Saab 93 traction control failure error, stranded in Derry

Akrasia

I have a 04 Saab 93 1.8t petrol

I’m in Derry now bringing my daughter to a gymnastics competition. The car drove from Clare to Derry without any problems at all but when I went to start it this morning the car says ‘checking’ like it always does and then an error ‘traction control failure, contact service’ appears and the car refuses to start. Engine won’t even try to turn

I called the breakdown helpline and they sent out a mechanic but all he did was try to jump start it and hit the starter motor with a pole in case it was seized

Neither worked so I think I’m screwed. I did some googling and it could be related to bad wiring or an ECU failure. I’ve checked the fuses that relate to the ECU but they seem ok.

Will probably have to get it towed to a garage tomorrow, does anyone have any ideas? Suggestions for a good mechanic in Derry?

73bc61lyohr0mu

Have you tried to disconnect the battery for an hour or so to see if that resets it? I had a 93 that would occasionally go into limp mode. I had to do that once or twice.

Akrasia

Giselle Helpless Designer wrote: »

Have you tried to disconnect the battery for an hour or so to see if that resets it? I had a 93 that would occasionally go into limp mode. I had to do that once or twice.

That’s a good idea. I’ll pick up a set of spanners today and give that a go

biko

If you have breakdown assistance they can't just come out, try a couple things, say "well that didn't work" and leave.
What did they or your insurer say was next step?

Akrasia

biko wrote: »

If you have breakdown assistance they can't just come out, try a couple things, say "well that didn't work" and leave.
What did they or your insurer say was next step?

I called them back when the breakdown guy left. The car is parked safely until Monday and there are no garages open on Sundays so they’ll tow it on Monday morning and then if they cant fix it quickly, they’ll cover a hire car to get us home and pay for transport to bring us back to collect the car when it’s repaired. Hopefully this battery trick will work when I get a chance to try it

Akrasia

Giselle Helpless Designer wrote: »

Have you tried to disconnect the battery for an hour or so to see if that resets it? I had a 93 that would occasionally go into limp mode. I had to do that once or twice.

I did this and left the battery disconnected for over an hour this evening and when I reconnected it unfortunately it didn’t fix the fault

dingding

https://www.saabcentral.com/threads/traction-control-failure-contact-service-problem.565410/

If you read down - Problem solved. ECU was surrounded with a lot of dirt and moisture. Thanks for help

mondeo

Nice car, sorry your stuck in Derry. Pain in the balls a traction control error stops the car from starting. Maybe play around with the wiring coming out of the ECU, disconnect the plug and re insert it, if it's accessible.

dingding

https://www.saabscene.com/forum/threads/146554-Saab-9-3-Wont-Turn-Over-Traction-Control-Failure-2007


Hi Yes I have had this problem, being an ex Vauxhall master tech I found it quite easy to fix, this is what I did,

disconnect the battery, remove the left block connecter from the engine ecu the wire you are looking for Is In pin 72 Its brown and white, cut this and solder in a new wire to the ecu, refit the connecter, then feed the wire to the front electrical centre which is by the battery, removel the fuse and relay panel, underneath this you will find three large block connecters, the front one houses pin/ wire number 6 again brown/white, cut this wire and solder your new wire in from the engine ecu, then fit every-thing back and all should be ok

RINO87

If you can get the car to ballybofey there are some very good Saab guys there. Check out Saab spares Ireland on Google. Top lads.

Akrasia

RINO87 wrote: »

If you can get the car to ballybofey there are some very good Saab guys there. Check out Saab spares Ireland on Google. Top lads.

Thanks for all the help everyone. A taxi driver recommended an auto electrician nearby so I’ll give him a call at 9 and pass on these comments to him

dingding

Any joy, are you on the road again

Akrasia

dingding wrote: »

Any joy, are you on the road again

Not yet.
The auto electrician wouldn’t take the car, he said he didn’t have time to look at it so I called around and found somewhere else and got it towed there

The mechanic hooked up his computer to the car and it took ages to connect to the car but when it did, he got a code relating to the immobilizer. I took my key apart and it looked like there was some corrosion on the circuit so I legged it into town to find a phone repair shop that could clean it up and repair any broken circuits if there were any

At this stage our AirBNB was already over stayed and the owner had new people arriving so we had to be out by two so I arranged a hire car picked it up, collected my family (half of whom) had picked up some kind of virus so they were pretty sick) got to the AirBNB at 1:45, drove back to the phone shop, (Mobile Medic on Carlisle Road, the guys in there were awesome, did their best to help and didn’t even charge me anything)

Drove back to the garage, tried the key and it didn’t work.

The mechanic said he was really busy and won’t have time to look at it until Thursday and then started talking about scrapping the car because of its age but I decided to drive the hire car home, I’ll post him up the spare key today and ask him to try it, if it works, great, if not, I’ll ask him to spend an hour testing the wiring on Thursday and if he can find the fault or bridge a relay to get it started I can drive it home, otherwise it’s game over for poor Saaby

circadian

Sorry if I'm late to the show but one of the lads in JK autos in Pennyburn knew his way around a Saab. That was many moons ago though.

You might struggle to get this fixed given the age and lack of expertise with Saab, which is a shame because I love me a Saab.

Edit. If you really want to get it fixed Ivan Wilson in Coleraine should be fit to do it but getting out there is the tricky part.

TheBoyConor

Car isn't worth shít. Don't mind messing around trying to get it going, only wasting your time. See if that garage will buy it off you for scrap value.

Cee-Jay-Cee

circadian wrote: »

Edit. If you really want to get it fixed Ivan Wilson in Coleraine should be fit to do it but getting out there is the tricky part.

Yeah Wilson Saab in Colraine would be the nearest Saab specialist to Derry. There’s a fella in Raphoe about 30km from Derry that was the head mechanic in Mulroy Saab dealers before Saab shut up shop. He actually bought all the Saab diagnostic equip etc when the dealership closed however I’m not sure if he still works at cars. I’ll pm you his number, worth a phone call to him at least.

Truckermal

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Car isn't worth shít. Don't mind messing around trying to get it going, only wasting your time. See if that garage will buy it off you for scrap value.

What a horrible condescending post you have a rotting attitude.

Del2005

Truckermal wrote: »

What a horrible condescending post you have a rotting attitude.

Being realistic the car is worth a few hundred Euro. Getting it towed to a garage will cost as much as the car is worth before the mechanic starts to fault find, then the car will need parts. You'll soon have spent way more than the car is worth. I'm all for keeping old vehicles going but sometimes you have to cut your losses, the problem is that any replacement is a gamble.

Truckermal

Del2005 wrote: »

Being realistic the car is worth a few hundred Euro. Getting it towed to a garage will cost as much as the car is worth before the mechanic starts to fault find, then the car will need parts. You'll soon have spent way more than the car is worth. I'm all for keeping old vehicles going but sometimes you have to cut your losses, the problem is that any replacement is a gamble.

Fair enough I totally agree but that was mentioned above, but to jump in with such a sh1t comment after this person having such a crap weekend.

TheBoyConor

How is it a shít comment? it is just realistic.

Op is away in Northern Ireland, paying for Air BnBs and far away from his home. And I'm sure other committments that are taking a back seat now.
He could spend days and hundreds of euro there trying this and that and still not get it going and be down a thousand or more euros - and still no car. He should cut his losses.

I'm not saying the car ought to be crushed. What often happens here is that it is sold to a garage man for a hundred euros or so and then he, with the benefit of time and knowledge and the car not being urgently needed, can take it on as a project and research what can be done to repair it and hopefully succeed and be able to sell it on for a decent figure.

The op is not in a position to do this as it is so far from home and towing to Clare will cost a small fortune.

Akrasia

Del2005 wrote: »

Being realistic the car is worth a few hundred Euro. Getting it towed to a garage will cost as much as the car is worth before the mechanic starts to fault find, then the car will need parts. You'll soon have spent way more than the car is worth. I'm all for keeping old vehicles going but sometimes you have to cut your losses, the problem is that any replacement is a gamble.

You're right about potentially 'throwing good money after bad' and financially it makes very little sense to spend a lot of money repairing or recovering this car

I do like it though, apart from this electrical fault, it's running perfectly and it would be nice to keep it going for a while longer

If its just the key and the spare works, or it's something the mechanic can spot quickly and (like a broken wire or connector) than I'm willing to give it a try. I'll be back in Derry in 2 days to return the rental car regardless and I'd rather drive home in it than get the bus (not that I can even get a bus to Ennis from Derry after 11am, I'd still have to get a lift from Galway)

RINO87

Did you try Saab spares Ireland? They guys are Saab experts with all the diagnostic equipment and spare parts you need.

Akrasia

RINO87 wrote: »

Did you try Saab spares Ireland? They guys are Saab experts with all the diagnostic equipment and spare parts you need.

I’ll give them a call tomorrow and see what they have to say

Mad_Mike

Definitely try Anthony Jordan in Saab Spares. They are about 30 miles away, but if it can be sorted, they will sort it for sure

Dia_Anseo_Aris

If sold in the north would an 04 Saab get any VRT rebate?

Del2005

Dia_Anseo_Aris wrote: »

If sold in the north would an 04 Saab get any VRT rebate?

They keep back €500 so doubtful.