Saab 9-3 Installation Instructions Manual
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2003‐2009 Saab 9‐3 Remote Starter Installation Instructions
First off let me say that I assume NO responsibility for you damaging your vehicle during this
installation process. This should be attempted only by persons familiar with electronics who are
comfortable modifying circuit boards and soldering small wires onto small surface mounted
components. If you don't have a DMM (Digital Multi‐Meter) and a good fine tipped soldering
iron, do not attempt this. I highly suggest you purchase a used ISM (Ignition Switch Module)
from a junkyard so that you can always replace your original one if needed. They are around
$75 and are backwards compatible from 2003‐2009. I also highly suggest you obtain a copy of
the WIS DVD for the Saab 9‐3. These are available on EBAY for about $30. This will give you
instructions on how to remove the ISM as well as the correct wire colors and pin‐outs for your
model year. Please read all instructions before beginning.
Once you have your spare ISM (or original one if you're brave), open it. Use small jewelers' flat‐
blade screwdrivers to release all of the clips. Inside there will be a circuit board along with outer
plastic pieces. Be careful not to lose the center spring which is under the key plunger. Onto the
circuit board. Gently remove the RFID coil antenna (black plastic ring) by squeezing the clips
while pulling it up and out of its socket. Now you need to cut the traces on the top and bottom
on the circuit board as shown in the pictures. Cut them where I have drawn the pink lines
across the trace. Use an exacto‐knife. Verify you have continuity before and then no continuity
after the cut. There are 4 traces to cut, 1 on the top of the circuit board and 3 on the bottom.
NOTE: The red wires along with cutting the trace next to the red wires are optional, but I
recommend them for security as the Saab CIM only checks the key's transponder code once
during key insertion. This means that after the car has been remote started, the ISM can be
turned with your thumb to the ON position and then driven away. Granted, a thief would still
need to break the window to get into the vehicle, but I liked the idea of extra security to
prevent anyone from stealing the vehicle. I have installed a secret switch which needs to be
pressed and held while turning the key from LOCK to OFF and then ON. This only needs to be
done while the remote starter is active. The ISM will function normally when the vehicle is not
running via the remote starter.
After all of the necessary traces have been cut; carefully solder the wires to the circuit board
using the pictures as a guide. Keep in mind when soldering the red and violet wires that you
need to be able to re‐attach the RFID coil antenna so it sits flat on the circuit board. Note that
the white wire needs to be soldered in 2 places. Also the orange and green wires pass through
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Summary of Contents for Saab 9-3
- Page 1 2003‐2009 Saab 9‐3 Remote Starter Installation Instructions First off let me say that I assume NO responsibility for you damaging your vehicle during this installation process. This should be attempted only by persons familiar with electronics who are comfortable modifying circuit boards and soldering small wires onto small surface mounted components. If you don’t have a DMM (Digital Multi‐Meter) and a good fine tipped soldering iron, do not attempt this. I highly suggest you purchase a used ISM (Ignition Switch Module) from a junkyard so that you can always replace your original one if needed. They are around $75 and are backwards compatible from 2003‐2009. I also highly suggest you obtain a copy of the WIS DVD for the Saab 9‐3. These are available on EBAY for about $30. This will give you instructions on how to remove the ISM as well as the correct wire colors and pin‐outs for your model year. Please read all instructions before beginning. Once you have your spare ISM (or original one if you’re brave), open it. Use small jewelers’ flat‐ blade screwdrivers to release all of the clips. Inside there will be a circuit board along with outer plastic pieces. Be careful not to lose the center spring which is under the key plunger. Onto the circuit board. Gently remove the RFID coil antenna (black plastic ring) by squeezing the clips while pulling it up and out of its socket. Now you need to cut the traces on the top and bottom on the circuit board as shown in the pictures. Cut them where I have drawn the pink lines across the trace. Use an exacto‐knife. Verify you have continuity before and then no continuity after the cut. There are 4 traces to cut, 1 on the top of the circuit board and 3 on the bottom. NOTE: The red wires along with cutting the trace next to the red wires are optional, but I recommend them for security as the Saab CIM only checks the key’s transponder code once during key insertion. This means that after the car has been remote started, the ISM can be turned with your thumb to the ON position and then driven away. Granted, a thief would still need to break the window to get into the vehicle, but I liked the idea of extra security to prevent anyone from stealing the vehicle. I have installed a secret switch which needs to be pressed and held while turning the key from LOCK to OFF and then ON. This only needs to be done while the remote starter is active. The ISM will function normally when the vehicle is not running via the remote starter. After all of the necessary traces have been cut; carefully solder the wires to the circuit board using the pictures as a guide. Keep in mind when soldering the red and violet wires that you need to be able to re‐attach the RFID coil antenna so it sits flat on the circuit board. Note that the white wire needs to be soldered in 2 places. Also the orange and green wires pass through ...
- Page 2 Next, construct the circuit that my schematic depicts. All of the parts are available at Radio Shack. The RFID coil can be made from any coated wire. 28AWG transformer wire will work well. I used 28AWG aluminum wire that I had lying around. 100 turns will work fine. Make sure that the tip of your spare key will fit inside the coil. Don’t make it too big either; you want the tip of the key to just fit inside. The spare key will be taped or tie‐wrapped inside the coil and the coil will be hidden up inside the dash so no one can easily get to it. The RS (Remote Starter) doesn’t need a lot of current because this car uses a low current digital ignition switch. So I hooked the RS’s power wires to a spare fuse in the IPEC 22. (fuse panel at left side on the dash) I removed the RS main 30 amp fuses and replaced them with 10 amp ones. The RS should also include a keyless entry feature. Without this you won’t be able to unlock the door when the RS is active. This is because the CIM ignores all keyless entry requests from the factory transmitter when the ignition is on. Unfortunately because the entire car runs on a bus system, you will need to feed wires into the driver door to access the lock/unlock and trunk release wires; unless of course you can find an aftermarket I‐BUS interface for a Saab 9‐3. Good Luck! You can also purchase a RS with keyless entry and an alarm if you want even more security. I used the Avital 4103 which has keyless entry. You can get one on EBAY for about $50. Use the WIS to find the wires and connectors for the parking lights, door locks, trunk release, brake light switch, hood switch, (if you have a factory alarm) etc. Follow the instructions that came with the RS to hook up these wires. You will only use the IGN #1, IGN #2, and START outputs on the RS. You will not need the ACC output. Connect these wires to your newly created circuit board. Also connect the wires you previously soldered to the ISM circuit board to your new circuit board. I highly suggest using plug/jack connectors so things can be removed easily for testing/troubleshooting. With any luck when you hook everything up it will work. If it doesn’t work, you’ll need basic electronic troubleshooting skills to find the problem. I have it working on a 2008 Saab 9‐3 Turbo X with the B284R 2.8T V6 engine with an automatic transmission. I didn’t fake the module wake up (prepare to start) signal as the B284R engine/ECM will start just fine without it. Other engines/ECMs may need this signal. It is used primarily to prime the fuel pump. On this engine the fuel rail remains under pressure while the engine is off and the pump can almost instantly supply the required pressure to the rail anyhow. If your engine/ECM needs this signal, another wire will be required. ...
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Page 3: Operation
There are a few quirks as this car was never intended to have a remote starter system installed. If the factory alarm is set to full, the alarm will trip when the remote starter is activated but will cancel a half second later when the key is read. The horn beeps once for a split second and a message appears on the SID that the alarm was triggered. If you can’t deal with this you can change the factory alarm settings or just lock the doors with the RS remote and not the factory remote. OPERATION If the car is not running: Remote start the car with the RS remote. Once the car is running you can use the RS remote to unlock the driver’s door/all doors. Place the key in the ISM and notice you cannot turn it to OFF from LOCK. Press and hold the secret switch while turning the key to OFF from LOCK. Release the secret switch. Turn the key to ON. (If you didn’t install the red wires and cut that trace, you can just insert the key and turn it to ON) Press the brake pedal to disengage the RS module. (If you installed the red wires and cut that trace, but didn’t install a secret switch; you will need to shutdown the RS with the RS remote or by pressing the brake pedal. Then start the car normally with the key) (If you didn’t install the RS keyless entry function or your RS doesn’t have a keyless entry option; you will need to shutdown the RS with the RS remote. Then the factory remote will be able to unlock the doors.) If the car is already running and you want to leave it running while you run into the store: Press the * key (Avital 4103) on the RS remote while the ignition key is still in the ON position. Wait a few seconds. Turn the key to OFF. Notice the key will not turn to LOCK. Press and hold the secret switch while turning the key to LOCK from OFF. Release the secret switch. Remove the key and exit the car. (If you didn’t install the red wires and cut that trace, you can just turn the key to LOCK and remove it and then exit the car) Lock the car with the RS remote. (If you installed the red wires and cut that trace, but didn’t install a secret switch; you will not be able to turn the KEY to LOCK or remove it; so do not use this feature of the RS.) (If you didn’t install the RS keyless entry function or your RS doesn’t have a keyless entry option; you will be able to use this feature, but you will not be able to lock the car, because the lock switch in the driver’s door will not lock the door while it is open.) ...
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