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DIY: How to see live engine data in your SID (Saab 9-5, Saab 9-3)

saab SIDsaab SID

Saab Information Display, or SID, later also called ‘Saab Car Computer’ (SCC) is the name for various in-car computer systems found on most Saab automobiles beginning in 1994 with the Saab 900 NG.

SIDs typically provide functions useful to the driver such as multiple trip odometers, fuel efficiency, estimated range (‘distance to empty’ – DTE), current CD track or radio station, and also brief description of car system failures.

Common, although can display a lot of information, displays only the most essential. The video below shows how to enable OpenSID in your T7 Saab 9-5 or Saab 9-3. This video shows the procedure in Saab 9-5 Aero from 2002.

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OpenSID allows you to see live engine data in your information display, which allows you to read fault codes, boost pressure and much more.

The entire DIY guide did a team of Saab enthusiasts from known Trionic Seven: For Saab Enthusiasts channel.

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Here are the instructions from Trionic Seven:

Since we will be modifying our ECU software, we need to take several precautions. Never flash your stock ECU, but buy a spare and put the new software there. If anything goes wrong with the flashing and the ECU becomes bricked, you can simply swap the original back and your car will run fine. This video is not for the beginner. Do your due diligence and read up on installing OpenSID and ECU flashing before attempting this guide.

You will need an interface between the computer and the ECU. I will not go into details here since there are so many ways to do it, but I prefer to use JohnC’s Combi Adapter from the TrionicTuning.com forum via my p-bus connector in the OBD2 port.

In addition, you need the T7Suite and TrionicCanFlasher software.

Be warned. Enabling OpenSID is the gateway drug to more advanced flashing. Soon you will be hunting for tuning packages and optimizing fuel maps ;)

Combi adapter: http://www.trionictuning.com/forum/vi… (registration required)

Adding ISO 15765-4 Canbus to the OBD2 port:

Goran Aničić
the authorGoran Aničić
For over 15 years, Goran Aničić has been passionately focused on Saab automobiles and everything related to them. His initial encounter with Saab cars took place back in 2003 when the first Saab 9-3 and sedan version were introduced. At that moment, he was captivated by the car's Scandinavian design logic and top-notch engineering, and everything that followed stemmed from that first encounter. Later on, through his work at the editorial team of the Serbian automotive magazines "Autostart" and later "AutoBild," he had the opportunity to engage more closely with Saab vehicles. In 2008, he tested the latest Saab cars of that time, such as the Saab 9-3 TTiD Aero and Saab 9-3 Turbo X. In 2010, as the sole blogger from the region, he participated in the Saab 9-5ng presentation in Trollhättan, Sweden. Alongside journalists from around the world, he got a firsthand experience of the pinnacle of technological offerings from Saab at that time. Currently, Goran owns two Saabs: a 2008 Saab 9-3 Vector Sportcombi with a manual transmission, and a Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin Sport Sedan from the last generation, which rolled off the production line in Trollhättan in December 2011.

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