Tuning your Saab 9-3!

The Basics & Moving BINs

Here, I'm compiling information from various sources that I found useful in tuning my manual 2000 9-3 (OG) CV with a 2.0T B205L

Limitations

Your VIN -> Engine Info

8th letter of VIN:

Jargon

How to set up a P-Bus/CAN connection

For Saab 9-3s preceeding 2008 (I believe), the OBD port is missing the third one from the right on the top and sometimes the one below, which represent CAN+ and CAN Low.

The P-Bus, or powertrain bus, is connected to three main systems besides the ECU harness. If your Saab does not have TCS or ESP, you have to remove all of the front trim paneling to remove the instrument cluster (MIU). Once you do that, there will be a wiring harness with two connectors

On the first (left) connector, there are more wires and you must splice into the green and white wire, as depicted below, and run a 16 gauge twisted pair down into the footwell.

From there, you add connectors to your OBD port. I chose to add a 1 female to 3 male OBD splitter and just have male ISO pins plug in my wires for ease of removal.

What do I need to start flashing my ECU?

I have everything! What to do now?

After you have all of your hardware, software, and drivers (not OBDWiz!), make a ECU backup!!!

  1. Plug in the battery charger* (reading is safe to do without one, but ALWAYS have for flashing), ensure a stable connection, and connect the OBDLink SX cable to your fitted OBD port.
  2. Plug the OBDLink cable into your laptop and start TrionicsCANFlasher
  3. Select settings, enable P-bus Only, select your cable's COM port and OBDLink SX, and set the baudrate to 2Mbit
  4. Put your keys in the ignition and switch it from LOCK -> ON -> OFF to ensure the ECU is on
  5. Click "Read ECU Info". This should initiate a K-line/KWP connection and list off your VIN, Immob code, etc. if all is well. I reccomend saving this information
  6. Click "Read ECU" and select a directory to save the BIN to; going over CAN is slow, but the file should either be 512KB or 1MB once you're done

unfinished from here on out, but writing this here in case needed in the meantime

Validating BINs

In T7 Suite, make sure that the Checksum is verified (otherwise, it'll be a faulty write) and that the VIN and immobilizer codes match your original (otherwise, the car won't start due to anti-theft)

Flashing!

Now that you have a BIN to flash that you validated through T7Suite, you can try flashing!

  1. Plug in the battery charger, ensure a stable connection, and connect the OBDLink SX cable to your fitted OBD port.
  2. Plug the OBDLink cable into your laptop and start TrionicsCANFlasher
  3. Select settings, enable P-bus Only, select your cable's COM port and OBDLink SX, and set the baudrate to 2Mbit
  4. Put your keys in the ignition and switch it from LOCK -> ON -> OFF to ensure the ECU is on
  5. Click "Read ECU Info". This should initiate a K-line/KWP connection and list off your VIN, Immob code, etc. if all is well
  6. Click "Flash ECU" and select your binary; it should give directions (turn key ON, then LOCK [Leave it in there until safely finished or else it may fail]) and begin to flash and write off sets of hex codes

    7. IF IT FAILS, DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR CAR, AS THAT MAY BRICK YOUR ECU AND REQUIRES A BDM CONNECTION TO FIX. Instead, unplug and plug back in the cable and attempt again.

  7. Once the flash finishes (avg. 26 minutes for me), don't start the car yet. Unplug your cable, take out the key, and pop the hood
  8. Unplug the charger and the negative terminal of the battery and wait 10 seconds in order to clear ECU flash codes. Plug back in (many guides recommend just removing fuse 17 for the ECU, but that doesn't work for me)
  9. Put key into ignition. Move it to ON for 10-30s in order to let it self-check, then back to lock. Now, you can safely start your car!

Issues I've Had and Solutions

Resources

this page is informational--any reccomendations are without profit. Take caution with any actions, as you are the sole one responsible. Feel free to contact me as per my contact on sciencesid.dev

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