This $30 Audi Part FIXED My SAAB 9-5 Aero Headlights

The passenger headlight on my 2002 SAAB 9-5 started flaking out and then quit all together. It turns out you can save a ton of money by picking up an Audi A3 headlight ballast instead of one sold as a SAAB part. The SAAB part is $265 and the Audi part was $30 shipped. Today we're going to remove the headlight, replace the ballast, and show you how to replace the HID bulbs.
Replacement Window Roller: www.esaabparts.com/saab/parts...
MERCH: shopWatchJRGo.com
Shop Motul: motul.com
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Common Questions:
What motorcycle do I ride? A few. Ducati 1198, Honda Goldwing, Honda Grom, Honda Ruckus
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Are you fast? Sort of. I suck mostly though.
Where can I keep up with you off the bike?
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Do you go to school? College, for 2 classes.
Why do you ride so dangerously? What do mean? I was doing 25.
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Do you play video games? No, but I might stream N64 Goldeneye at some point. Twitch: WatchJRGo
Are you afraid the police will watch your videos and arrest you? Something something evidence something something warrants and due process of law
#SAAB #SAAB95 #TURBO

[@paulsinnett85]

John Ross is like the shop teacher we all hoped we would get in high school. I love the content

[@Gabe-ABNCW3]

Nailed it.

[@edpoints1127]

His DAD is the shop teacher I wish I had in high school!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥 Oh yeah, 💥 boom

[@michaelhawkins5530]

The SAAB headlights are much more yellow than those side marker lights. Time for another headlight restore. Since the Porsche just sold, why can't the SAAB be the new daily driver?

[@lgunderso2117]

It really should be.

[@iluvfionaleggate]

The Saab can’t be sold! It’s one of the few cars you’ve always kept in the fleet since I started watching you, and as a Brit it’s been great to see a European car stick around haha

[@automatedwoodworker]

Brits are not Europeans :-)

[@OG_DSM]

@@sys-administrator LmaaaOOOO

[@lgunderso2117]

Hear me out: make the 9-5 your new daily now that the cayenne has sold (at least for a while). Great fuel economy and decent luxury (04/05 were better especially with vented seats). I genuinely love mine, would take it over my ex’s 2010 cayenne turbo most days.

[@skunkworks9-3]

Been around longer than most his flip cars so I'm hoping she stays for the long haul.

[@Chris-hw4mq]

saab is just a flip car not a daily

[@mds2465]

I second this!

[@ic1815]

9-5 is the first car ever with ventilated seats - and they were available from 1998.

[@allertschallenberg1857]

Also, it would be weird if you took your ex's car.

[@nickhannaford3253]

9-5 definitely worth running as your daily for the winter.

[@BD4V1S1]

As a SAAB die-hard, I love the 9-5 content. I also know fixed cars don't bring views. Fingers crossed that you find another broken SAAB to bring back to life.

[@69Dartman]

You ought to go ahead and polish that lens while it's out, unless you already did it sometime after you posted this. Pretty nice car and you won't be seeing one passing you every day.

[@michaelhoneycutt1837]

Yeah would definitely clean a polish them before selling

[@cheapme1850]

Absolutely. It’s one of those easy things that makes a car look a lot better and easier to sell. Would have take no more than a hour if that work just the Turtle Wax kit from the parts store.

[@robertvance1873]

What did he say about the Turo fleet?

[@bmh67wa]

Glad you were able to get that fugly tint off. It looks way better. The factory tint on the rear window of my car has small bubbles too. I think the rear window defogger shortens the life because it's worse where the wires run through the glass.

[@ShaneEwing]

Really have enjoyed seeing this car come together. Great work, as always!

[@sammarley347]

Thanks for the nice comment

[@jamesmyers3773]

Got to be honest. I will be sad to see the SAAB go. It was very interesting content. Never thought I would like a SAAB. You opened my eyes.

[@Leebs]

I'm so happy watching you get cars, fix them up, sell them. What a fun life to get to drive and own all these amazing cars.

[@richardfarmer6570]

Nicely done, I was amazed you can actually pull the headlight out without removing the bumper cover.

[@meek_meek1942]

93 requires for that. However the bumper is way easier to remove on 93s. 95s requires for the lights to be removed before the bumper screws can be accessd

[@jmurkz]

Thank you JR, glad the Saab is de tinted and looks so much better.

[@TheKentuckyConservative]

Good find on the ballast. Good stuff as usual. Go JRGO

[@mbeastie1]

I like your plan of having part of a Corvette in every possible camera angle.

[@MostGenericUser]

Shame they had to do away with the glass headlights. The ones that came on my 01 9-5 still look brand new

[@milkphish4122]

Are they compatible with later years?

[@Nikochicoo]

You can also upgrade the projectors, which is really need! Projectors used the Cayenne and Audi A4 B6 etc are the same!

[@Health_at_every_size_PDX]

Passenger side marker light is burned out when you were showing the headlights leveling at the end. 🤦🤦🤦

[@CricketThomas]

Something about JRs videos are so entertaining compared to a lot of other auto youtubers

[@Staatus_Quo]

Keep the 9⁵. That is a nice, clean example. It's one of the best dailies you can run.

[@n.shiina8798]

the shutter didnt alter your lighting angle at all but it blocks light to prevent unwanted light from the bottom side of reflector. that's why you can see the cutoff when you shine your low beam to a wall

[@marcusjosefsson4998]

A good general advice is to search for parts using the suppliers parts numbers, not the car manufacturers part numbers. Bosch, Hella, Valeo or whatever. A lot of electric/electronic parts for many different makes comes from just a few suppliers.

[@iangoodsell]

Oh keep the Saab please. Love seeing that in the background. It’s a great daily driver.

[@robertbeirne9813]

The complexity of those headlights made me nostalgic for sealed beams.

[@KillSwitchGarage]

ive been using some weird 15 eur d1s bulbs on my pathfinder 6000K ones, super bright light and first bulb died out almost reaching 2 years of daily usage so can,t complain sometimes those cheap things can be solid.

[@sexysammij1]

See now the only thing left really is to fix that clear coat and she is going to be one of the nicest and well sorted Saab's going

[@MrVinylista]

These LEDs create a blue-ish white light that's the last thing you need when driving in fog - because the human eye experiences glare from blue. That's why proper fog lights are yellow, because it's easier on the eye, letting you see further in poor visibility road conditions.

[@unstablebobgable]

If I could help Watch JR Goes work on the headlights on his Saab Aero 9-5 I would drink the shot of whiskey and the cold Bartle Skeets and roll up the fat Woolford and get all schmoked up

[@brantleyhudson2892]

While it didn't get a lot of video time - 4:12 That hellcat is beautiful!

[@GrandMoffJoseph]

4:19 - first time I've seen the dark silver stripes on the Octane Red paint but wow does that look good!

[@SteveBassen]

Auto leveling bixenon projectors was pretty cutting edge for that era

[@patrickmoodabe9728]

Love the Saab content JR!!!!👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@patrickmoodabe9728]

Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!

[@sylvainr.399]

JR, your Fiat’s headlights work the same way the Saab’s ones do. Great work, thanks!

[@lexmaximaguy8788]

that hellcat.....gorgeous.

[@CarFul]

Another wonderful video! Loved it all the way 👍😀👏🏻👏🏻

[@MassiveTrackHunter]

That 9-5 will make a great daily, since it is fast and should get great highway mileage. Great tip on the Saab headlight controller. I plan on getting a 9-5 and always hate when suppliers scalp saab owners for the same parts as other cars get cheap. A good one is the fuel pump for an NG9-3, well above $400 for saab brand, but it is the identical unit in my 02 GMC truck, for $150. Just missing the Saab logo in the plastic header...lol. Guess which one goes in my cars

[@Shawnbfromsd]

Hey JR can we get a shop update? What still needs doing, where those things are in terms of completion? Thanks.

[@mikemontgomery7337]

Damn !! That hellcat was gorgeous !!!!

[@TheBarberShopScott]

It's getting even better 🍻

[@pops55650]

Kept an eye on the white Vette, hope the engine arrives soon

[@sadsack1956]

Recommendation - I cringe each time a loose bolt/part is placed on the intake or hood edge. Loose screws/bolts usually find a way down into the engine, or a void, or to the floor. Recommend the use of a box / parts collector for jobs to avoid loss of parts. It has saved me many times with jobs around the engine. UNLESS you never loose parts laying them on the intake. Just a thought.

[@31dknight]

Great video from JR.

[@lgunderso2117]

Thanks for the info! I'll keep this in mind for my 05 aero!

[@lgunderso2117]

I did have a bulb fail in the same mode you were describing on my 04. I thought it was a ballast for sure, but it was just the bulb. Also, and I haven't studied it because I never thought to- are you sure that solenoid is a shutter and not the self leveling mechanism? I thought the high beams were the inner, traditional halogen bulbs?

[@lgunderso2117]

Use black silicone on the grill inserts. They will fall out if you don't. I ran over the center grill and was very sad.

[@leonardnose5695]

@Lgunderso how do these cars drive?

[@lgunderso2117]

Leonard Nose they’re not a Porsche, but I think they drive very well for a mid 2000’s car. Tight turns under acceleration in the city aren’t great because FWD, and there’s definitely turbo and transmission lag, but on the highway it’s phenomenal. Very planted, great car to set the cruise at 90 for 8 hours on a road trip. Steering is great if you have the right tires and replaced all the bushings. In the city I’d take an E39, on the highway it take a 9-5.

[@milkphish4122]

@@lgunderso2117 How do you use black silicone?

[@fartzinacan]

I've always liked the look of the 9-5 Aero's.

[@cooksie0612]

Keep up the Saab content!

[@canaho]

Tint dude has the same haircut I had when I was 7. In 1987. I'm down with it.

[@ro63rto]

My brother's TTs 8j uses d1s bulbs too.

[@greelsdisc]

heat gun on the opposite side of the glass is magic.

[@jackasmaryan1776]

Ha! My mercedes S550 uses D1S bulbs and to replace the ballasts the headlights need to come off also & for the headlights to come off the bumper has to come off 🤷

[@jacobtlaxcala6771]

I love this channel

[@TheBarberShopScott]

Love cheap fixes!

[@Hunterluker138]

What type of window cleaner do you use?

[@simon_illyan]

Hi. Do you know where the washers relay is located? The pause settings and pull don't work in my 9-5. Fast and faster are working 😅

[@joeclay4188]

My cadillac ats uses the same projector style.

[@michaelhoneycutt1837]

I jus can't do the fishbowl look and the tint saves your interior an keeps it cooler inside

[@jrfourr]

Any update on the s-10 ?

[@cjpamp1267]

what is the brand of window cleaner that you used

[@greathornedowl3644]

Special Guest Star Josh! Only Teeshirt in the World of Wheels? Thought Wichita in the middle of wintery weather. What are we going to sell next, the Carmax F250?

[@Edo-sb7of]

What is the PartNumber for that Ballast

[@toyota420xp]

In vermont tint is illegal on front windows/windshield

[@justinpaone2227]

The reason they use that solenoid with the deflector from high to low is at least from my experience you can't really have high and low beam HIDs I mean you can and they work great especially on a Mazda where all four bulbs stay on at the same time hello that's awesome. But if you need to flash your high beams that's not possible unless the ballast is already charged. If you notice when you turn on HID headlights they're not bright instantly like LEDs. So I was so happy to see my Ford explorer had the deflector thing although the downside is that's $1,000 headlight so hopefully that 2013 explorer headlight never gets cracked obviously there's junkyard options but new damn them are expensive. That being said hid still puts out better light than LED at least obviously in standard enclosures cuz you can't make an LED that emits light from all directions from the very center of the bulb and that's what you need in almost every headlight. If the enclosure is designed for led then you're fine but then it already came with led led so who cares you're not going to be upgrading.

[@Digital-Dan]

I bet it just needs a recap. It would be neat to see some car repair type take repairs down a level and do board-level repair.

[@popavlad6327]

Link for the ballast?

[@P.Galore]

time to polish those headlights!

[@CameronAudet]

got a part number for the audi ballast or just all audi?

[@CerealFapist]

are those lowbeams HID?

[@michaelwelschmidt9338]

Two weeks later we notice the headliner released with all that steam.

[@simon_illyan]

Hi, I found a strange issue with my newly bought Saab 9-5. In position 0, I have my headlights; in position 1, no headlights, but I can activate the front and rear fog lights; in position 2, I have nothing at all. The high beams should be held at ever position and do not work if you are not holding it. Any ideas about what could it be?

[@itsnotme07]

But what about the "Saab prestige" on those parts? LOL Brings up a good point, always check to see if another manufacturer used the part you're missing/need to replace. And of course eBay for "unscrupulous" sellers. LOL

[@bfisch81]

JR - I have a spare weather cap for a FIAT 500 if you want it. Let me know and I'll mail it off to you.

[@EthanDenny]

How do you typically sell your cars? I have some friends that could use a good vehicle!

[@frostyflake1128.]

I actually am really surprised you sold the Cayenne, but the truck is amazing so it's understandable

[@Expressionistix]

Surprised he hasn't sold the truck yet either. Dude goes through cars like their one-night stands.

[@OG_Jack]

@@Expressionistix Funny stuff! Doesn't he need to though? Needs to always have something to fix.

[@WatchJRGo]

I basically need one car that runs and everything else to be broken to wrench on 😁

[@antsrcool]

Use 409 spray on the tint

[@vincentcook9545]

A Green scuffing pad with soap and water to clean the headlights then some 2k clear that i have been telling you about will make them look brand new!!!!!!

[@kingkong2598]

Bro. Have you ever installed an android head unit on your beautiful saab 9-5 yet???

[@craigvk2paw17]

Had the same sort of headlight problem on the wife’s Murano , cost a bloody fortune to fix , should’ve gone straight to LED conversion

[@n.shiina8798]

careful on picking LED if you want them. lots of bad products out there

[@skyfox16]

The hickey at 12:13 tho lol

[@cinnamonrage]

Would be nice to clean up the foggy front lights before it leaves. That little last touch up.

[@nsh0325ppp]

How much for the aero?

[@kerrylewis2581]

What else is for sale?

[@leonardnose5695]

I remember when saab when out of business, is it true that they had to keep making parts for 10 years?

[@putster98]

If you loved the Cayenne, why did you sell it?

[@MINIMOTOMADNESS]

dude of your ever in the uk,please come and fix my saab 9-3 wagon,the gears are like stirring a bowl of porridge .......... its had 3000 pounds spent on it it 3 yrs and it still sucks

[@thatsonebadhatharry8610]

Could be time to find a 2015 to 2017 Volvo V60 or any Volvo with the 2.0l T5 Drive-e engine that has an oil consumption issue and fix it. Should be able to pick one up cheep.

[@meek_meek1942]

Please tell me how to find those ballast

[@WatchJRGo]

Just search for Audi A3 HID ballast on eBay

[@bearing_aficionado]

WatchJR's Corvette Emporium!

[@wernerdanler2742]

As much as I hate Mopars I love the color of that hellcat! How much is that Saab worth?

[@cheapme1850]

Do NOT use a razor blade to take the tint off unless you’re very, very careful. I’m now the proud owner of two deep scratches on my drivers side. On the passenger side I just patiently used adhesive removed and no scratches using a plastic razor blade.

[@JoeSmith-ls9bx]

Soooooo. Sell me the C5 when you are done ? My family and I are moving to Illinois soon. I have been looking at C5 Corvettes. Love that I can see it be fixed. I'm serious with cash.

[@WatchJRGo]

The green and white C5s are both listed for $13k firm.

[@JoeSmith-ls9bx]

@@WatchJRGo thank you for the reply. Where would I be able to find them online and is there a series on you fixing them ?

[@samconway5288]

What’s up with the Corvette??

[@DennisJPolson]

Yes! Lets go!!

[@phillipgardner5836]

The tint guys hair looks like Lego hair

[@patelyasir]

Gm still uses that same design with a d5s

[@MrGmail69]

Saab entered into an agreement with Fiat in 1978 to sell a rebadged Lancia Delta as the Saab 600 and jointly develop a new platform. The agreement yielded 1985's Saab 9000, sister to the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema; all rode atop a common Type Four chassis. The 9000 was Saab's first proper luxury car but failed to achieve the planned sales volume.

[@fabiantolano2080]

Part2 on the turtle wax kit

[@fabiantolano2080]

No! It needs the chrome parts. And buy the way polish the lights with the turtle wax kit. Then it’s fixed and pick up value.

[@Birdman1334]

Typically on a SAAB you need to drop the front facia to remove the headlight units..

[@Cartier_specialist]

Having a fire sale? Must be preparing to buy the coveted Porsche you mentioned yesterday.

[@brantleyhudson2892]

He's selling stuff that isn't being used/is fixed and bringing in more stuff to work on for the next batch of videos

[@Cartier_specialist]

@@brantleyhudson2892 I still think he's going to buy the Porsche he mentioned in the video about selling his GT-R.

[@brantleyhudson2892]

@@Cartier_specialist Maybe so. Between selling the GT-R and selling the Cayenne, it would make sense

[@WatchJRGo]

Basically selling every car I own 🍻

[@kevins4426]

I see the sad corvette, in the background

[@watchjaredwork1487]

Hey!

[@_RiseAgainst]

There has to be a way to bypass or delete that ballast.