1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Yes, both computers are in this location...and are very easy to remove, hoever installing the chips can be hairy if you aren't familiar with electronics.
These instructions are for all 1991 and 1992 9000 turbos.
ENJOY!
Step 1. Open the hood, and walk on the driver side of the car to the location where the hood attaches to the car frame. While looking down, you will see of course the battery, and the side of the throttle body... but look further left, to see a long blank plastic strip with small bolts dotting around the rim.
Step 2. Remove ALL of the bolts you see on thie large plastic strip, that runs across the entire length of the bottom of the windshield. As you remove them, make a mental location of which bolt goes where, as some of them are different. they should come out with ease.
Step 3. Remove the Black plastic panel by pulling up on the front edge, in the center, where a drain tube is attached to the plastic. pull gently and wiggle this hose out of it's location, it's about 5-6 inches long, and should come out easily... then make sure to pull apart the smaller hose on the driver side of the panel which feeds the washer fluid to your wipers.
Now unlatch the panel from the edge closest to the windshield, and the panel should now pull away freely from the car. Put it in a safe place, if you step on it it will not fair to well.
Step 4. With the panel completely removed, not may be a time to instpect the innerds of the "aquarium" as everyone calls it... for any derbris or sketchy looking parts / wiring.
Step 5. BOTH of the computer are located in the compartment you just opened up, on the driver side of the vehicle. As you stand on the drivers side of the car again, and look into the compartment, you will see the side of a black box, tucked into a metal frame compartment, with a large wire harness clipped into it. This is the DI/APC computer, and the first computer that must be removed. Leave the wire harness plugged in while you remove the box, it will flex. Gently wiggle the box from side to side and pull upwards on it. It is NOT clipped in by anything, but the sides of the box like to get hung up on the metal frame that it's in. Once you pull the box out of the frame, now you can unhook the wireharness clip, which is done by pressing on a small metal tab on one end of the connector, attached to the di box itself. Put the DI/APC box in a safe place... don't give it any unecessary shocks... it's not filmsy or anything, but you don't want to take any risks.
Step 6. Now that the DI/APC box is removed, you are able to see the backside of the ECU computer. On the left and the right side of the computer, there are clips built into the metal frame that the computer is in, that hold it in place. Thet actually just hold it from being able to be pulled upwards, which is how you have to pull the box out. While pushing on the clips, you should be able to pull the box up... although it is kind of akward, and you may need some help. Or you may be able to get one clip and side loose at a time... it shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes of fidling before you get it though, just be careful not to jerk the computer out too hard while the harness is still attached. ONce the computer is out, you can unclip the harness, which is similar to the DI.APC harness.
Step 7. NOW, Grab th ECU, and the DI/APC computer, and head INSIDE to a DRY, SAFE PLACE, with LOTS OF LIGHT. You will need a small size phillips head screw driver, or perhaps a small torx head driver, for the screws that open up the DI/APC box. For the ECU, you will need either a small flathead screwdriver, or butterknife, or a prtying insturment of some kind, as you have to pry some tabs on the box frame to get it to open. Sit down at a table with much light to attempt putting in the chips. It's not something you want to attempt standing up in a agrage with lots of harards everywhere and places to drop immportant things that you may never find.
Step 8. While sitting down, grab the DI/APC box, and the appropriate screw driver (some have different style screws) You are looking for a total of FOUR screws that are in the corners of the box on the CONNECTOR SIDE.
As you remove these screws, then you will be able to pull the whole side of the box outwards towards you... but pull it VERY SLOWLY and GENTLY... as you are actually pulling out the circuit board itself! Once the board is free of the plastic shell, place the shell asaide, and set down the circuit board. You will notice that there are many chips on the board, and they are all soldered... however the chip you are looking for is covered with a plastic shell. You can easily remove this plastic cover by prying one side off the chip, and then the other... and set it aside. now you can see the chip exposed.
Step 9. Make a mental not of something at this point, that is VERY important: which way the chip is plugged into the board! Grab your replacement / performance chip, and inspect it on the top ends. you will see that one end of the chips has either a DOT or a small INDENTATION... and this end of the chip shows you which was is "UP". Now inspect the chip on the circuit board of the DI/APC... and you will be able to tell which end of that chip is UP by the indicator on it too.If you don't think you can remember, then draw a diagram, it will take two seconds, and could save you hours later if you forget which way the chip plugs in. To remove the chip, you can use a few things... but mind you my methods are primative, as i don't have a chip pulling tool, but i've never brokwn a chip, as long as i move SLOWLY and PATIENTLY. Sometimes i use a small butterknife, which i insert under one end of the chip, and gently gently pry upwards at a SLOW rate, until i see the pins on that end of the chip start to lift out. Then you have to go to the other side of the chip, and pry a little on that side.
The trick is to get all of the pins/legs to lift out of the chip socket at the same time. If some pins come out before other ones... the ones that are left are at risk of breaking offf, or becoming BENT.... and you obviously don't want that to happen. So like i said, pry a little on one end of the chip, then the other, then back, and then again to the other... until you can pull the chip out the rest of the way with your fingers. Or you may be lucky and skillful enough to pry the chip out with some other tools. The pins are very fragile and bendable... just be careful. But even in the worst case scenario, you broke the chip legs, then you should still be able to push the chip in far enough to make contact with the leg of the pin... and you should be able to run your car. I've done this before, as a chip i had wore out from old age... and had a broken leg. Now that the old chip is out... find a nice small box, antistatic bag, or otherwise safe place for it, you may need it again for testing.
Step 10. Grab the new chip, and line it up EXACTLY the way the old chip was... remember i told you to make sure which way the chip went in? I hope you drew that diagram of which way the chip plugs in! Because some circuit boards are different, as shown in the pictures below, and i don't know which way the chips plug in on all of them! The chip can obviously be plugged in in both directions, but only ONE of them will start your car, the other will of course NOT start your car, and you'll have to remove it and flip it around... which is not fun. Just get it right the first time to avoid a problem, ok? ;) Grab the chip, and line up the pins with the socket, and once it's lined up perfectly, apply gentle pressure to the top of the chip in all areas at the same time, so that all the chip legs pop into the socket at once. You may encounter resistance... and some is normal.... but you may be having resistance because too many of the pins are not lined up well enough with the socket. It's also a delicate operation here too, so go SLOWLY and PATIENTLY and take your time... and eventually the chip will plug into the socket... no need to rush and break anything here! Once you get the chip back in, clip the plastic cover back on top of the chip. This just protects the chip, nothing more.
Step 10. With the chip back in the board... the stock chip in a safe place, and everything right with the world because you didn't break anything yet... pick up the plastic box shell, and slide the circuit board back into it. There are grooved tracks that the circuit board slides into... just make sure you are pressing the board in straight. Once it is seated again... replace all the screws, and you are DONE! Now you can place this box aside, and grab the ECU.
Step 11. WIth the ECU metal box in your hand... inspect the outside edges of it, and you will notice many tabs that are bent to hold the box together. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE will have to me bent back to access the circuit board in the box... unfortunately... It is however, a semi malleable bendable metal... so it's not that hard to do, with a prying tool of somekind. This is one of those interesting moments in saab mechanics when you just have to beat the crap out of something until it does what you want it to do! ;) Take your time tho, no need to break anything now, you're halfway done! Once you get all the tabs bent straight, then you can attempt to remove the top from the box. Bascially if you haven't figured it out by this point, you are pullint the TOP of the box OFF of the base... the base will retain the black plastic connector housing on it, as well as the circuit board... It can be a big P.I.T.A to pull the metal top off, but trust me it will come off if you bent all of the tabs back, and it shouldn't break anything underneath of you do it in a civilized fashion. Breath man, just breath!
Step 12. So, once you have the circuit board of the ECU exposed... you will notice lots of chips... but again, one of them is covered in a plastic shell. This is your chip, so reomve the plastic shell just like the DI/APC chip, and note where the chip is oriented, then remove the chip just like you did the DI/APC chip. Notice the label on the chip too, so in the future you can tell the stock ECU chip apart from the stock DI/APC chip if you should ever have to replace them. Once the chip is free, and you have your replacement in your hand... and oriented the correct way, place it in the socket, and press it in. BE GENTLE!!!! you're almost done! Don't break anything now!!! WIth the chip in the socket... replace the plastic cover, and then the top of the ECU and bend the tabs back if you feel like it... you don't HAVE to if you don't want to... the box will survive if you're nice to it, or just bend a few tabs... or a rubber band works, i won't tell anybody if you don't! :)
Step 13. With the boxes back together, the old chips in a safe place... and your mind completely fried from working with your most delicate car components... head back to your car triumphantly to reinstall the boxes.
Plug in the ECU harness first, as it will be easier to plug in while the box is free from its mount, and once the hanress is clipped in securely, insert it from the top down, back into its metal cage. It can be just as challanging to put it back in as it was to remove it, so prepare yourself. It helps to have a bright light in the work area, to see exactly where the ecu is supposed to glide into the frame, and where the clips are. With the ECU back in securely, grab the DI/APC box, and clip the wire harness into it securely. These only clip in one way... if you havent figured that out yet... The black platic tab fits into the clip connector first, and then you pivot the box on the plastic tab, it should be pretty obvious when you have it in your hands. With the DI/APC plugged back in, now insert it into it's little cage area. If you placed the chips in correctly, and they are legitimate chips that are made for your car... then you should have no fears about the next step, STARTING YOUR CAR!
Step 14. START YOUR CAR. If it starts... CONGRATS! Now put the black plastic panel back on and you are done! If your car DOESN'T START, then my friend, you have to completely start over...
Check the connections on the computers first, but if they look ok, then you probably just have a chip in backwards... (i TOLD you that drawing a diagram would save you hours, didn't i???)
So now, take the boxes apart, and unfortuneatly if you don't remember which chip is in right, and which chip is in wrong... then... uh... i don't remember either do i? And no one else will... so guess what... now you can't even put in your STOCK chips to start the car if you wanted to! Like i said, DRAW A PICTURE it will save you hours and confusion. A simple ARROW on the diagram will show you which way the chip notch indicator is pointing.
IF YOUR CAR ISN'T STARTING AND YOU ARE 100% POSITIVE THAT THE CHIPS ARE PLACED CORRETCLY, THEN IT'S POSSIBLE THAT YOUR NEW PERFORMANCE CHIPS ARE EITHER CORRUPTED, OR INCORRECT FOR YOUR CAR.
Simply replace the stock chips, to begin driving your car again, and conctact the person who you bought your chips from, and tell them they didn't work. If they are honest, they will send you a replacement set.
But if your car started, congradulations on adding 30-50 Horsepower to your car!
if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me directly.
posted by 69.168.104...
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