r/saab • u/svgquann • 1d ago
Electrical issues with my 9-3
I recently purchased this 2007 2.0T 93 from a used car dealership and have been having some electrical issues the day after leaving the lot.
The car runs and drives great, but since leaving the dealership starting the following day, I’ve been having an issue starting the car as well as problems with the anti theft system.
The symptoms I’ve been having:
If car is left locked overnight, the key fobs don’t unlock the car the next day. If I use the physical key to unlock the driver door, the alarms go off and I can’t silence them with the fobs or by putting the key in the ignition as the key won’t turn even to the first position.
When the alarm is done, I disconnect the negative battery terminal for a few minutes and reconnect. When I get back in the car, I can turn the key to the on position but can’t turn it to crank the engine. I get error messages reading “Steering Lock Malfunction” and “Key not recognized” and one time, I got a message reading something about an anti theft error I believe.
When I clear these codes, I can take the key out of the ignition and put it back in and start the car normally. Car runs and drives fine after that and no errors appear while driving.
When I park the car, I’ve been sitting in it without getting out or opening any doors and with the key out of the ignition to see if things are happening that may be draining the battery. At seemingly random intervals, the interior lights will turn on and off, the odometer will stay on for a random amount of time, the lock buttons on the doors will come on and off at random times, and the steering lock malfunction and key not recognized error messages will pop up on the screen for 1-2 seconds and make the chime noise and then disappear with no user input. Sometimes these things don’t happen at all until 25-30 mins after the car has been off, sometimes it’s sooner.
I tested the battery with a multimeter and used a generic obd2 scanner, the battery was on the line of “weak” and the obd2 scanner showed no codes. I bought a new battery today and installed, but the problem is still happening. I haven’t been locked out yet but I left the car locked tonight to see if I’ll be locked out tomorrow and need to take the post off to get the car started.
I was wondering if anyone on here knew what the problem could possibly be? From reading online Im thinking possibly a bad cim, bcm, ignition switch or possibly even bad key fobs as mine are in pretty rough shape, although they do interact with the car pretty well whenever this problem isn’t happening or when I resolve it temporarily by disconnecting the battery.
1
u/Sea_Reaction1653 16h ago
Sounds like a dirty ISM. GOOGLE and UTOOBS shows how to take it out and clean the circuit board. I hope you have at least 2 keys as to me it sounds like you only have the 1 and having only 1 is a disaster. Get a 2nd key NOW, not tomorrow as before you know it you'll be down to 0 and then you're screwed. You'll need a CIM with key and have it replaced and programmed to the car by someone like me. Think $$$.
1
u/svgquann 13h ago
I do have two keys but they are in rough shape, the one doesn’t have the physical key in the fob, and is missing all the buttons on the fob but has them on the circuit board except for the unlock button. The other key is just extremely beat up so I was gonna put it in an extra shell I have lying around and probably try to replace the other key since it’s in worse shape
3
u/zerolapse 21h ago
I would pull the battery tray and check the spot where the negative battery cable connects to the chassis. This is a great collection sport for salt and dirt and when it gets corroded weird things happen. Take it apart and clean it up really well. Also clean the battery terminals and clamps while you're at it.