Left Front Door Lock Replacement - 1998 9-5

[Kangaroo1]

Hi there,
For the past 6 months the left front door lock of my 1998 Saab 9-5 has jammed intermittently in the lock position. Sometimes you can manually pull up the black lock tab and unlock it. Other times the tab won't move which unfortunately makes it impossible to open the door - which you need to do if you want to remove the cover panel and access the screws holding the lock in place in order to replace the lock.

When it remained locked for about 2 months I took it to a smash repair place to see if they could get it open. They inserted a wedge betwween the window glass and the door frame to see if they could access any mechanism that might activate the lock - unfortunately no success. They suggested the only solution would be to cut open the door panel or the door itself. Not very exciting options. They also checked fuses etc without success. I went home hoping that at some stage the door would miraculously unlock.

Three months later I charged the battery overnight and lo-and-behold the door opened with the central locking - probably a bit more charge or voltage activating the solenoid.

I obtained a replacement second hand lock $120 Aust - not too bad a price.

I have taken the door panel off following instructions from "Green Window Door Roller Replacement Saab 9-5
http://saabworld.net/showthread.php?...ront+door+lock

I also found a thread that deals with door lock removal on a Saab 2011 9-3
http://saabworld.net/showthread.php?...ight=door+lock

Is there a similar WIS for the 1998 9-5? or is the procedure identical?

In the meantime I have left the door panel off and intend to use the car until I replace the lock.. Is there a way of unlocking the door with the panel off if I can't get the central locking
to work??

Regards
Kangaroo1

[nordwulf]

WIS instructions are probably not needed anymore after a few months.. did you get it all sorted out?

[Kangaroo1]

Thanks Nordwulf,
I have been travelling for the past 2 months so have not yet proceeded with the door lock replacement but will be back at home at the end of next week.
I would appreciate the WIS instructions if available.
For the past 2 years I have been moving between Sydney and Wagga Wagga (where the Saab is located) on about monthly time frames. When I am away I disconnect the battery and recharge it on my return. Prior to recently departing overseas the battery died - after 5 years so not a bad effort. The new battery seems to have reactivated the faulty lock mechanism.

This poses the question - was the lock failing to operate due to low voltage from a failing battery? On occasions it would operate after recharging the battery (but only occasionally). Perhaps the new battery has partially solved the situation (at least enabling door to be opened to allow me to replace the lock mechanism!).

Surprisingly the various mechanics and smash repair people I consulted didn't consider this option!
Nonetheless I will replace the faulty lock.

Regards
Kangaroo1

[nordwulf]

Here are the instructions: saab_9-5_front_door_locks_replacement.pdf

Seems a bit more difficult than I thought. Good luck.

[Kangaroo1]

Thanks Nordwulf,
It does look a bit more compicated than I expected!
I will let you know how I go,
Regards
Kangaroo1

[swisssaabist]

Due to all mysteries happening on Saab's i will consider the fact about your battery and the locking it could be interesting to take voltage on battery and the alternator.
and checking the ground cables everywhere in engine bay

[Kangaroo1]

Dear Nordwulf and SwissSabbist,

Regret I replaced the battery (it was not holding any charge at all) so was unable to test the precise voltage but I assume it had been deteriorating over a period of several months and is a likely contributor to a dodgey doorlock working intermittently (the other 3 locks were OK). With the new battery the dodgey lock worked OK but I still decided to replace it.

Yesterday I replaced the LHS front (Passenger) door lock on my 1998 9.5 with the second hand one ($125 Aust - not a bad deal).

I had already removed the door covering and plastic trim a month earlier -using a paint scraper to lever them off the door. Reasonably straight-forward although you have to be careful not to break the plastic lugs (only 1 broke!).

Step 1 - disconnect the battery. Remember there is an airbag activator embedded somewhere in the door although I didn't see it in the area where I was working on the lock.

Following the WIS instructions from then on was reasonably straight forward until you get to the part where you have to twist the door-lock to extract it (step 15 -see below).

But first - at step 3 - removing the water separator carefully by lifting the door trim inwards and upwards. This didn't require a special tool -but you do need to have the window down.

Step 4 - I don't remember a weather strip screw needing to be removed. Certainly I never put one back - maybe it was the left over screw when I had finished!

Steps 5, 6 and 7 -You don't need to remove the window!! I was sure I remembered my mechanic years back saying it was unnecessary - just complicates the process.
At this stage reconnect the battery - put the window up, then disconnect battery again.

Step 8 and 9 - easy to drill out the 3 rivets - but I didn't need to unhook the wire from the finisher - I was able to gain access without that step - and unhook the wire from the lock using a small flat screw driver to lever it out and up.

Step 10 - Detaching the guard from the driver's door - Because we drive on the left side of the road in Australia I was dealing with the LHS passenger door - I couldn't find any guard but I did loosen the rear screw on the door handle but I don't think it was necessary.

Step 11 - Nor did I have to "Undo a section of upper window moulding and drill out the rivet." but I did remove the 2 bolts holdiing the bottom of the guide rail (easy step - clearly visble)

Step 12 - It was easy to move the guide rail forward (but there was no guard to lift out).

Step 13 - Easy to Remove the three screws that hold the lock to the door (assuming door is in open position - which had been my problem previously with the dying battery!!).

Step 14 - Unplug the electrical connector from the lock unit - use a flat screwdriver to prise up the red tab - then connector just slips off the three active pins..

Step 15 - Now comes the hard part - you can't disengage the push rod between the exterior handle and the lock (the rod end just sits loosely in the white plastic fitting on the external side of the lock) - because you can't get the lock low enough to extract it from the hole in the plastic grommet because there is a metal bracket welded to the door frame that stops the lock moving downwards and outwards.

The only way to disengage the push rod is to hold the lock in its original position then rotating it firmly anti-clockwise while holding it vertical and firm aganist the internal side of the door frame.

With a lot of jiggling (while holding the guard rail as far forward as possible with the other hand - or if you could hold the rail out of the way with some string or wire it would help).

Eventually you will find the exact position where the whole lock rotates and frees itself from the metal bracket - at which stage the push rod is easily slipped out of the plastic guide. The pull rod can then easily be disengaged as well.

SUCCESS - The lock is finally out of the door - now you reverse all the steps.

Getting the push rod and pull rods in place is dead easy but rotating the lock back into position took me about 15 minutes of frustrating effort - having got it out I knew it would go back in - but an extreme challenge to achieve it! Skinned and bleeding knuckles the order of the day!

The remaining replacement steps are all straightforward. Once you have the three lock screws in place and the electical connector in place - reconnect the battery and check that the lock works OK. Thankfully mine did- the pull rod (with the black tab at the top which pokes through the door trim ) popped up and down with great enthusiasm.

Seal the dust cover on the inside of the door with masking tape, then replace the door trim followed by the plastic window trim.

PS The WIS diagrams can be hard to follow! I have taken some photographs if you are interested.

All up you could probably complete the whole job in about 2 hours first time and an hour or so the second time.

Thanks for everyone's assistance,
Regards
Kangaroo1.

[swisssaabist]

this amazed me each time with Saab instructions, it is each time carefully and smartly thinking for example when you see at the end of the Wis from above ....Polish the window.
I don't think it exist in brands like Peugeot or Fiat...