A:  H7 lamps have, unfortunately, a rather short life.

According to a technical spokesperson at Osram the expected life for a standard quality H7 lamp is 550 to 600 hours. A high quality high output ("+30%" or "+50%") H7 lamp is 250 to 300 hours. For a headlight lamp with the nominal voltage of 12V the lamps performance is measured at the test voltage of 13.2V as specified by ECE R37, Economic Commission for Europe, European Common Market Regulation 37. A cheap low quality H7 lamp of suspect origin may have an even shorter life (and most likely a bad geometry as well). A voltage that is 5% higher (13.9V) than the test voltage will reduce the expected life by approximately 50%. On the other hand, a voltage that is 5% lower (12.5V) than the test voltage will increase the expected life by approximately 50%. It is very bad for the lamps to reduce the voltage too much as the halide cycle will stop if the temperature of the quartz enclosure isn't high enough. If the halide cycle stops then vaporised tungsten from the filament will be deposited on the inside of the quartz enclosure instead of being redeposited on the filament. Deposited tungsten will darken the enclosure just like it did on the glass enclosure of old non-halogen lamps.

It is not uncommon for modern cars to have a voltage that is close to 14V with its associated reduction in lamp lifetime. As the low beam is constantly on, due to safety reasons, the available hours quickly pass by.

The life of automotive lamps are characterized by

B₃

Number of hours when 3% of the lamps are non-functioning.

B₁₀

Number of hours when 10% of the lamps are non-functioning. Common in the US.

B₅₀

Number of hours when 50% of the lamps are non-functioning. Also know as "average life".

T_c

Number of hours when 63.2% of the lamps are non-functioning.

The following table is based on data published by Osram.

The following table is based on the above data and translated into distances driven at:

• Mostly highway driving (average speed 75km/h, 47mph)
• Mostly city driving (average speed 40km/h, 25mph)

Remember that there is no guarantee that a lamp will survive T_c hours as T_c is defined to be the point where 63.2% of the lamps are dead.

I have made a relatively simple modification to my 9⁵ that reduces the voltage to the low beams (10.9V) when the light switch is in the left position (DRL) and gives them full voltage (13.5V) in the right position. At the moment I use Osram SilverStar lamps (light="+50%" and T_c=250h) and have just replaced the first pair after 3,5 years and 57200 km (35700 miles). Descriptions available on the information page.

A:  No

There is no intensity adjustments at all in the headlight circuits. I have added a lower intensity Daylight Running Lights to my 9⁵ Descriptions available on the information page.

A:  Manufacturers claim that Xenon HID, High Intensity Discharge, lamps are designed to last the life of the car.

Published data from Osram gives 2000 hours as the expected life of the Xenon lamps, but the life is very dependent on the number, and length, of power cycles. The 2000 hours number assumes 120 minute power cycles. Driving around with low beam on constantly (as we do with DRL in more and more countries) means that we have to replace Xenon lamps now and then, or buy a new car after 2000 hours of driving. :-/

Valeo, the manufacturer of the Saab 9⁵ BiXenon lamps, claim 2500 hours service life compared to 500 hours for standard halogen lamps.

I guess this will be clearer in the future when the existing Xenon lamp installations accumulates some more hours.

As the Xenon lamps use special drive electronics they will not suffer varied life length due to voltage variations. Instead they will suffer each time they are turned on. Bad news for drivers with many short trips.

A:  Only if you are prepared to buy expensive parts and do a lot of modifications.

There is more parts than the lamps that must be upgraded. At least the following items must be replaced/added:

• Headlight asymbly with lens, movable shutter, and auto-levelling machanism.
• Xenon bulb.
• Xenon bulb starter and drive electronics.
• Auto-levelling electronics.
• Auto-levelling sensors.
• Lots of wires.
• Calibration of the auto-levelling using a TECH 2 instrument.

The headlight wipers has to go as well. The Xenon lights require clear plastic lenses, and the plastic lenses gets scratched by wipers, so the wipers has to be replaced by high pressure washers.

A:  The DI cassette/cartridge sometimes breaks down, just like other parts of a car.

The DI (Direct Ignition) cassette/cartridge replaces the distributor, distributor cap, points, ignition wires, and ignition coil used in older cars. The cassette contains one ignition coil for each sparkplug and some electronic components.

The DI cassette contains electronics that use the sparkplugs as sensors detecting the degree of ionization during combustion. This is used the Trionic engine management computer to control the fuel and ignition parameters for each cylinder individually and to detect engine knocking.

Saab has used these DI cassettes since 1988 and the design has improved over the years. The location of the cassette has some important advantages but the environment (high temperature, large temperature changes and vibration) is a nightmare for the components inside the DI cassette. I have measured 80°C (176°F) on the top surface of the black DI cassette in my 9⁵.

The failure rate of the DI cassettes is much lower now, but I think it is reasonable to view it as a wear item, just like the distributor cap, points, and ignition wires used in traditional designs.

It is easy to replace the DI cassette. Just unplug the connector on the side of the DI cassette (pull out the red part of the connector to release it), remove the four Torx screws, and lift the cassette. Insert new cassette, tighten Torx screws, plug in the connector (push in the red part of the connector to lock it).

The cassette for Trionic 8 (9³ss, model year 2003) has been split into five modules, one for each sparkplug and a one Combustion Detection Module (CDM) located outside of the engine. This will likely improve reliability, but the cost has gone up.

 Cassette types

There are several types of DI cassettes.

• Red cassette, for four sparkplugs, with a cable tail. This one is for old 9000 cars with DI/APC.
• Red cassette, for four sparkplugs, without a cable tail. This one is for 9000 with DI/APC or Trionic 5 and for 900 and 9³ with Trionic 5. Can be used in old 9000 cars if an adapter cable is used.
• Blue cassette, a red cassette painted blue, and with parts of the metal cut out, for use by workshops as a test tool.
• Black cassette, for four sparkplugs, without a cable tail. This one is for 2.0L and 2.3L 9⁵ and 9³ with Trionic 7.
  • The version used on MY1998 and MY1999 T7 cars (TK 3.4, part number 91 87 980) should not be used on MY2000, and later, T7 cars.
  • The version used on MY2000, and later, T7 cars (TK 3.6, part number 91 97 559 or 30 583 218) can be used on MY1998 and MY1999 T7 cars.
• Green cassette, a black cassette painted green, and with parts of the metal cut out, for use by workshops as a test tool.
• Blank aluminium/aluminum cassette, for three sparkplugs, without a cable tail. This one is for 3.0L 9⁵ and is used in pairs, one for each cylinder bank.
• Black cassette, for one sparkplug. This one is for MY2003, and later, 2.0L 9³ with Trionic 8 and four cassettes are needed. A Combustion Detection Module (CDM) is placed on the flywheel side of the engine. The cassettes are below a blank aluminium/aluminum lid.

Do not try to use a red cassette in a car with Trionic 7. Do not try to use a black cassette in a car with Trionic 5.

 Some tips how to reduce the risk of a broken DI cassette

• Never, absolutely never, run the DI cassette upside down for testing. The transformer oil inside the coils will flow away from the coils and they will overheat. This will damage the cassette.
• Never, absolutely never, run the DI cassette without sparkplugs. This will damage the cassette.
• Don't place the DI cassette upside down when removing it to get access to the sparkplugs. If you did put it upside down you have to drink a cup of tea after mounting it, but before starting the engine. This will allow time for the transformer oil to flow back to where it is supposed to be.
• Use the specified NGK sparkplug. The R in BCPR and PFR is important, it indicates that the sparkplug has a resistor in it. Using non-R sparkplugs with a DI cassette will damage the cassette.
• Use the specified NGK sparkplug. Never use weird sparkplug designs with two, three, or fourtytwo spark gaps as they may damage the cassette or produce weird ionization measurements that will cause trouble for the Trionic engine management.

 Recall of DI cassettes in Saab 9⁵ and 9³

2005-09-29: Saab is recalling all Saab 9⁵ and 9³ model years 2000, 2001 and 2002 with petrol engines because the DI cassette can fail. A new version of the DI (version 3.6) was introduced with model year 2000 models, so the recall must be for DI version 3.6 manufactured between the fall of 1999 and 2002.

A:  You did not test the brakes.

The Cruise Control does not engage unless it has seen the brake signal from the brake pedal at least once since ignition on. This is a safety feature and was not an issue as long as the TEST BRAKES request was shown on the SID, but if that request has been disabled (by a dealer on early cars) or at the factory (on later cars) then sometimes, depending on driving conditions, the Cruise Control will not engage as the brakes have not been used before the first attempt to engage the Cruise Control.

A:  No.

The Trionic 5 engine management system with the red DI cassette/cartridge uses a burst of sparks after engine shut off to clean the spark plugs. This has made some people claim that the buzzing sound that, is heard in some 9-5 after the engine is shut down, is caused by the DI cassette/cartridge cleaning the spark plugs. This is false information, the Trionic 7 engine management system with the black DI cassette/cartridge does not perform this spark plug cleaning.

The buzzing sound in the 9-5 is caused by something else, probably the expansion valve in the air conditioning or the closing of the ACC air recirculation flap.

A:  Perhaps.

This common problem, for model years 1998 to 2003, is due to a connection between the electronics printed circuit board and the flexible printed circuit film (polyamide) leading to the LCD display. The connection is done using conductive epoxy and can go intermittent or open due to climate and/or vibration issues.

Saab knows about the problems with the SID and has, at least here in Sweden, reduced the price of SID units and extended its goodwill. Talk nicely to your dealer and they might give you a new SID for free (even after the warranty period), or sell you one at a reduced price.

If the dealer does not want to replace the SID and you know how to take stuff apart and put it back together again, then you can try to fix the SID yourself. Some 9⁵ owners have, on their home pages, documented different methods to fix the SID:

• Saab LCD Fix [This page is gone. I will try to get a version of my own up as soon as possible.]
• SID Panel Repair
• SID Repair Using Clothing Iron [This page is gone. I will try to get a version of my own up as soon as possible.]

The model year 2004 9⁵ has a different SID from a new manufacturer. Unfortunately this SID has a different connector and is not a plug in replacement for the old SID.