Well, as part of my negotiation tactic to drive down the buying price of my 2011 NG 9-5 Aero, I was smart enough to check out the rear LED light bar before agreeing on the final purchase price. As expected, the light bar didn’t work… at all. Usually these get dim, or one side goes out, but this one was dead across the board. The LED strips at the top of the tail lights are supposed to go through the LED light bar which would then connect both sides. Since bringing it home, I decided to tear into this before even getting the car officially on the road (I have plates & insurance, but not yet inspected). Oh, and in typical NG 9-5 fashion, this light bar is “NLA” (no longer available) from Orio (Saab Parts). Get used to seeing “NLA” a lot if you decide to buy a late model NG 9-5 or 9-4X…
First step is to take apart the inside of the trunk (or “boot” for my UK readers) lid to get access to the light bar. There are a bunch of plastic push pins that you need to pop the center up on first, then pull out the clip. The trunk lid handle has a couple of small metric screws that hold that on, so take that off next. The lid latch cover just pulls off, so piece of cake there (don’t think I’ve ever said that working on a Saab before!). So after taking those items off the trunk lid liner just falls down.
Next up, you have some 10mm nuts to take off (five, to be exact). Then there are two spring clips, one at each far end of the LED light bar. You have to carefully press the middle metal portion together. Taking this thing out is not rocket science, but I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous working on a car (well, besides compressing the front springs on the Sonett…) because I know this part is nowhere to be found if I break it… Lastly, unplug the one electrical connection that powers the light bar. Thankfully, things went according to plan and the bar came out with no drama. Now was the time to clean behind where the bar is normally installed. It will be full of crud, so I cleaned it up with Griot’s Garage Speed Shine.
I packed up the bar with as much care as I can muster. Picture needing to ship the Holy Grail, and you have the idea! I sent it off to Dave at http://www.ledfix.com. For under $200, he will take it apart, replace the circuit board and/or bad leds, and FedEx it back to you. He turns it around in 48 hours after receiving it, so when it arrived back from him I carefully reinstalled it. Reinstallation was drama free as well (phew!). Before and after pictures show the freshly refurbished light bar was back in business!
One item off the checklist, but certainly not the last…!
What On Earth Is An NG 9-5? 