 850.

wormus

14,496 posts

202 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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Glad you are making progress. If your plugs are fine, I’d look at the APC valve next as it could be fuel cutoff ?

DanG355

Original Poster:

526 posts

200 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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Thanks the apc valve is easy to remove and definitely one of the easier fixes so I’ll check that first. The bolt mid definitely made a difference so could be more issues with the valve.

wormus

14,496 posts

202 months

Friday 12th October 2018
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Although the bolt mod technically has nothing to do with the valve. It’s a leak in one of the 2 valves in the Evap circuit giving incorrect atmos readings to the valve. Disconnecting it fixes the problem.