Good day Ivan. I want to thank you for keeping those Saabs running. I am a former Saab District Manager in Western Canada, and I absolutely loved our products. They were pretty darn good vehicles even when GM took over and I had great dealers and employees who were « true believers » that kept the faith. Thank you once again, and hello to all our European friends who continue to drive these wonderful cars.

“That feeling of defeat when you repair and a different trouble code pops up…..then you find it’s a simple fix! WIN!”

Ivan, you and Eric O South Man Auto are both on another level when fixing cars. Huge respect to you both.

It's amazing that cars from hours away are brought to you has become the norm rather than the exception. It shows the level of respect people have for your skills and reputation.

I had one similar to this last year. Customer had his truck at another shop for a year and then brought it to me, 3 hours later it was fixed. His words: "are you shitting me?!? I don't know whether to kiss you or go slap the shit out of that other guy!" It was all wiring problems. Nice diag Ivan.

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten cars from dealerships who can't figure out the car or misdiagnoses the car. Just last week I had a VW Tiguan Diesel. Dealer said it needed an engine due to oil leak that took the engine out. We got it in. Found an oil thermostat broken and leaking. Along with 4 broken off water pump bolts. So we replaced the oil thermostat. Extracted and installed new water pump bolts. Filled it with oil. And no engine required. The quote from the dealer was 20k. No joke. All in we charged him 1k. Saved that customer 19k. Could you imagine?

"That's your problem lady." You've spent way too much time with Eric O. 😄 Amazing how you, Eric, and Ray have no, or little, trouble diagnosing problems dealerships can't seem to find. And it starts with a scan tool and a wiring diagram.

Check out Various ECU repair sites in the UK. They repair yours so you just plug it back in. They have GM ones on the shelf if need be. Friend over there says check plugs coil, injector, continuity then send the ECU away for repair GBP @ 180

Unfortunately we live in a world where up is down, down is up, and car mechanics…aren’t…it’s always great to see a master craftsman at work. Good job.

Both injectors share a common B+ feed. That's why they both showed power when you jumped a single pin. Great vid as usual 👌

Hey Ivan! Wasn't it great to be able to say: "There's your Problem Lady!!" Every time I get to say that it makes my week!!

Ivan, your Saab diagnosis of computer and ebay motors replacement part repair approved of by Ray Migliozzi. :) Sitting at a Euro chop for a year...stunning. Can't imagine what a 3 hour tow would cost. But, at least in the end a positive result for the owner. Nice job, again.

Steep learning curve on the previous Saab paid off. You sir are amazing with all your techno wizardry.

You've made yourself the SAAB king!

Thank You sooo much Ivan for your expertise!!! Now I can finally enjoy my SAAB!!!

My dad and I ran our business very similar to how you do it, Ivan. When we had customers come in with issues we didn't think we could handle, we knew where to send them. I know the area you live in is somewhat sparsely populated (it is just BEAUTIFUL and you live a distance from State College, likely where most dealerships/shops are located). If I were this shop owner and we had attempted unsuccessful repairs, I would have handed this man your business card or directed him to your website AFTER I returned him the money he paid for unsuccessful repairs. Under NO circumstances would I have even THOUGHT of keeping his car a year. Even if I didn't get any repeat business, I wouldn't have a disgruntled customer. I am surprised you buy stuff from Flea Bay, my guy. I figured Flagship 1 would be a better choice. Oh! Wait! You've given them several chances! Great video!

Amazing how well you know scoping, back door checking, and programming.

Ivan, I don't know what you know about furnaces, but I just got two condos to work on where the electric heat in the furnace doesn't function. When switching to heat on the thermostat, it would pop the 5 amp fuse from the 24v transformer. I didn't have time to work on it thoroughly yet, and i was not the one who called for help, but even after I explained that there is a dead short somewhere, the repair guy went through numerous fuses and smoked two transformers. After they left with a misdiagnosis, I finally got the chance to look at them myself yesterday. It took me awhile of tracing wires, but the problems and solutions were quite simple. The "board" that one of the furnaces has was supposedly bad and causing the short circuit. Nope. It was just not quite wired right. I heard "your thermostat is bad." "The fuse blowing is because of your heating coils"... Nevermind that the low voltage fuse is what was popping. "The board is bad." It's frustrating what "repair shops" are not capable of. I am just a redneck hillbilly guy with no certifications or license and i figured out the problem and created a solution.

In my experience most shops cannot do in depth diagnosis, they just do basic code reads and visual inspections and then fire off the parts cannon. I've been trying to diagnose my sisters bmw x3 intermittent crank no start condition after two different bmw specialty shops couldn't figure it out. One of them wanted $1500 to take the valve cover off even though it's an electrical problem lol.

When I heard the air whooshing when Ivan revved the engine I was already thinking "turbo boost leak", the pipe probably just popped off because the turbo could make decent boost pressure.

Last week I had a duramax come in from another shop same thing they had it for almost a year and couldn’t figure it out . I did the Ivan no parts required and diagnosed it within 20 minutes and I pressed the reductant loading reset and presto it’s fixed. They didn’t follow instructions on how to replace a nox sensor 😂

I have a feeling you will be seeing more of these cars in the coming years.. good for business.

We all know your troubleshooting skills are top notch, but lets take it to the next level. How about repairing these bad ECUs? This ECU is an easy one, hard fault on the #3 injector driver circuit. Digi-Key and Mouser can be your new best friends!

sadly, Industry professionals are dying breed. Excellent diagnosis as usual Ivan. I see technical workmanship issues daily.

come oooon ivan we were waiting for a "surgery" on the ECM hahah... i wanted to meet the driver in ECM hahah ... next time you will open it up? what do you think ? witth great respect ivano kudos from ethiopia👍

The end result is a happy customer and also, I think a happy Ivan. Very cool that your investment in learning how to configure that software (like knowing how to manage the settings files and Java version) paid off.

Anytime I hear about a car being in a shop for an extended period (a year!), I get suspicious. I can't imagine any kind of legitimate shop making space for a car they can't fix. And, I can't imagine any customer being willing or able to leave a car that long. Got to be another side to that story. That takes nothing away from your ability to fix it.

Laughed when it went into limp home mode on the test drive, as I knew exactly what had happened...I had exactly the same problem after replacing the turbo on an Insignia V6 (essentially the same GM HFV6 engine), and didn't check the inlet ducting clamps! Good job Ivan, thanks for the videos.

Great video! Most shops can't fix things like that because they have not taken the time to learn. You are many levels above most shops.

A real Saab story.

The usual reason for Saab problems is "it's a Saab" - but this is a GM car with GM electronics, wearing a Saab badge

Nice to see that you still support these great cars. I own a 9-3 Aero from 2009 with the real Saab 2.0T engine and I love it, we have a lot of Saab lovers with real tech2's over here in the Netherlands so fixing them is not really a problem.

Your bonus footage last few months has been great content. Love your stuff Ivan.

Great diag Ivan. I hope the customer goes back to shop and demands they look at your vid and tells the what a bunch of wankers they are and that he expects some recompense for his hardship of no car for a year. Regards from South Africa

the programming parts of these vids are so interesting. such clunky process for eeprom programming in the field it's nuts.

You should open up a Euro specialist shop now..! You are now the Euro Guru!! :-)

Mr Ivan it's so sad 😭😭😭 that people take there car's to dealership to have them say I don't know what is wrong with it. To have the customer to finally realized 😭😭😭 that it would have been cheaper to bring the Euro Car's to you from the start. Mr Ivan you are a very detailed specialist mechanic and people know this because you stand by your work!!!!!!

The scope showed a signal on both injector control wires when you were front probing the ecu connector due to the injectors sharing a common power feed wire. Test light provided power up one control wire, through that injector, through the common supply wire, back down through the other injector and out it's control wire, then back to your scope👍🇦🇺

As for the "Specialist Shop" they should be called out over all Social media platforms so other people don't get caught out like this customer did they don't deserve to be called "Specialists " & need to be put out of business .Hopefully your name is being put out there as a proper Specialist I know you wouldn't leave a customer hanging out there like that (1yr) thats crap Cheers Ivan another great video.

A 3 hour tow...they really love their SAAB. Almost a year is ridiculous but the customer is in control and can or should be able to leave anytime.

Oh man, when you got to "emulators" you lost me. (ha ha) That repair was quite involved because of the need to reprogram the computer. Good for you that you can do all this!

After owning many Saabs, I really miss the quirkiness of them. Always fun to drive with smooth turbos!

im loving the Tech2 and TIS on a laptop, i need to get that setup for my 9-3

That's what you call working above the shoulders, Ivan rocks..

For why both your traces went up at once when you tested the ECU connector pins, because the fuel injectors are fed a common power, you gave the circuit power through your test light, so all the fuel injector wires would have been energized, through that injector wire. I think I got the quiz right, 😆

Nice video and diagnosis. I guess you are going to be the go to guy for Saabs in the Northeast. All the research you did on the last one paid off on this job for sure.

That's ridiculous how the hell did the professional shop not know that. Scopes are a lifesaver for things like that so handy

The GM era Saabs are notorious for ECM failures due to heat. There are videos about putting heat shields on the ECMs for the four cylinder cars but I haven't seen any for the six cylinder cars. I have a 2006 9-3 with the 2.0 and I'm going to see if I can relocate the ECM to a better location, but that remains to be seen. Great video.

I have always done my GM programming through SPS and just load the latest/correct software which puts in the right vin. I wont do the relearns though, I normally do those with my scan tool after the fact. I haven't done a Saab before. I had now idea you could use Tech2Win for this. I will have to give it a shot next time.

To the rescue again! Thank you for your honest and excellent service!

On old equipment that has had lots of hands in it I always add 1 to 1.5 hours to check everything that I can get to look for other problems. I would have done spark plugs and oil change on this car for sure. Extended test drives also. After 40 years I have learn a few things !

It's so sad that dealerships can't figure these problems and holds customers car for a year, come on!!! Awesome work Ivan!!!

Great job Ivan. You should offer a all day class on those software packages. From install to use. Either onsite or via Zoom. There is so much info in your videos it is hard to absorb it all. I am long since retired now so maybe younger folks would catch on way faster. You have so much valuable information to share. That foreign car mechanic should definitely attend!

Ivan is the Dr House of auto diagnostics.

I have a turbo 4 wagon. Don’t want to get rid of it. Lots of GM parts. The design is very nice, beautiful ride.

Those non-OEM hose clamps are woefully insufficient for the air tube from the turbo to the MAF. The OEM clamps are steel and eventually rust out and need to be replaced. I have purchased "heavy duty" clamps (9/16" wide) off the Amazing web retailer that work well. The regular ones available at HD and auto parts stores are only 1/2" wide and will not develop sufficient tension. I have had that tube blow off more than once before I wised up.

this stuff is way over my head yet i find it so fascinating to watch him fix the electronics on vehicles i am no good with that type of stuff it amazes me that in 30 min he figured out what another shop that supposedly specializes in that type of vehicle could not figure out in a year!

Awesome. I bet the customer was more than thrilled!!

Before I retired, I remember that every time I was given a job where someone said 'i tried this', or 'so and so fixed that', my first thought was 'oh shit, here we go'. And yes, we all have our horror stories, the best one I had was a master cylinder failure on an old school single circuit system Blowing off the intake plumbing under 7psi of boost?, you got lucky. Sometimes the test drive can be fun, or downright nerve wracking, After all your hard work, it's not like you can return a customers car with cobwebs in it. As always, great video. The bonus footage is even greater.

No wonder they went out of business.. that ignition caught me off guard lol.

Nice work my friend. You called me the regional Astra specialist. You are now rhe regional Saab specialist. Fixing the the Astra radio wiring today and owner should be able to pick it up.

Oh no, youre the saab guy for your area now

That blue high-performance air pipe should be good for at least +5 horsepower.

Nicely done. Sadly the Saabs is slowly dying off.. Here in Sweden I would say it's the rust, expensive mechanics and bad drivers that kills them. Btw.. is this the first video you use the seat belt when test driving? ;-)

Trionictuning is invaluable for ME9 cars, and the rest of the saab crowd too. Saved and replaced several ecus over the years with their help.

Good times. I am dealing with this right now too. I am very much hoping the ECM that's on the way will fix the issue!

These people are so lucky to have a technician / mechanic of your caliber to take on these jobs. Many years back when I owned my muffler shop in a small rural area. There were two brothers our shops were in 3 very small towns about 10 miles apart. One brother that worked at the Ford dealership and the other at the Chevrolet dealership. Every time I watch your videos it reminds me of them, in the 40 years I knew them they were the go-to guys. If they could not fix it no one could. For 26 years in my shop I specialized in exhaust along with that came specialized welding aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel. I was like you if I didn't or couldn't fix it I would not charge a penny. Many of the jobs I would get were because; no one else could or would fix it. I remember when a mechanic came to my shop with a master brake cylinder from an old International truck. He had completely rebuilt it to look like new inside and out. It had a double reservoir, but it would only pump from one reservoir. I don't even know why I just stretched the spring out a few inch's placed it back inside and it pumped perfectly. He said, how did you know to do that? You fixed it in 5 minutes he had been trying to get that thing to work for many hrs. I proceeded to tell him, it was the only thing I could think of. I was as surprised as he was. After that I stretched every single spring in every single master cylinder I rebuilt. I do wonder how many old master cylinders would have kept working after a rebuild by simply stretching that spring? I seen a guy on KZfaq just this past week he rebuilt a master cylinder and could not get it to pump. I kept yelling at the screen stretch out the spring. Next thing I see is him getting a new master cylinder of course the other one was returned as a core. By the time he read my comment it was to late...

One of the things that separates good techs from parts replacers is that the latter are afraid of wiring---they won't pull a diagram, they won't trace it, they won't do testing. Great job on the diag. On another note; notice how Saab quality and reliability slipped quite a bit once GM took over

Find it odd someone would leave their car at a shop for a year, a week maybe, a year, strange.. Good work Ivan

When You said it better. I Couldn’t help but bust OUT. Laughing. Cause it sounded just like me. After all that work I hear you

Great display of how a pico can save all kinds of time (and gaskets/seals!) in the diagnosis process even on relatively simple faults. Those E55 controllers are terrible. They have traces and connecting "Wires" from the board to the connector that are the thickness of a human hair. They use these in the Catera, 02-03 Vue V6 and the first generation CTS, all having an engine of similar origin to that Saab, all with similar issues.

Great work, not used my old tech 2 for years, like the idea of the emulator on the laptop. good diagnostic method and correct tools for the job.

It is allways nice to see how you are diagnosting every vehicle, You dont only read codes and fire partscannon like so many others are doing, You find real reason for those codes, and act whatever is needeed to vehicle to fix it "permanently" if possible. Some times no parts needed, and then customer is happy to pay your bill, after those stealership shops, they had to go first with bad results.

I used to have the wagon version of this. Was easy to soft mod to 320hp and made this car A LOT of fun. That being said, the 2.0T is the better version of these cars. WAAAY easier to fix. That V6 was shoehorned in there and heat management was a big problem with these cars cooking batteries, turbos and ECUs.

Thanks for taking us along!

Great as always, Ivan!

Outstanding work as always!

Your talent never ceases to amaze me .

I always enjoy your video's Ivan! You rock!

Another brilliant diagnostic. Well done.

As a Saab fan, thank you good sir for keeping one on the road.

Very nice easy work! I've never had faith in these "specialty" shops and this is why. Another happy customer and me as a viewer! Thanks Ivan.

Quick and accurate diagnostics. Thorough: You took the time to discover and make all other needed repairs. Great job! Great work ethics. I enjoy your videos.

You sir are the Head Wizard. The mere mudblood's, proclaimed european specialist's of Saabwarts should be quite embarrassed. Well done as always man.

Great video! I'm a retired tech and still enjoy looking and learning! Saab is a great car although the GM built models have some problems. Thanks for posting this Video, Very informative!

Thanks, Ivan. 🙂

Excellent video brother! Thank you for sharing with us!

Nice job,very well done👌

thank keith for me for putting out a video

Great job Ivan!

just love the bonus footage and end comments you are the man ivan

Great diagnose strategy, Ivan! The two traces going up got my head spinning - disconnected from ECM and only the common positive on each injector, with test lamp to positive, there is a ground missing to complete the circuit. I could imagine a return across the two injectors, but still need the ground - I'm missing something. Great repair, with extras :-)

Let me guess also been in 20 shops nobody couldn't fix it,,lol every mechanic videos are using the phrase now...still great videos

Very impressed with your diagnosis my friend !

oh yeah, you did the diagnostics properly. Most people just start changing parts starting with the common fuel pump, plugs, wires, injectors sensors. No crank no start, better change the fuel pump. I just fixed a e450 that died on the highway 8 hours from here. They made 3 trips out trying to fix it, changed the fuel pump on the side of the road but all it was was a blown 10 fuse for the pcm.... Took me 10 minutes!

Great job mate from the UK....Love your stuff 😊

Thank you Ivan for saving another Saab and my Saab, superb job!

WOW so much configered in so little time, Well done prof!!!

It is always nice to see this cars on the road, they still run, till the factory was closed many years ago... Thank you Ivan and to the owner he is taking care and spend money on that..

great job good explanation very helpful thanks for taking the time to share with us