Bucking or jerking of vehicle and Blinking check engine light

[sgould]

Welcome!:)

I'm not sure that anyone can be sure of a diagnostic from your description, but I'm suspicious of what may have been done to the car.  A fully functioning Aero should not have a turbo gauge going into the red.  The needle should get to the orange/red boundary. 

But, the gauge is not a real gauge anyway.  It doesn't read boost directly.  It's an electronic gauge that shows something that Saab call "engine load".  It can be programmed by a Saab garage ith a Saab "Tech2" diagnostic computer to read whatever you want it to, but as it's cosmetic, it doesn't matter.

Is your garage a Saab specialist?  If so they should have a Tech2 and will be able to read all the stored error codes, including the special Saab ones and not just the generic OBD ones that you can read with a generic code reader.

[handjammer]

Thanks for replying. The gauge previously did reach that orange/red boundary but now goes way beyond. Interesting, also too that when I get the jerking motion there is no engine check light staying on, it just blinks sometimes.

I have just bought an OBD2 reader in the hope this will give me more info, and I hope (but I've no idea) that it will include some Saab specific codes to point me in the right direction.

My garage isn't a Saab specialist, just a generic, albeit good, garage. The other issue is that I live in Germany, and my German isn't fantastic! Saab here are absolutely extortionate - they wanted 1400 euros, plus tax at 20 per cent, just for one xenon headlight!

So, is there any point in checking the turbo actuator? All the mechanic did was to put some silicon-type stuff around the top pipe, as he was able to pull it in and out easily, and he said it should be a snug fit.  As I say, after that I am able to get far more umph, but I'm starting to think this will damage the engine. Lovely car, but both a blessing and a curse!

[handjammer]

Forgot to say, when I was replacing the hoses, I noticed that the white valve hose under the crankcase cover has broken. I've bodged it for now, but would that not be helping either? What effect would this have?

I will obviously replace it in due course, along with the exhaust, wing mirror, etc etc...

If I didn't laugh about it, I might well cry!!

[sgould]

The white valve at the back of the 2004 engine seems to break often.  Mine has been replaced.  The valve comes already fixed to the heat shrunk rigid plastic hose.  It costs about £25 in the UK.  The bottom connector is a quick release type that you squeeze at the sides and pull off.  Usually easier said than done. When mine broke there was no engine light.

A flashing engine light is a sign of an "engine damaging condition" according to Saab. But these should generate a code.

I have a generic code reader.  It can lead you in the general direction of a fault.

One of the issues with Saabs as they age is perished vacuum hoses.  You could try spraying some carb cleaner or Easistart carefully near the line and if there's a leak the engine note will change.

Tell us the codes and let's see what they tell us.

[sgould]

If you need parts, have you tried UK secondhand parts?  There are several specialist Saab breakers who will send to Europe.

You could try Salvo in Ilkeston,  or Neo Brothers in Waltham Cross.  m5_saabcentre are on eBay.

Also there are others who will send new parts.  Mikeloadsofsaabs on here is in Austria and uses Turners Hill Garage near Crawley.  They also sell on eBay as "thgparts".  There is also www.euro-saab-parts-direct.com

Whereabouts in Germany are you? 

[handjammer]

I'm in the north, near Bremen. I've seen the Saab parts dealers you've mentioned, as parts from the main dealer are astronomical. I picked up a secondhand exhaust manifold from ebay for £30, and paid £60 or so to have it changed over here. Saab in York quoted me over a grand - yeah right!

I'm waiting for the reader to arrive in the post,  I'll connect it and see what it says, and then report back.

Until then, please accept my sincere thanks for your help and advice.

Cheers.

[sgould]

I'm still a bit worried by the gauge going up so far.  Do you know he history of the car?  I wonder if a previous owner put a poor engine remap on it? 

[mikeloadsasaabs]

Handjammer, it might be worth registering on a German-based Saab forum, e.g. http://www.saab-cars.de/forum.php. Even if your German isn't brilliant, most of them speak English. You might find a local Saabite who can recommend a Saab specialist somewhere near. I joined an Austrian one, and have made a friend and found a relatively local trusted specialist. There are also online parts specialists, e.g. http://www.schwedenteile.de/ and http://www.skandix.de/en/, both of whom have English-language websites.  Lastly, for quite a few suspension parts, you can get them from a GM dealer - the suspension is essentially from a Vectra B. They know me at the local GM garage! Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs, but thought this might help.

Also, I have a copy of the EPC parts manual on my desktop, which is great as firstly, you can switch it to German to find out the name of the part you want, and secondly, print out a diagram so that you can point & grunt at the bit you want!! 

My German isn't amazing, and a trip to the garage is always interesting! I'm obviously nowhere near you, but feel free to PM me if I can help with anything. I speak a little Fahrzeug! 

[handjammer]

Gents, thank you both. I've seen the Skandix site before, it looks good, and thanks for the German links, that's really helpful.

With what sgould said earlier about the boost being too high, that is making me wonder about it being remapped too. How could I check? Unfortunately I don't know the history of the car; when I bought it there was only a little bit of service history with it, however I saw from the service book it's been done every 8000 miles or so, and so was happy to proceed with the purchase. I've had a 900 before, loved it, and was always looking out for an Aero. If only I'd known the ensuing pain...

I'm more than sure that this won't be cheap to fix, but I have the bit between my teeth now!

[sgould]

If you can't find a used Xenon headlamp.  Euro Saab Parts direct do the Xenon units for £375 + VAT plus P&P.  Left hand drive or right hand drive.

[handjammer]

Hello again.

My code reader has arrived and I ran it through the car, and it came up with code P1302, which after a bit of Internet search-ery tells me that it is a cylinder 2 misfire. After reading all the various diagnoses I think my DIC must be at fault, even though it and the plugs are only 6 months old.

My wife drove it the other day and she said it was shuddering slightly at low speeds, but fine under gentle acceleration. I don't notice it, I suppose being the main driver of the car I'm used to it.

My non-expert opinion is the DIC, any other thoughts please?

Thanks all.

[Audax]

My code reader has arrived and I ran it through the car, and it came up with code P1302, which after a bit of Internet search-ery tells me that it is a cylinder 2 misfire. After reading all the various diagnoses I think my DIC must be at fault, even though it and the plugs are only 6 months old.

DI is a likely culprit here, when you say that the DIC and plugs are only 6 months old, was it a genuine Saab DIC that was fitted? After market ones are very often passed off as genuine and generally fail after 6 months and did you make sure that the plugs were NGK PFR6H10, not anything that is compatible with that, they must be genuine Saab plugs. The other options are that it is an air mass fault (split hose after the AMM) or a wiring problem or possibly something like a head gasket failure but getting into realms of what else it could be isn't really helpful right now. The obvious things it could be are DIC and plugs so check that they are the correct genuine Saab items.

[handjammer]

Hi Audax,

It's not a genuine Saab DI, not sure of the make. I'm going to order a new, genuine one tomorrow- is the correct part number 55559955 do you know?

In the last couple of days the shuddering which my wife mentioned to me has become worse, so I hope the new coil pack will sort it out. Also, as my plugs are only 6 months old would it be necessary to change them for new ones?

[stevetreacy]

Hi,

You are correct with the part number


steve

[Audax]

It's not a genuine Saab DI, not sure of the make. I'm going to order a new, genuine one tomorrow- is the correct part number 55559955 do you know?

In the last couple of days the shuddering which my wife mentioned to me has become worse, so I hope the new coil pack will sort it out. Also, as my plugs are only 6 months old would it be necessary to change them for new ones?

Yes, that's the right part number. I might be tempted to put in new plugs, at least pull the old ones to see what state they are in and make sure they are the correct NGK plugs.