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I've been looking through the BB for messages on the Check Engine Light and thought I'd add a post script to my post of around a year ago.
Light Blue 1996 Saab 900SE 2.0T A/T. The story so far: Bought the beast used with 56k miles at Saab of Charlotte (NC) in Jan 00. Car passed NC smog test. Around March 00, the C/E light came on – solid on, never blinking. I took it back to the dealer who said the on-board diagnostics indicated a failure of the (get ready…) auto transmission “Winter” mode switch – which had been inop at purchase. Changed same gratis under the extended warranty. Light was off when I collected the car but came on again a few weeks later. I checked the newsgroups and did the usual gas cap trick, but that didn’t help. Over the next four months the light came and went. I (falsely?) correlated it to fuel choice, happy on 92 octane, unhappy on 87 or 89. So I alternated 89 and 92 and the light was out 80% of the time. Now I wonder if it was just related to ignition start cycles. In the interim the only other work done on the car besides routine maintenance was to correct the expected failure (Sep 00) of the serpentine belt pulley at about 66k -- which failed 5 minutes after I retrieved the car from the 60k service appointment - not covered by the extended warranty. In Oct 00 I moved back to LA. The car came out on a transporter, spending almost two weeks on the truck. When I started it up, the light came on. And stayed on. A few months later the smog tester wouldn’t test it with the C/E light lit, so I took the car to the guy who works wonders with my wife’s 93 Volvo (Svenska Auto Service in Montrose). He said it was a common problem with the 96 2.0 SET. He disconnected my battery, cleaned the terminals, reconnected it and the light went out. I passed the smog test. Changed the gas cap again just for grins. Light came back on a few weeks later. A few months ago he replaced the DI cassette (when that piece is failing, you really know it!) and the exhaust system (with slightly larger bore stainless). Neither had any effect on the C/E light. On. Off. On. Off. Call it 75% on. Just to be obstinate, I ran straight 87 octane regular for a month (four tanks) and it came on and went off twice with no change in fuel grade. Car has now passed 70k miles, runs better than ever (with or without the light lit) and I have decided – as one old pro suggested – it is just a ghost in the fuel control module. Any final suggestions before I get out the little square of electrical tape?
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