DI cassette failures

Harsh environment of heat and vibration on top of engine. I replaced mine at 60k miles and opened it up. One coil had burned out. Once the wire insulation weakens, the vibrations will do the rest. The replacement DI is still OK, now on 128k miles.

Although I started the earlier thread after having mine changed, I'm not convinced there was ever anything wrong with it. I noticed the engine warning light on as I drive away from my Saab dealer who'd just done some checks on the car. When I took it back, they said it was a DI cassette fault but it was no problem because they could change it under the recall notice. It seems an awfully big coincidence to me. If I had to guess, I'd say they left a connector off first time, and made up the DI story to cover the mistake...

Cheers,

Colin.

Failure of active electronic components ( semiconductors ).

This means it's more likely where there are high temperatures.

Graham

If it was the DI - the car would have stopped.

Graham

And all because the GM accountants - sorry bean counters - got involved.

Graham

My wife's failed while driving on the highway a year or two ago (2001 9-3).

It took the catalytic converter with it. Good thing it was all covered under the extended warranty!

This was maybe a year before the recall was issued.

John

You mean the failure rate ? I disagree that it's the fault of the GM accountants, although I'd be happy to blame them for lots of other things.

I own of have owned three cars with DI type systems, two of them relatively "reliable" Japanese cars. On all, a DI coil has gone bad in the 50-80K range. And, I'm the sort of guy who maintains his cars so it's not related to that. Likewise I've heard of issues with many makes and Audi was wholesale replacing DI coils at such a rate that the manufacturer could not keep up, there was a worldwide shortage with folks waiting months to get parts. Saabs seem to average 75K. They do have the disadvantage of not being able to replace just one coil.

I think the problem is with putting electronics on top of an engine where they bake and vibrate every time they run.

The older red ones tend (and I emphasize "tend") to start to miss. You get a CEL misfire code. They get worse over a couple days - then it stops working. No guarantees, sometimes they just fail. My own started missing, I got to drive 10 miles home before it died.

The black ones are known to go with less warning. Apparently they just die. The recall has to do with DI's that are dying at much lower mileages than normal.

Since replacement is a 10 minute job, many folks like to carry a spare "just in case".

AFAIK, there is no electronics in the DI, the electronics processing is done elsewhere. The DI receives 400 Volts to each coil which steps up to the spark voltage. The higher input voltage reduces the bulk of the coils. The failure is in the insulation of the coil windings.

Follow-up on the earlier thread : How many here have already had this happen? It is widely rumored that this part fails often, and owners are reminded to carry a spare, as replacement is simple, and failures are common.

Yet I have never seen one fail. I'm assuming the rumors have at least some factual basis, even if they may be exaggerated, so how many have seen thyese things fail?

Does anyone know the typical explanation or failure scenario?

Thanks, GF

Thanks for these responses - I did find one site that discusses it, though it's not very technical:

LOL! Is there a separate bin for the red ones?

I had one fail on my '94 9000 CSE. I think it went at around 90k on the clock.

My 93 9000CSET limped along for a few hours till I replaced it.

I had one fail on my 2001 9-5 Aero about 1 month ago. it has about

is there a recall on these?? mine went TWICE!! fist time around 50k miles,then around a 100k miles. from what my engineer/grease monkey told me, yesm they do go but the more recent ones are more reliable. check the manufacture date. my car is 9-3 2001, i've had i from new so the fir DI cassette was the original. the second was a newer one. what i will say is, when the new one went in, the engine warning light came on. yeh, i did the little trick with disconnecting the battery, go have a cup of tea and come back, plug it all in and it dissappears. it goes off once in a while. another mechanic told me that when it went the second time, because i turned the engine over too much (well, i didn't because i knew from experience the first time), that this could have disrupted the cat. conv. and now the light comes on. i reckon it was when it went the first time and ignorantly i turned the engine over so many times!! F O O L !! anyway, another little thing, people think you can not tell when they're about to go. in my experience and that of a few other mechanics, the cabin of the car will occasionally have a burning smell, like hair burning or plastic. well folks that's my six pence worth. oh btw, i now carry a spare D.I. cassette. what a sad world we drive in!!

rammy

John B wrote:

In message , rammy121 writes

There is. I got my letter the other day (9-5 MY2000 but the recall affects 9-3s as well), I guess it is taking time to get all the letters out.

The recall only affects a certain range of cars, engines and DI serial numbers so you may not be covered, especially if the DI has been replaced in the past, I read somewhere that they will only entertain retrospective claims for failed DIs going back a few months.

If you have not registered your car with Saab then you may not be on their records - I think they are using their own database to trace owners rather than the DVLA records.

There is a helpline number on the letter for UK owners - 0118 945 8430 - give them a call.

Andy

Bought 2 red ones this year.

On my '95 9000 (190k) it was dead in a parking lot - would not restart. No prior warning.

On my wife's '99 9-3 (130k) it started missing badly but was still driveable.