2000 Saab 9-3 Owner's Manual - Page 136

136 Starting and driving Useful tips on cold climate starting If the engine has failed to start after several attempts in very cold weather, press and hold the accelerator down to the floor and run the starter for 5-10 seconds. This will prevent the engine being flooded (excessively rich fuel-air mixture). Now start the engine in the normal way - do not touch the accelerator. If the engine stalls immediately after starting (e.g. if the clutch was released too quickly), do not touch the accelerator when restarting the engine. Every time the engine is switched off the spark plugs are automatically cleaned. If your attempt to start nevertheless fails, let go of the ignition key and allow it to spring back. This initiates more vigorous cleaning of the sparking plugs which goes on for about 5 seconds. Then start in the ordinary way. Do not touch the accelerator; if the accelerator is pressed to the floor the fuel supply is shut off. Important considerations for driving The engine-management system in the Saab 9-3 is called Saab Trionic T7. The system manages the ignition, fuel injection and turbo boost pressure. The Trionic T7 system developed by Saab is an intelligent engine-management system designed to achieve optimum driveability under differing driving conditions. The system makes adjustments automatically, for instance, if the car is being driven at altitude (oxygen-deficient air), for different grades of fuel (AON 87-93) and for different load conditions. 1 Starting and driving • Refrain from using full throttle before the engine has warmed up (before needle is in the mid-range on temperature gauge) to avoid unnecessary wear. If the needle of the pressure gauge repeatedly enters the red zone the engine may suddenly lose power, owing to the intervention of a monitoring system which curtails the charging pressure. Get in touch with an authorized Saab dealer at once. • A safety function prevents the engine from revving faster than 6,200 rpm by temporarily shutting of the fuel injectors. 2 Stopping the engine • Do not rev the engine immediately before switching it off - stop the engine when it is idling. 3 Regulating the charging pressure • The system is optimized for fuel with an octane rating of AON 90. For cars with 205 hp engines and the Viggen, the system is optimized for AON 93. One of the advantages of the system is that it enables the engine to be run safely on lower-grade fuel, although not lower than AON 87. However, engine performance will fall off slightly, and heavy loading should be avoided. For best performance you should use the recommended grade of fuel, AON 90 (205 hp engine and Viggen AON 93). • The maximum boost pressure is adjusted automatically to the knocking or pinging tendency of the engine. Occasional, short-lived knocking when the engine is under a heavy load is perfectly normal; the extent will depend on the grade of fuel in the tank. • Isolated instances of knocking are more likely to occur with low-octane fuel. This controlled form of knocking, followed by a reduction in the boost pressure, is a sign that the wastegate is functioning and is perfectly safe for the engine.