Permission Granted - Saab 9000 collected - It's cool

[dollywobbler]

Balls. Appears that it is the temp switch that's at fault. Guess that'll be the first bit to order! By-passing the thermo-switch equals fan action.

[wuvvum]

 

[ashmicro]

This?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Saab-9000-Radiato ... 1c1a64e2dd

 

 

Or I'll post you 10 of these!

 

[dollywobbler]

Nope. It's a two-wire switch. There seems to be a few different types just for fun, and they don't seem cheap either (though I s'pose it's less than a replaced head gasket...)

[Mr_Bo11ox]

That looks absolutley cracking Wobblah man. A great find! I would be supa chuffed to have that on my driveway, its great. on ebay there must be 20 later 9000's for every flat face one, yet the flat face is much better looking I reckon.

[scooters]

what about fitting one of those in hose switches you get with Kenlowe fans - really easy you wire up the switch and undo the top hose - slip a gasket ring over the radiator joint that is supplied with the switch ensuring the wires don't spoil the seal - plop the switch in the upper pipe and put the hose back on. so the fan now takes its sensor from the rad hose - realy simple - Kenlowe sell the switch. I've fitted them in the past rather than fixed the oem unit

[dollywobbler]

New switch ordered now. I'd rather do it properly as I'm keen to keep it nice rather than turn it into a bodge-fest. The 2CV can retain that title.

 

Frustrated by the inability to source a switch locally (ooh we don't list one, said the motor factors) I replaced one of the headlamp wiper blades by ripping up an old 2CV windscreen wiper. The headlamp wiper is over half the length of a 2CV windscreen one...

 

Had to do without the metal strengthener, but the blade is so short I can't see it mattering. Adjusted the metal of the blade to grip the rubber and it works perfectly. That's £20 (yes, £20 for genuine headlamp wiper blades!) saved. Glad I don't throw away knackered wiper blades now...

 

Big question of the day is do I replace the Kenwood cassette player with my modern MP3 player? (that had started getting a bit skippy last time I used it in the BX). A part of me is still gutted about not getting the Volvo instead. That had a graphic equaliser!!

[Alexg]

This Saab looks great. Well done indeed

[dollywobbler]

Have been out for a slightly-nervous drive today, given that the cooling fan still isn't working (a powerful heater fan is a boon in this situation!). This is such a nice car. A bit like a Merc, it doesn't really want to be hurried, but pulls nicely and handles well enough. Steering is too wooly to push it hard and it rolls a fair bit.

 

Went for another drive this evening and was thrilled to discover that even the seatbelt buckles have lights in them! Now there's attention to detail.

[Shep Shepherd]

Went for another drive this evening and was thrilled to discover that even the seatbelt buckles have lights in them! Now there's attention to detail.

 

The Volvo is similarly illuminated. TV2 isn't, however...

[dollywobbler]

Fishsticks. New fan switch fitted - fan still doesn't cut in. I've let it go three-quarters of the way up the gauge before panicking, putting the heater on and driving off to get the temp down again - can't believe it has to go that high before the fan cuts in. What next? I've bridged the connector to bypass the old switch and the fan cut in, which is why I replaced the switch. New one a dud?

[Richard]

Is the coolant circulating properly? It sounds like the switch isn't seeing water at engine temp. Either that or the gauge is wrong. I'll ask my friendly local Saab specialist when I get home.

[Rod/b]

Can't you take it out and test it? Rig up a test light through the switch and then stick it in a pan of cold water on the stove, see if the light ever comes on. You know, like they used to tell you test a thermostat rather than paying a fiver for a new one.

[dollywobbler]

Is the coolant circulating properly? It sounds like the switch isn't seeing water at engine temp. Either that or the gauge is wrong. I'll ask my friendly local Saab specialist when I get home.

 

That's a scary thought but it must be or I'd be getting overheating on the move too. It only gets hot when you expect it to - when you're idling for a long time.

 

Not sure about rigging up a test. I don't actually have a spanner capable of removing the switch from the rad (a local-ish garage fitted it for £3!). I presume there should be some way of measuring the resistance across the switch while it's still fitted, but when I tried measuring it, my multimeter just maxed out. I've not used it to measure ohms before.

[Rod/b]

Sounds about right, resistance would be 100% (i.e. OFF) when the engine is cold, and 0% when it's hot (ON) Only real way to tell whether the switch is operating or not is to either wire up the multimeter and leave the car running to see when the meter registers a drop in resistance, or do the test on a bench. Problem with the first method is you'd have the same effect by watching for the fan to start, by which time it could have boiled up.

[scooters]

I presume you8 have checked the power supply to the fan, the condition of the fuse and the condition of the earth - I always used to have this ssue with a 15 year old ford - the connector between the power supply and the fan was aged and the plastic plug not making a reliable seal....

 

go for the in hose switch - much more reliable as it takes the temp from the water rather than eing influlenced by the radiator! Bodge indeed! It's a quality afer market modification!

[dollywobbler]

Power supply is fine. Again, I've just bridged the wires to bypass the switch and the fan kicked straight in. An in-line sensor is an option, but I'll try some resistance checks on the new switch first.

[dollywobbler]

Resistance checks inconclusive. Probably because I don't know what I'm doing. Get a reading on the multimeter when it's cold. Just maxes straight out when hot. There's a live feed to the switch - when I earth this, I get the fan action. With the engine hot enough (I reckon) for the fan, I get 0 volts out the other side of the switch.

 

I'm satisfied that the pump is ok. Radiator stays cold until the 'stat opens and then the whole rad instantly gets hot with the incoming water.

 

Maybe an in-line sensor is the best plan. Fan switches certainly aren't cheap!

[M'coli]

You have the old swtich still? Try that to see if it works in boiling water - if your multimeter's digital the resistance should go from something like "1. " to "010/006/009" when it gets hot enough. The "1. " represents an open circuit/maximum resistance.

[dollywobbler]

Nope. I don't have the old one. Have even been back to the garage and they seem to have lost it (or rather tidied it up - they're not as messy as me). Furthermore, I still don't have a spanner big enough to remove the one now fitted to test it that way either. One thing is clear - I'd expect 12v out of the other side once the engine is hot. I'm not getting that, even with the gauge at 3/4 (as far as I'm willing to leave it). Jamming the multimeter temp sensor into the radiator fins, it's showing a temp of 85 degrees. Obviously that'll be cooler than the water temperature and I reckon the multimeter underreads, so I'm pretty sure that should be hot enough to trigger the fan.

 

Looks like I either order another fan switch or go for the in-line option.

[M'coli]

Some fans will only come on when the temperature reaches more than that - the Haynes for the 900 says cut-in is between 90 and 95, and cut-out at 85 to 90. Do you have access to stick the multimeter temperature probe in through the bottom hose, like a Kenlowe temperature sender?

 

Check the boot - I'm sure if the toolkit still has the Red Pliers they'll go wide enough to get the switch out.

[dollywobbler]

Thanks M'Coli. You're a true gent. Checked the toolkit - immaculate and unused, including gloves! Pulled out the switch and tested it in the kitchen. Fine. Had a quick chat on UKSaabs and it was suggested I back-flush the rad. Done that. Fan cuts in when gauge at 2/3rds, which seems about right. Sadly, I've created an air-lock and lost the heater so a bit more research before I'm done!

 

EDIT - sorted. It's self-bleeding, but getting the heater matrix below the level of the expansion tank is necessary to encourage all of the air out. Not really a problem to find a suitable hill in Wales!

[dollywobbler]

Here's a pic of the tool-kit. Not exactly comprehensive, but utterly untouched. Yes, it even comes with good quality gloves!

 

The adjustable grips are an absolute joy. Far better than anything similar I've ever owned. Beautifully engineered.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

The toolkit is grand compared to most 'modern' cars, where you have to use your own tools for anything more than changing the wheel.

[warren t claim]

Are you keeping the Metrocab Coupe?

[M'coli]

So you'd never checked the toolkit on the 900? That explains why they're still in the boot*! The toolkits even appear on eBay! Each part of it does more than one job - the plug spanner has the correct size box spanner at the other end for removing the sparkplug cover.

 

 

 

*This will be getting removed if the car goes over the bridge.

[dollywobbler]

Never knew it was there M'coli. Not that I ever had cause to use it with that car. The 900 just went where I wanted it to.

[Richard]

My Volvo has a similar toolkit, complete with gloves. IIRC Ladas came with more tools than a Snap-On van.

[Volksy]

These are great cars, this one looks in great condition.

 

It's very similar to my first one, a '85 C plate 9000i, bought for £400 and ran for a couple of years, only thing it ever needed was tyres and an exhaust. Sold it when I moved abroad. My Second one was the slightly face lifted '92 J plate 9000S, which was bought again for £400, I bought it with a failed clutch slave cylinder, which as I soon learnt is a bitch of a job to do. The box has to come out, which means dropping the subframe (although Saab kindly hinge the subframe in the middle to make it slightly easier) ended up doing the job twice though as the first cylinder (from GSF) was faulty Sadly the gearbox failed after a bumpstart, so it ended up getting scrapped

 

I do like all the little details on them, like the rear reading lamps in the C pillar, the extremely comfy seats, massive boot....

[dollywobbler]

Are you keeping the Metrocab Coupe?

 

Sorry, missed this. Am keeping the Scimitar. In fact, I'll be using it to hurtle around for Drive It Day this weekend. Needs a few jobs sorting still, but I'll get there.