Thanks for the video, I think it is all I need to familiarize myself to change my bulbs. For anyone reading this though, you should change both Xenon bulbs at the same time for three reasons. 1. Xenon/HID bulbs change color temperature as they age because the metallic salts that create that color age at different rates (this is why a bulb that is about to burn out quickly changes from the cool-tone blue to orange then pink before finally kicking the bucket) 2. HID bulbs are rated for ~2500 hours as opposed to halogen bulb's 300 hours. This means that if one bulb burns out prematurely at 2000 hours, the other bulb has 0-500 hours of life left. At $150/bulb, it is worth it to change both bulbs compared to just changing the burnt out bulb like you do with halogens. The cost of a $30 halogen bulb every 300 hours is much higher than a $150 bulb every 2500 hours. People replace only one halogen at a time because if one halogen bulb burns out at 200 hours, the other bulb might have 100 hours left. Also if cost is you concern: 3. When a HID bulb is burning out and is unable to ignite the salts, the ballast has to work overtime to get them to ignite. This puts extra strain on the igniter (which is the expensive part of the system that you do not want to ever replace). Sometimes people will have to turn their lights off then back on a couple times to get it to ignite. This is hell on an igniter.
Thanks for a great "How to". Probably saved me $100 between shop labor and finding the correct Made in Germany bulb on Amazon Prime for less than half what NAPA wanted for one. I should note that the air box in my '06 9-3 has a third rubber grommeted mount in the lower right corner which makes removal a little trickier.
like the details. especially where you show the bulb change on the driver's side...very detailed not like some other vids out there where its just dry run, its an actual change
The Xenon bulb is a relatively easy job. Try and replace the daytime running light bulb on the passenger side. Saab routed the AC refrigerant piping right behind the headlight (you can see that it's kind of an access problem for replacing the Xenon bulb as well). My local former Saab dealer told me the headlight is typically pulled out to replace that bulb which means the front bumper has to come off. Fortunately, my wife has small hands so she was able to remove the DRL bulb from the reflector. That was the easy part. It took her 15 minutes just to get the bulb socket lined back up inside the reflector and then twist it clockwise to lock. It's just as much of a pain on the driver side although you can fairly easily remove some of the things in the way on that side. Saab definitely wasn't thinking about the poor tech who has to troubleshoot and replace things on these cars when they shoehorned the V6 engine in there.
As far as I know V6 Engines were manufactrured / built here in Melbourne Australia. When Saab was owned by general motors. Here General Motors Holden. The motor for our Holden Commodore (3.8 litres) was reduced to 2.8 litres for the Saab. I have not driven one but would like one. Sounds very sweet. They are getting a bit old though. Unfortunately.
+RagingWhiteman nice. If you have xenon headlights then they are self adjusting. However, the halogen headlights can be adjusted easily using a couple Allen head bolts.
Sorry, Z but they are not "self adjusting" in the way you suggest. They need to have their 'base' adjustment set (like zeroing a micrometer, if you will) with the car in standard road trim. After that they adjust themselves up or down in response to sensors that detect if the car is nose or tail heavy. The sensors are on the suspension. They move up and down at ignition on to cycle the motor and set themselves to the ride height for that journey.
Hi, Nice video. I have the same Saab as yours. I have 1 rubber pipe coming out of transmission which is hanging behind battery area close to ABS system. Can you please check whats going on with that? It seems like it doesn't plugs into anything.
Great video very easy to understand. What Xenon HID do you recommend, and what are the differences between the K ratings?, no one really explains this.
+Justin Ocean I just bought them from ebay based off feedback that the seller had. I picked 6000 K, which is white, and are what most states have as legal. Not all states or countries allow for different colors for your headlights. The K rating or Kelvin rating, means for example a 3000 K is more of a yellowish color whereas a 6000K is more white. They're also different numbers up to about 12,000 I can go to blue or Vylet. If you look up HID color ratings you'll see the different ones.
Correct. The human eye is best tuned to 4300 generally. I find 6000 too white and piercing so I use 5000K. As for bulbs, Osram Nightbreaker unlimited are about the very best. And thanks for the idea for a video - explain the Kelvin scale!
sorry, one more question. my saab says to change the low beam. Which one did you change in the video? Should I get the low beam, high beam, and fog HID kits? If I don't need to change the ballast, why is there nothing but kits out there that come with a ballast?
+Jennifer Taylor the xenon bulbs are the low beam. The others are halogen. First make sure you have xenon bulbs. If you do have xenon, I bought mine on ebay. Only the Aero models have xenon bulbs usually.
what bulbs had the ballast included (i.e. no separate ballast somewhere else under the hood). where these stock? My 2005 convertible has regular H7 bulbs.
Glad you're live! I'm ordering this Philips bulb but have no idea if it matches my OEM bulb on the drivers side, as far as the wavelength is concerned www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01317Y612/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
quick question. I have a 03 arc with the auto leveling xenons. but between that and the grill is a regular halogen bulb it looks like, but there never on an nothing I do makes them come on...whats this about?
Unfortunately you have to replace the sprayer end to fix it. I'm not aware of anyone who sells the little pieces that can come out. The cheapest I have found is about 70 dollars.
+zollotech Thanks for your reply. I'm ok with the price and was wondering if you have the correct part number for the drivers side unit? Also are there any video's of how to replace that part?
hey guys my passenger side igniter isnt getting power for some reason. I have an 07 aero. its not the igniter because I tested it on driver side and it worked. what would prevent the passenger side from working? is there a fuse on the wiring harness itself perhaps??
There is a ballast on the underside of each lamp unit. You need to remove the lamp to get at it, which in turn means you need to remove the bumper. Let me show you how: ua-cam.com/video/Adkcj8kTo_U/v-deo.html
My headlights are very dim, feels like there is no light on the road. Is it possible to clean inside the xenon and how? or is it possible to find Xenon headlight for an economic price? the new ones are really expensive.
+Rıfat Rafael Haleva if you are sure you have xenon you can get them on ebay or amazon for much less. That's where I bought them for about 10-20 each. Xenon were only on the aero model and generally don't fade. They either are on or off for he lost part. The halogen lights dim though.
Thanks for your kind reply, but the problem is not with my xenon bulbs, it is with my xenon headlights. I changed bulbs already but I guess the mirror behind the lenses are dark.
Correct. The reflective surface is vapour deposition aluminium onto a steel case. The ally degrades with UV exposure and the performance drops. I'll be doing a video later this year on how to get the headlights apart to cure this problem and for customising the lights. You can also buy new units - search for EVOX-R D2S projector.
Fuck I’ve had such a hard time figuring out what bulb it is. First my car told me it’s the low beam so I bought an h7 bulb and that wasn’t it, then I read somewhere it’s a w5w or t10 or something?? So I bought a t10 and that’s not it now I find out it’s an expensive ass d2s bulb
Are you sure? Here in the UK Saab 9-3 xenons are defo bi-xenon. I also understand that to be the case for US models. Join Saab Nuts! on Facebook - I'm sure some of the US members would confirm that.
Cyclone Cyd if I’m not mistaken Saab only had Bi-Xenons for the 2003 vector and 2004 aero w/lighting package before Saab decided it was too expensive/complicated
Thanks for the video, I think it is all I need to familiarize myself to change my bulbs. For anyone reading this though, you should change both Xenon bulbs at the same time for three reasons.
1. Xenon/HID bulbs change color temperature as they age because the metallic salts that create that color age at different rates (this is why a bulb that is about to burn out quickly changes from the cool-tone blue to orange then pink before finally kicking the bucket)
2. HID bulbs are rated for ~2500 hours as opposed to halogen bulb's 300 hours. This means that if one bulb burns out prematurely at 2000 hours, the other bulb has 0-500 hours of life left. At $150/bulb, it is worth it to change both bulbs compared to just changing the burnt out bulb like you do with halogens. The cost of a $30 halogen bulb every 300 hours is much higher than a $150 bulb every 2500 hours. People replace only one halogen at a time because if one halogen bulb burns out at 200 hours, the other bulb might have 100 hours left. Also if cost is you concern:
3. When a HID bulb is burning out and is unable to ignite the salts, the ballast has to work overtime to get them to ignite. This puts extra strain on the igniter (which is the expensive part of the system that you do not want to ever replace). Sometimes people will have to turn their lights off then back on a couple times to get it to ignite. This is hell on an igniter.
The best clear and easy to follow *V6* headlight tutorial on YT - BRILLIANT! Thank you!!!
Glad it helped!
I feel brighter having watched this excellent tutorial :)
Thanks for a great "How to". Probably saved me $100 between shop labor and finding the correct Made in Germany bulb on Amazon Prime for less than half what NAPA wanted for one. I should note that the air box in my '06 9-3 has a third rubber grommeted mount in the lower right corner which makes removal a little trickier.
like the details. especially where you show the bulb change on the driver's side...very detailed not like some other vids out there where its just dry run, its an actual change
The Xenon bulb is a relatively easy job. Try and replace the daytime running light bulb on the passenger side. Saab routed the AC refrigerant piping right behind the headlight (you can see that it's kind of an access problem for replacing the Xenon bulb as well). My local former Saab dealer told me the headlight is typically pulled out to replace that bulb which means the front bumper has to come off. Fortunately, my wife has small hands so she was able to remove the DRL bulb from the reflector. That was the easy part. It took her 15 minutes just to get the bulb socket lined back up inside the reflector and then twist it clockwise to lock. It's just as much of a pain on the driver side although you can fairly easily remove some of the things in the way on that side. Saab definitely wasn't thinking about the poor tech who has to troubleshoot and replace things on these cars when they shoehorned the V6 engine in there.
Excellent instruction and zooming in with the camera. Good job, mate.
Wow I just realized that it's Zollo, I didn't know that you also had a Saab 😁
Thanks man, its nice to have a video to follow so you dont accedetely break something
Thanks man, you just made my weekend project so much easier.
Very good video, i thought i couldnt do this by myself. Saved me ~1000 SEK.
Thanks for the help, Aaron! I'm doing one on my son's car with him today, and this is really helpful.
Thanks a lot for the video. Did it with no problems today, and saved me A LOT of money. :)
Great video and some good instructions and nice camera shots.
Thanks Eric you rock, I have the exact same car. Color and all.
thanks so much! would love more on the 06 SAAB 9-3!
Head over to my channel then. You might find something of interest. And let me know what sort of stuff you'd like to see.
Great high quality video. Very clear and concise. Thank you!
I have a 2004 Vector SS, do I have the same one as you (D2S) or do I have D1S?
Thanks a lot for that, just bought a Saab 93 myself and I'm loving it. Any help we can get counts
Have a look at my channel for some help. Might be something of interest for you and I'll take requests.
As far as I know V6 Engines were manufactrured / built here in Melbourne Australia. When Saab was owned by general motors. Here General Motors Holden. The motor for our Holden Commodore (3.8 litres) was reduced to 2.8 litres for the Saab. I have not driven one but would like one. Sounds very sweet. They are getting a bit old though. Unfortunately.
I love this car. I had Audi before and its headlight replacement was like 2hours /pcs.
Thanks for taking the time.
Beautiful Saab. Wife has a 2007 9-3 Aero. We need to adjust our head lights.
+RagingWhiteman nice. If you have xenon headlights then they are self adjusting. However, the halogen headlights can be adjusted easily using a couple Allen head bolts.
zollotech That I did not know. I knew when you turn the 9-4 on they moved up and down. I want to put them on my 2011 9-5.
Sorry, Z but they are not "self adjusting" in the way you suggest. They need to have their 'base' adjustment set (like zeroing a micrometer, if you will) with the car in standard road trim. After that they adjust themselves up or down in response to sensors that detect if the car is nose or tail heavy. The sensors are on the suspension. They move up and down at ignition on to cycle the motor and set themselves to the ride height for that journey.
The battery cover actually has tabs on the back that you need to fit before pushing it down in front over the washerfluid pipe.
Hi,
Nice video. I have the same Saab as yours. I have 1 rubber pipe coming out of transmission which is hanging behind battery area close to ABS system. Can you please check whats going on with that? It seems like it doesn't plugs into anything.
I have a 2004 arc. I cannot get the bulb aligned properly to get the igniter on! Can you help me go in the right direction??
Which is a compatible headlamp for SAAB 9.3 2.O T (2008) H4? , can I use Xenon Light 6000 or 8000k H4?
does this car use a single bulb for both high and low beam aka (dual filament bulb) or does it have 2 bulbs on each headlight?
There are separate bulbs
@@zollotechThanks for replying! which one is the high beam is it the one with the igniter behind it or is it the smaller bulb next to it?
Great video very easy to understand. What Xenon HID do you recommend, and what are the differences between the K ratings?, no one really explains this.
+Justin Ocean I just bought them from ebay based off feedback that the seller had. I picked 6000 K, which is white, and are what most states have as legal. Not all states or countries allow for different colors for your headlights. The K rating or Kelvin rating, means for example a 3000 K is more of a yellowish color whereas a 6000K is more white. They're also different numbers up to about 12,000 I can go to blue or Vylet. If you look up HID color ratings you'll see the different ones.
Thanks, just ordered 6000K. Read up and they say your eyes see 4300K best, but I like the whiter 6000K myself as well.
Correct. The human eye is best tuned to 4300 generally. I find 6000 too white and piercing so I use 5000K.
As for bulbs, Osram Nightbreaker unlimited are about the very best. And thanks for the idea for a video - explain the Kelvin scale!
sorry, one more question. my saab says to change the low beam. Which one did you change in the video? Should I get the low beam, high beam, and fog HID kits? If I don't need to change the ballast, why is there nothing but kits out there that come with a ballast?
+Jennifer Taylor the xenon bulbs are the low beam. The others are halogen. First make sure you have xenon bulbs. If you do have xenon, I bought mine on ebay. Only the Aero models have xenon bulbs usually.
That really helps a lot! Thank you so much!
zollotech my 2.0 has xenon as well. Great video. Cheers!
the ballast...are the changed for brand new ones as well as the bulbs?
+Jennifer Taylor not that I know of. They should be he same
thank so much!!
Is it possible to use an igniter on a 2006 2.0T?
what bulbs had the ballast included (i.e. no separate ballast somewhere else under the hood). where these stock? My 2005 convertible has regular H7 bulbs.
These are stock, but you had to have the xenon option. If you have normal I halogen bulbs, you won’t have the ballast
Nice camera work! What camera did you use?
Just had a blown HID bulb today.. This video helps immensely..
+Joe Pah thanks. Glad I could help. This is the Sony FDr-AX100
Glad you're live! I'm ordering this Philips bulb but have no idea if it
matches my OEM bulb on the drivers side, as far as the wavelength is
concerned
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01317Y612/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
+Joe Pah try eeuroparts.com and you can get parts and parts numbers there.
Thanks man. You helped me out. Owe you a beer
Great video not as bad as i thought thanks
quick question. I have a 03 arc with the auto leveling xenons. but between that and the grill is a regular halogen bulb it looks like, but there never on an nothing I do makes them come on...whats this about?
Those are the high beams. Xenons are the lows.
In 03' you had bixenons. So the halogen for hi beams were not used. Depending on programming/market region those are used.
Could use some advice on fixing the headlight washer on a 2008 9-3 sports sedan. mine is missing a cover and sprays straight up in the air.
Unfortunately you have to replace the sprayer end to fix it. I'm not aware of anyone who sells the little pieces that can come out. The cheapest I have found is about 70 dollars.
+zollotech Thanks for your reply. I'm ok with the price and was wondering if you have the correct part number for the drivers side unit? Also are there any video's of how to replace that part?
Great video! Thanks a lot for the help.
Love these types of videos! Good job!
hey guys my passenger side igniter isnt getting power for some reason. I have an 07 aero. its not the igniter because I tested it on driver side and it worked. what would prevent the passenger side from working? is there a fuse on the wiring harness itself perhaps??
There is a ballast on the underside of each lamp unit. You need to remove the lamp to get at it, which in turn means you need to remove the bumper. Let me show you how: ua-cam.com/video/Adkcj8kTo_U/v-deo.html
Wish you showed driver side seems like more needed to come off to get into changing the bulb?
Thank you. Keep up the good work
Do I need to disconnect the battery in this process??
+SMGJohn no
My headlights are very dim, feels like there is no light on the road. Is it possible to clean inside the xenon and how? or is it possible to find Xenon headlight for an economic price? the new ones are really expensive.
+Rıfat Rafael Haleva if you are sure you have xenon you can get them on ebay or amazon for much less. That's where I bought them for about 10-20 each. Xenon were only on the aero model and generally don't fade. They either are on or off for he lost part. The halogen lights dim though.
Thanks for your kind reply, but the problem is not with my xenon bulbs, it is with my xenon headlights. I changed bulbs already but I guess the mirror behind the lenses are dark.
Correct. The reflective surface is vapour deposition aluminium onto a steel case. The ally degrades with UV exposure and the performance drops. I'll be doing a video later this year on how to get the headlights apart to cure this problem and for customising the lights. You can also buy new units - search for EVOX-R D2S projector.
Thanks, very useful 👍🥳
Thank You Arron
great video and commentary, cheers👍
Hej Vilken knappen spanar i en bil saab 2001 (95
Is that a Saab 9-3 aero v6 ?
yea
My 07 Saab 93 isn’t set up like that mine has has a shorter bulb and two prongs no ignition that I can see I’m confused
Then you probably have halogen headlights as opposed to xenon. You can get the bulb at the local auto parts store reasonably cheap and just swap it.
Excellent!
My mechanic changed the bulb in under 2 mins without removing any other part .
thanks for the good tutorial!! :)
Thank you!!!
thanks! helped a lot
Really helpful, thanks!
"Pardon my glove" would be an awesome thing to say after punching someone in their face
Just to save people some money, I got mine through Walmart online for $17. They are standard 4300K
Thanks for the vid 20 minute change. Buy your bulb on amazon got them for ~54. PepBoys wanted 100.
Fuck I’ve had such a hard time figuring out what bulb it is. First my car told me it’s the low beam so I bought an h7 bulb and that wasn’t it, then I read somewhere it’s a w5w or t10 or something?? So I bought a t10 and that’s not it now I find out it’s an expensive ass d2s bulb
Tks
is this Bi Xenon?
No
Are you sure? Here in the UK Saab 9-3 xenons are defo bi-xenon. I also understand that to be the case for US models. Join Saab Nuts! on Facebook - I'm sure some of the US members would confirm that.
Cyclone Cyd if I’m not mistaken Saab only had Bi-Xenons for the 2003 vector and 2004 aero w/lighting package before Saab decided it was too expensive/complicated
This video is not helpful in one way or another all the important parts in how easy or difficult it is to get stuff back on is edited out