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Probably won't like my answer - but a glimmer of hope Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Tue, 1 Feb 2005 06:08:32
In Reply to: Ignition Cassette Failure caused other problems, Mark Scheuern, Tue, 1 Feb 2005 04:57:14 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The DI usually doesn't give a lot of warning for a failure. I have a personal method for inspecting DI's, but it covers only a portion of possible failures. I don't believe that method is used by Saab mechanics. So there is no official inspection that will show up most DI failures.
The DI does fail, but it doesn't have a replacement interval - they only replace it when it fails.
If you lose one or more ignition coils, then that cylinder is no longer firing, and is just pouring raw fuel into the catalytic converter. This will quickly destroy the Cat. It also creates a tremendous amount of heat (most of which destroys the Cat), and a bunch of other things in the area - potentially front muffler, and the two O2 sensors right next to the cat. Hence the cascade of faults. I have seen cars catch fire from this.
The exact same thing could happen if you lose a single spark plug wire in a conventional (non-DI) engine. This isn't a Saab-unique failure.
Sorry to say, the mistake was driving the car when it was obviously misfiring. I'll bet that the engine was running very rough, on only three cylinders. A tow is indicated at that point. If your engine is running poorly, the best bet is to shut it down and have it towed. The cost of the tow is much cheaper than the potential damage, as you've already found.
I don't know if the manual speaks to what to do if the engine starts to act poorly, but it should say to shut it down. Not that anybody reads the manual.
The only place where you have an argument is that the dealer "Told you to drive it to him." This is pretty thin ground, but it's reasonable that you, as the owner, would take the dealers word that the car was safe to drive. Again, this is a tough argument, but it's the only one you've got. In your place, I'd hammer on that one. You'll get no traction on 'bad design'. Things break. The proper thing for the dealer to do would be to ask you the right questions, and then direct you to have it towed. Any service manager recognizing a potential DI failure would know that Cat damage is inevitable by driving it even a mile or two. I assume the engine ran poorly, and that you told the dealer that.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 1 Feb 2005 08:58:47, Tue, 1 Feb 2005 19:01:18, Tue, 1 Feb 2005 06:08:32 <-- Viewing This Message
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