A few specific questions about '97 900 S... please help.

I bought a '97 Saab 900 S convertible in February with no owner's manual. It has just under 100k miles on it (bought it with about 96k). I eventually figured out the bright switch, CD changer, bizarre cupholder, and other quirks but there are a few things I have yet to understand.

-PLEASE tell me, what does the "S" button on the shifter do?? I know it lights up and says "SPORT" but other than that what purpose does it serve.

-Why does my odometer/tripometer 'scramble' when I go over a really intense bump (or sometimes for no reason at all?) It usually returns to normal after a while but is that indicitive of a larger problem?

-My driver's side windshield washer fluid 'pistol' (mounted on the hood) is horribly clogged. The only thing that seems to work is holding the knob down inside the car for about a minute and I get a weak stream then.

-I drove with the "S" button on a few days ago and the next time I turned the car on, my odo/trip were flashing unintelligible letters/numbers and the gas guage seemed to not be working. Within five minutes of driving both were back to normal. Any idea why?

-I know Saabs are prone to electrical problems but I hope that these are just quirks or from something being "jostled" rather than a larger problem, but I would prefer to know now than down the road. Any help would be greatly appreciated. There are tons of buttons I'm afraid to press because I have no clue what they will do. Thanks!

Reply to
retroglamor
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I have a 96 900s and the dash gauges get a bit flakey at times. Speedo,temp, and trip some times dont work or work strange. From what Ive seen on here so far it has to do with the connecting strip on the back of the guage panel/board. There is a fix for it posted by someone on this News group..Ill see if I can find it (think I may have saved it). I havnt gotten around to trying it yet, but have been putting up with that "little" annoyence for a year and 1/2. 168K and I still love the car.

Reply to
NW Fungi

Oh ya, the "S" is for sport and lets you manually shift the auto at a higher RPM if needed.

Reply to
NW Fungi

Can be caused by a collapsing battery in my 9000.

Reply to
Richard Sutherland-Smith

I doubt it's clogged. More likely the non-return valve which can be found under the hood about an inch before the washer jet(pistol) is broken. There's a diaphragm inside which breaks. About $2, if that, from most ordinary auto stores.

The electical stuff I'll leave to others!!!

Cheers

Al

Reply to
Al

It changes the AT's internal shift program from "economy" to "sport," which upshifts at full rpm for maximum acceleration. I use it when leaving toll booths.

BTW, if there is a snowflake button at the base of the shifter, it will start you out in 2nd gear to avoid wheelspin on ice--sort of the opposite of the 'S' button.

Reply to
Turubo

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