You say the plugs looked good, but what color were they actually and how old were they? The coolant temp sensor in the back of the motor could be bad, since its does influence fuel mixture. I'd look into that, since you've covered all the other bases it seems. And that part is cheap, like $15 from eeuroparts.com.

 

The plugs where light tan, I can't remember how old the plugs are. I went to pick up some new plugs but the autozone didn't carry the NGK plugs and I've always heard the Saabs are a little picky about plugs. The temperature gauge looks like it's reading the same as normal. Does the temperature gauge get the temp from the coolant temp sensor?

 

no separate sensors

 

Yeah that sensor has NOTHING to do with your temp gauge. The gauge is controlled by a separate piece entirely. It's the coolant temperature sensor for the computer, not the gauge. eEuroparts - Coolant Temp (NTC) Sensor - # 15393755

That is the piece you need. The hardest part is swapping it out.

 

Ugh... I have a cold start issue and believe the CTS to be the culprit ... sob... oh well change the fuel injectors with the 38lb 93 aeros while i'm at it? anyhow it takes like 4 times to start and when it runs it runs rich so i guess i'm gonna swap that out.

 

Extended start times would be more likely caused by the check valve in the pump assembly going bad. CTS causing richness wouldn't affect starting, just running rich once its warmed up. Or a variety of other parts maybe.

 

Thanks for posting the link to that part. I looked all over and couldn't find it.

 

No problem, that site is handy, and I just did a lot work to mine so I wanted to pass some help along. The CTS will require you to remove/loosen a lot of stuff in the fuel rail area, but its good because you're then familiar with a lot of things back there you might not otherwise look at. Also good time to check vac lines and replace if they're old.

 

i ended up not having to remove the fuel rail when i changed the CTS in my car. it was a tight fit, but i was able to do it with an open end wrench, and a lot of body contorting,

still easier than removing the fuel rail.

oh, and i have similar issues as you, and replacing the sensor didn't help mine.

i also have recently replaced the fuel pump, it's not too bad if you do the hole through the floor method.

i'm not sure if it's specificially what happened, but if you do it, i would recommend filling your tank completely before you do it (counter intuitive i know) but once i hooked the new pump and assy back up, the point it the gauge thinks is full is the level the fuel was at when i reconnected the pump. i'm just dealing with the uncalibrated gauge for the time being, knowing that 5/8 on the gauge means that it's somewhere more than that full

 

i ended up not having to remove the fuel rail when i changed the CTS in my car. it was a tight fit, but i was able to do it with an open end wrench, and a lot of body contorting,

still easier than removing the fuel rail.

oh, and i have similar issues as you, and replacing the sensor didn't help mine.

i also have recently replaced the fuel pump, it's not too bad if you do the hole through the floor method.

i'm not sure if it's specificially what happened, but if you do it, i would recommend filling your tank completely before you do it (counter intuitive i know) but once i hooked the new pump and assy back up, the point it the gauge thinks is full is the level the fuel was at when i reconnected the pump. i'm just dealing with the uncalibrated gauge for the time being, knowing that 5/8 on the gauge means that it's somewhere more than that full

For me, pulling the rail out of the way takes no time at all. Was easier for me than fighting with a wrench for a while. Also, fuel level can be reset via Tech 2 if you have access to one. Although my fuel level was only maybe half when I put in the assembly, and it didn't seem matter.

 

Well swapped out the CTS sensor and it didn't seem to help. I got mine with a 19mm crowfoot and like a 12" extension. The CTS sensor did seem suspect the new one is like 4.8k and the one that came out read like 500 ohms so I'm sure it was faulty. I'm frustrated with this thing, it has no power until like 3500 rpm.

 

Ok, so youve changed o2 sensors, plugs, now cts? Maybe one of the others will chime in. Something is being overlooked. Have you checked to see if you smell gas in the vac line to the fuel pressure regulator? That would be a clue to whether it is good or not. They leak when they get old sometimes.

 

The FPR was actually one of the first things I checked. I didn't smell fuel in the vac line but I swapped in my spare just in case. I also went over the engine with an unlit torch looking for vacuum leaks and didn't find anything. The vacuum lines all look good, my intercooler hoses are decent but no major leaks.

I'm sure its something stupid I'm missing. The only other things I can think of is a throttle position sensor or possibly a failing DI.

 

The FPR was actually one of the first things I checked. I didn't smell fuel in the vac line but I swapped in my spare just in case. I also went over the engine with an unlit torch looking for vacuum leaks and didn't find anything. The vacuum lines all look good, my intercooler hoses are decent but no major leaks.

I'm sure its something stupid I'm missing. The only other things I can think of is a throttle position sensor or possibly a failing DI.

TPS won't affect mixture, although it would make your car run funny due to the computer not knowing where the throttle plate was if the part were bad. But if its just richness and not a running issue, thats probably not it. A DI could be a problem though. Do you have a spare to swap in?

 

Well got a new set of plugs in from Summit today gapped them and figured while I had them out I would check compression. With all four plugs out cylinders 1,2, and 3 show about 125 psi and then drop to 0 as soon as cranking stops. Cylinder 4 goes to 125 psi and holds slowly leaking down after cranking stops. With plugs in 3 cylinders all cylinders read 125 and hold after cranking. I'm not sure why this would happen a stuck valve???? Anyway took it for a test drive with new plugs and its horrible. Come back home swap my DI cassette for my spare and take it for another ride it's just as bad maybe worse. WTF!!!!!!

 

When I had my 95' 900s it's fuel mix was out of wack, I replaced the following part, which cleared it up. It's located in the engine compartment next to the wheel well.

eEuroparts - ELCD Purge Valve - # 4442471
Purge valve, AKA Tank vent valve.

 

Wow, that's pretty crazy I thought that think just vented the tank to the charcoal canister. What led you to replace that?

 

I forget, But I remember checking it & being able to push air into it both ways.
If I remember correctly It's like a big one way valve, with a electric plug.

Good luck.

 

No the charcoal canister only takes part of it, the rest goes into the throttle body to be reused. If the thing were to stick completely open, it could cause it to run rich. Mine was stuck partly open sometimes, and caused random stalls at idle. Forgot about that part, but it was money well spent in my book. The purge valve is a very easy part to swap, and cause of lots of frustration. Sorry for not mentioning that earlier.

 

I've got a spare car sitting here so I think I'll pop that thing off and give it a shot tomorrow. Thanks for all the help hopefully this will fix things. I swear I'm going to drive this car off a cliff soon.

 

Well it's official this car is the devil. I swapped out the evap purge valve, cps, and intake air sensor and the problem continues. I'm going to swap the oxygen sensor with another one I have laying around maybe the new one was bad. The only thing left that I can think of is the ECU is going south but that seems like quite a long shot.

 

No other ideas?!? I picked up like 20' of vacuum hose I'm going to replace all the lines maybe I have a leak somewhere that I missed. Watching the car run its at 35% load at idle and the timing is at like 5 degrees. This seems strange but the timing is controlled through the ECU correct?

 

A T5 car can run ok with lots of vac leaks, provided all the sensors are doing their job. I had my fuel pressure regulator unhooked for a bit without knowing it, and the car compensated ok. Not that I would recommend that, but you get the idea. The line was blocked off by some other moron, and I just never looked at the vac diagram closely enough. A bad oxygen sensor might be messing with your car, switch em out if you have a good spare so you're not just throwing money at it. However, I'm not sure it will do much. All that is doing is telling you what the fuel mix is. It does smell like its running rich, correct?

 

Yeah, it's crazy rich. I got an OBD2 interface cable for my iphone and spent some time trouble shooting. The long term fuel trim was like 98% so obviously very rich. I replaced every vacuum line and in the process found the line to the brake booster was barely attached. Things seem to be running better. When the car starts it is in open loop and barely runs, once it goes to closed loop it gets better and my short term fuel trim is trending down by about 15%. I just pulled the battery cable to reset everything time for a test drive. Fingers Crossed!!

 

Well, the test drive was a complete fail. After reconnecting the battery the car cranks but wont start. I tried my other CPS nothing, spare DI nothing. I'm at a loss why it would be running well, shut it down, disconnect battery cable for a few minutes and now it won't start.

 

Weird. You ever pull the line to the FPR and see if you smell gas in there? If its running THAT rich, then shifting to much lower, something is funny. Got a spare ecu available to you that you could hook up and try? Worth a shot if you or someone you know has one. Other than that, I'm out of ideas at the moment. Maybe someone else can pick up with this and generate more possible solutions. Its gotta be something stupid causing this.

 

Well I finally have gotten to the bottom of this. I was thinking about this today; I had verified all sensors, I was getting fuel, and getting spark. Obviously the motor was turning when I cranked the key. There was only one thing left no air. I pulled the valve cover thinking the timing must be way off or something. It looks like the key rolled in the keyway of the intake cam sprocket. It basically ground the inside of the sprocket out and took the snout off the cam. Its a wonder the thing ran at all. I'm in the process of swapping out the cam now. Hopefully things will be back in ship shape soon. Thanks for all the help!!!