SAAB 9-3 2000 Service Manual
Manufacturer: SAAB, Model Year: 2000, Model line: 9-3, Model: SAAB 9-3 2000Pages: 236, PDF Size: 10.85 MB
Page 41 of 236

41 Convertible
ConvertibleGeneral safety instruc-
tions ................................ 42
Folding the soft top ......... 43
Raising the soft top ......... 45
Manual raising of the soft
top ................................... 46
Fault messages in SID ..... 48
Central operation of the
windows, 9-3 Convertible 49
Trunk, 9-3 Convertible ..... 50
Cleaning the soft top, 9-3
Convertible ..................... 51
Interior lighting................. 52
Manually opening the fuel
filler door ........................ 52
IB1361
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Page 42 of 236

42 ConvertibleConvertibleGeneral safety instructions• Never touch the hinges and struts of the
soft top nor the upper beam of the wind-
shield while operating the soft top.
After raising the soft top, always check
that it is properly secured to the top beam
of the windshield with the soft top locking
device before driving the car away.
After folding it down you should check that
the tonneau cover latches have engaged
properly. Otherwise it may come loose
while you are driving and cause injury.
Do not operate the soft top with passen-
gers in the rear seat or bystanders right
next to the car. There is a risk of head inju-
ries while the soft top is in motion.
Remove child car seats and children
before operating the soft top.
Don’t operate the soft top in temperatures
below 23°F (-5°C). Note that certain automatic carwashes
can do damage to fabric soft tops. This
applies to carwashes that use mechanical
feelers bearing against the body. We
advise against washing a Saab 9-3 Con-
vertible in automatic carwashes.
Note that certain automatic car washes
can cause water to leak in places that nor-
mally would not leak. Do not direct high
pressure streams of water at the seals for
the conver tible top.
Roof racks and ski holders must not be
mounted on the soft top.
Under no circumstances should anything
be put into the storage space for the soft
top (under the tonneau cover) since this
could cause obstruction when the soft top
is being folded away.
See that no luggage is resting against the
soft top stowage space since this could
interfere with the rasing and folding of the
soft top. When the soft top is being operated, low-
ering or raising should be completed. Do
not leave the soft top partially raised or
lowered: after 20 seconds it will quickly
"settle down" when the hydraulic pres-
sure is automatically released.
It is important that the telescopic locking
handle is completely pushed in when the
soft top is closed.
Fold down any auxilliary mounted
antenna before raising the top to avoid
possible antenna or top damage (e.g.,
OnStar cellular antenna on windshield of
Conver tible)
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Page 43 of 236

43 Convertible
Folding the soft topBefore operating the soft top, read through
the section ” General safety instructions” on
page 42.
1 Start the engine and let it idle.
2 Release the locking handle to free the
two hooks.
Pull the handle straight backwards.
Pull the handle down, releasing the
hooks.
Raise the handle up.
WARNING
Do not touch the hinges or struts of the
soft top during folding, because of the
pinch hazard.
Do not operate the soft top with pas-
sengers in the rear seat or bystanders
right next to the car, because of the
risk of head injuries.
After lowering the top, make sure the
soft top cover has locked properly. NOTEIf you drive away while the soft top is
being raised or lowered it will stop when
the car exceeds 6 mph (10 km/h). The
motion of the car and the resulting wind
can seriously damage the components of
the soft top system and may cause per-
sonal injury.
IB837
Locking handle 1 Pull the handle out
2 Unfasten the hooks
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Page 44 of 236

44 Convertible3 Slide the ROOF button backwards until
the soft top is completely folded away,
the tonneau cover is closed and the SID
has given an OK signal (beep). Slide
the ROOF button backwards a second
time to lower the windows.
4 Check that there are no fault messages
on the SID; see page 48. NOTEAfter folding the top down you should
check that the front of the tonneau cover
is locked at the front on both sides before
driving away.
IB839
IB838
Switch for operating the soft top 1 Lowering
2 Raising
1 The rear window is raised.
2 The tonneau cover is
opened.
3 Roof and rear window are
folded down.
4 Tonneau cover is closed.
IB936IB937
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Page 45 of 236

45 Convertible
Raising the soft top
1 Start the engine and let it idle.
2 Slide the ROOF button forward until the
5th bow is locked in the tonneau cover
and the SID has given an OK signal
(beep). The top must be locked within
20 seconds. If this is not done the soft
top will lift an inch or two (a few centime-
tres. In this case, slide the ROOF button
forward again until the SID gives an OK
signal. Lock the soft top with the locking
handle.
Note that all side windows will be auto-
matically lowered an inch or two (a few
centimetres) so as to protect the seal strips when the soft top is raised.
The window operation is bypassed
throughout the raising cycle to prevent
the windows being raised.
3 Pull the front end of the soft top down
with the aid of the closing handle and
lock the soft top by rotating the locking
handle up.
Pull the handle down.
Rotate the handle upwards, the soft top
will be locked.
Push the handle in.
Check that the hooks have locked the soft
top.
WARNING
Do not touch the hinges or struts of the
soft top during rasing the top, because
of the danger of being injured.
Do not operate the soft top with pas-
sengers in the rear seat or bystanders
right next to the car, because of the
risk of head injuries.
IB840
The front-edge locking of the tonneau
cover
IB841
1
2
34
Locking handle 1 Pull the handle out and lift it
2 Push the handle in
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Page 46 of 236

46 Convertible4 Raise the side windows by sliding the
ROOF button forward a second time.
Alternatively, use the central operating
switch for the side windows.
5 Check that there are no fault messages
on the SID; see page 48.Manual raising of the
soft topPoints 6 to 8 are only valid if the soft top is
operated manually when the soft top ton-
neau is locked.1 Tip the backrests of the rear seats for-
ward.
2 Unlock the rear-seat backrest with the
ignition key just outboard of the left rear
headrest and tip it forward.
3 Remove the round rubber cover over the
hydraulic valve.
4 Open the valve about half a turn.
5 Open the trunk lid.
6 Take out the wheel lug wrench.
7 In the soft top tonneau mechanism and
inside the trunk lid lining on the
right-hand side, is a hole into which the
straight part of the tool is to be inserted;
see the figure. 8 Unlock the tonneau cover by pulling the
tool backwards. The cover should lift
half an inch or so (a centimetre or so).
Remove the tool. Close the trunk lid.
WARNING
Manual operation of the soft top must be
resorted to only to raise it in an emer-
gency (e.g. in case of an electrical or
hydraulic fault).
After manual raising the soft top must on
no account be folded down manually,
since this could cause damage to the soft
top mechanism.
Valve for manual raising of the soft top
IB842
IB938
Tool fitted for manual unlocking (1) or
locking (2) of the tonneau cover
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Page 47 of 236

47 Convertible
9 (ill. 1) Stand at the side of the car and
open the tonneau cover by grasping its
black part.
10 (ill. 2) Get into the car and stand on the
lowered backrest.
11 (ill. 3) Take hold of the handle and pull
the soft top up. 12 Climb down onto the floor and pull the
soft top towards the windshield. Raise
the 5th bow (rear window).
13 Stand at the side of the car and close the
tonneau cover.
14 Tip down the 5th bow/rear window as far
as possible.
Note: In manual raising it is not possible
to completely secure the 5th bow in the
recess of the tonneau cover.
15 Shut the valve of the hydraulic system,
without making it too tight. Replace the
cover over it. Raise the rear-seat back-
rest again. See that the safety belts don’t get caught. Be sure the seat back locks
in place on both sides.
16 Sit down in the front seat, open the
handle and lock the soft top to the wind-
shield beam. Make sure that the hooks
engage in the beam.
17 In the trunk: replace the tool in the soft
top mechanism and lock the soft top ton-
neau by pushing the tool forward until
the stop point.
18 Take the tool out.
The soft top system must be checked and
repaired by an authorized Saab dealer as
quickly as possible.
WARNING
Do not touch the hinges and struts of the
soft top during raising. Keep your hands
clear of the upper beam of the windshield
- this is a pinch hazard area. Do not oper-
ate the soft top with passengers in the
rear seat or with bystanders right next to
the car.
NOTEClose the cover carefully so as not to
damage the small flaps in the front.
IB939
Manual raising of the soft top
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Page 48 of 236

48 ConvertibleFault messages in SIDThe following CHECK messages are
included in the soft top system and can be
displayed on the SID together with a beep.
SID displays Cause Action
CHECK SOFT
TOP STORAGE The soft top storage bag is hooked up.
An item in the trunk under the soft top is
obstructing the soft top. Unhook and lower the soft top storage bag, see page 50.
Make sure that no item in the trunk is lying against the soft top
storage.
CLOSE TRUNK
LID The raising or lowering of the soft top is
obstructed because the trunk lid is not closed. Close the trunk lid so it is latched securely.
CHECK SOFT
TOP LATCHES The soft top is not latched to the top beam of the
windshield.
Somebody is trying to lower the soft top while it
is still locked to the windshield beam. Lock the soft top with the locking handle, see page 45.
Release the soft top with the locking handle, see page 43.
FINISH SOFT
TOP MOTION Raising or lowering was stopped before the
cycle completed. Finish the soft top motion completely.
CHECK SOFT
TOP COVER The soft top cover is not being locked.
The soft top cover doesn’t open. Make sure that the valve for manual raising of the soft top is
closed, see page 46.
Try to slide the ROOF button backwards once more.
SOFT TOP FAIL-
URE Serious fault in soft top mechanism. Try to slide the ROOF button once more.
BE VERY CAREFUL AND MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING IS
OBSTRUCTING THE OPERATION OF THE SOFT TOP.
Remove anything that can obstruct the operation of the soft top.
Operate the soft top manually, see page 46.
CHECK SOFT
TOP Something is in the way and is obstructing the
operation of the soft top by the electro- hydrau-
lics.
The soft top cover has not locked at the front on
both sides.
The 5th bow (rear window) has not locked to the
soft top cover on both sides. Try to slide the ROOF button once more.
BE VERY CAREFUL AND MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING IS
OBSTRUCTING THE OPERATION OF THE SOFT TOP.
Remove anything that can obstruct the operation of the soft top.
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Page 49 of 236

49 Convertible
The following fuses should be checked if the
soft top cannot be operated and no fault
messages are shown by the SID:
MAXI-fuse 5 in the engine bay, see page
188.
7, 14, 21 and 23 in the fuse panel on the
end of the instrument panel, see page
189.
Central operation of the
windows,
9-3 Convertible On the center console is a switch (see illus-
tration) for the simultaneous closing or
opening of the four side windows.
Using the ROOF-button
When folding the soft top down, you can
lower all windows by continuing to hold the
ROOF button backwards after the soft top
has been folded down.
When the soft top is being raised, all side
windows are automatically lowered an inch
or two (a few centimetres) to protect their
seals. After the "beep" is heard, the hooks
of the soft top have been secured to the
windshield beam, hold the ROOF switch for-
ward again and all 4 windows will close.
WARNING
Remember the risk of personal injury
when raising the windows. Check that all
persons travelling in the car have their
head, hands and fingers away from the
windows before raising them.
IB301
Switch for central operation of the win-
dows, Conver tible
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Page 50 of 236

50 ConvertibleTrunk, 9-3 ConvertibleHooking up top storage bagMore space in the trunk can be obtained by
lifting the top storage bag up by the straps
under it and hooking them in the eyelets at
the top of the bag.
The top storage bag can only be hooked up
in this way when the top is raised. If you
attempt to lower the top while the bag is
hooked up, the SID will display the message
"CHECK SOFT TOP STORAGE"; see page
48.
Trunk lid lockUnlocking the trunk lid by using the remote
trunk release button on the driver’s door is
possible only when the top is fully lowered
or raised (note that the ignition must be in
position ON when the top is lowered).Rear seatThe rear seat is intended for two passen-
gers.
The two rear seat positions have three-point
safety belts with inertia reels.
Lowering the rear seatbackTo increase the load-carrying capacity of
the car, the rear seatback can be folded for-
ward. This will be easier if the front seats are
not too far back.
1 Pass the rear safety belts under the
black handles at both ends of the back-
rest. This prevents the safety belts from
becoming caught when the seatback is
raised again.
2 The seatback is fitted with a lock at the
top near the left rear head restraint. Use
the ignition key to unlock the entire back-
rest. Remove the key.
3 Lower the seatback. (In Canada, if using
child seat top tether strap, detach from
anchorage in trunk prior to lowering the
seatback.)
NOTEIf the trunk lid is opened by unlocking it
with the key when the top is not fully raised
or lowered, damage to the trunk lid and/or
top system could result.
IB855
Suspending top bag
IB856
Lock for rear backrest cushion
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