After fixing my own 9-5 (2003) alarm twice in 15 years, I offer you a refurbishment service for your second theft alarm not a replacement unit (Saab 9-3 1998-2003 /9-5 1998-2009)
Please do not buy a sealed unit offered elsewhere (from scrap yards) unless it has been refurbished as the battery age cannot be determined. So within a year or so you will be back to searching for another unit!!!
Since 2000, Saab produced these as sealed units so the battery age cannot be determined unless you know the age of the car then allow up to 6 months prior for actual battery age.
There can be four reasons for the warning '
Service Theft Alarm' appearing on the SID (display panel):
Battery has depleted
1 of 3 (or all 3) Capacitors have failed
Cracked solder joints
Moisture ingress
So post your unit to me and I will open the unit to access the PCB within.
Replace the batteries
Replace all the relevant capacitors
Repair any cracked solder joints
Seal the PCB against moisture
Glue and screw together the unit (making battery replacement in the future easier)
I repeat DO NOT BUY second hand sealed units that still have the original soon to be dead batteries, you are wasting your money!!!!
I offer new batteries and capacitors and a year's warranty, simply post your sealed unit to me and I will return it refurbished.
Instructions:
Wrap the unit in lots of bubble wrap inside a strong cardboard box
The alarm unit has 2 lugs for attachment purposes and can break if not wrapped properly - don't be shy with the bubble wrap!
Only use bubble wrap and give lots of room between the box wall and the unit to minimize chances of damage.
Also to keep the postage price down, remove the plastic unit from the metal bracket as it's weight and extra length will mean a bigger box etc
Include a piece of paper with your name, return address & phone number, although we should have exchanged messages anyway?
NOTE Very ImportantOnly when the SID says '
Service Theft Alarm' will the refurbishment of your unit work, if you have a different message then there's another problem with your car so refurbishing the unit will not fix the SID message.
The price for the refurbishment service is £70 + £6 postage
Optional ServiceI live near Watford so send me a message if you need help and you are within an hour or so drive from me!!!
If you do not know anything about cars and have this problem then if you are near me I could always help with removing your unit for you but I'd have to charge for this to cover the traveling, petrol and time to remove the front passenger wheel & alarm unit (around 45 mins). Then return to you to remount the unit but then you have a backup siren that's good for 10 years.
Or you could come to me.

