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Replacing Left Low Beam Lamp on '05 9-3 Linear

Hello everyone,

The other day the headlight on my 2005 9-3 Linear went out on the right side, for the low beam. This was alright, and when I took a look at it, after some fiddling, it was obvious how to replace the bulb. Everything worked fine there, and there was light.

Now, a day after that, the left low beam went out. Howeer, when I looked into it, there was not nearly the space that there was on the right side to get into the lamp cover, twist off the holder and remove the bulb. Rather, it seems that the rubber cover and the enclosure is almost entirely obstructed by the washer fluid container, as well as the battery lines, some hoses, &c.

Is there an easy way to replace this bulb, or do I have to remove the entire headlight assembly? From looking at it, removing the headlight assembly seems like a lot of work. Does anyone have any pointers?

Reply to
Aaron W. Hsu
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A safety notice beforehand when you are having Xenon lights on your car, make sure you but the key in the lock position and be carefull as Xenon headlights are powered by high voltage (over 23000V) which can be dangerous.

Also take notice that this is infomation translated from a dutch edition of the Saab WIS and I take no responsibility for it, nor for consequences of following or not following these directions.

Not exactly sure what the low beam is so here is the information from Saab WIS for the headlights:

  1. LH: Lift up the hose of the cooling system and remove the battery cover
  2. LH: Remove the filling pipe for the windscreen cleaner fluid reservoir
  3. LH: Remove the cooling pipe from the lower battery cover
  4. Remove the protective cover from the headlight

non-Xenon:

  1. Remove the mount by turning it a little to the left (I guess CCW) and pulling it from the reflector
  2. Remove the light from it's mount

Xenon:

  1. Remove the connector from the ignition transformer
  2. Remove the ignition transformer
  3. Unhook the clips holding the Xenon light
  4. Lift the Xenon light straight out of the headlight

For the fog lights (as we call them in Holland, I guess this is what you call low beam):

  1. Remove the bolt in the wheel house and bend the spoiler shield down
  2. Remove the protective cover of the lamp
  3. Disconnect the lamp by unhooking the clips
  4. Pull the cable from the lamp forward and disassemble the connector
  5. Replace the lamp and mount the connector
  6. Mount the light using the clips
  7. Mount the protective cover of the lamp
  8. Bend the spoiler shield up and mount the bolt in the wheel house

Be sure to have the lights checked as they might be misdirecting their lights, you could also do this yourself:

  1. Park your car 10m from a wall
  2. Measure the distance from the ground up to the mark on the lens
  3. At the wall draw a horizontal line with the length of the width of the car at a height 20cm less than measured in step 2
  4. Switch on the lower beam (fog lights)
  5. Shield the one you are not checking
  6. If alignment is correct the baseline of the light projected should match with the line drawn on the wall, if not it needs to be adjusted

There should be a screw to adjust vertical alignment of the beam.

For the US/CA instructions and dimensions are a little bit different and more elaborate:

  1. Check tire pressure
  2. Check there is no luggage in the car
  3. Check the fuel level, compensate with load in the trunk (25kg for a half filled tank, 50kg for a full tank)
  4. A person or a load of 75 kg should be placed at the drivers seat
  5. Make sure the car is snow and ice free
  6. Park the car on a level surface
  7. Stabilize the suspension by rocking the car
  8. Check the mounting of the light
  9. Switch the light on

After that:

  1. Park your car 25ft from a wall
  2. Measure the distance from the ground up to the mark on the lens
  3. At the wall draw a horizontal line with the length of the width of the car at a height 4 inches less than measured in step 2
  4. Switch on the lower beam (fog lights)
  5. Shield the one you are not checking
  6. If alignment is correct the baseline of the light projected should match with the line drawn on the wall, if not it needs to be adjusted

There should be a screw to adjust vertical alignment of the beam.

Good luck!

Jonathan

Reply to
Jonathan

Low beam is the front headlight that is always on in the U.S. model. This is the normal headlight bulb, not the front fog light.

On my system, the battery cover comes off easily with two quarter turn twist screws, without moving any hoses.

This was the key. I didn't realize thta this pipe was removable, but then I noticed a little pull tab on closer inspection after reading the above. Indeed, it comes off and has a little seal to allow a close fit when reattached. Nice!

Your success may vary, but I was able to fit my hand to get to the light without having to touch the cooling pipe. It was a close squeeze.

After that everything looks great. Thanks a bunch! I'm glad I didn't have to beg a mechanic to explain it to me, as it is embarassing enough. :-)

Reply to
Aaron W. Hsu

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