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Upgrade Your SAAB 9-5’s Headlight Relay With This Simple Mod

Upgrade Your SAAB 9-5's Headlight Relay With This Simple Mod

Even though the last SAAB 9-5 came off the production line nearly a decade ago, these cars are still very much alive and kicking. If you’re a proud owner of a 9-5, you might be surprised to learn that there’s an Easter egg of sorts in your car. We’re talking about the headlight relay trick that unlocks a built-in feature disabled on North American 9-5s.

Unlocking Extra Lumens

SAABs have always been quirky cars. This company was known for pushing automotive engineering limits, always adding new and interesting features to their vehicles. Like most other brands that build cars for various markets, SAAB had to adapt their cars to meet US specs.

That homologation for the US market meant that some features had to be switched off on SAAB 9-5. The cool thing is that SAAB didn’t remove the feature we’re about to discuss, but rather just disabled it. Over the years, people have figured out ways to enable this feature again, hence the headlight relay trick.

666 headlight mod

The Flash to Pass Bulb

The cars SAAB has built for the European market feature what we know as ‘flash to pass’ lights. These are found on xenon equipped versions of the 9-5. Headlights on such cars have mechanical shutters that control the low and high beams.

On this side of the pond, the flash to pass feature only works if the daylight running lights fuse is removed. In essence, this means that the center bulb in your headlights was probably never used.

Ever since people figured out that there’s untapped potential in factory headlights, the race was on to figure out how to put the center bulb to work. Truth be told, the factory xenons on most 9-5s is nothing to write home about.

The headlights are fairly dim, prompting many owners to look for aftermarket upgrades. The headlight relay trick allows you to gain more lumens without having to resort to aftermarket products.

How Does the Relay ‘Hack’ Work?

Up until recently, the only way to tap into that center bulb was to rewire the car. There’s a number of SAAB owners out there who sat down, took out the wiring diagram for their vehicles, and went to town.

Some were more successful than others, but it quickly became apparent that rewiring the car was just too complicated. Then came the 666 relay mod. The 666 in the name has nothing to do with sinister forces of the underworld, but rather the position of the relay.

The Plug and Play Solution

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. That saying definitely fits our topic for today. Namely, someone sat down and figured out a clean, plug-and-play solution to this issue. No longer do you need to use shady jumpers or to rewire the harness in your car.

Instead, all you need is this BOSCH flash to pass relay. To install it, all you need to do is remove the existing single throw relay in the FR1 position in your relay board.

With the 666 relay mod installed, the flash to pass bulb will come on when you pull the high beam stalk.

How Big of a Difference Does This Mod Make?

To put it simply, your headlights will appear at least twice as bright with this mod installed. We never did figure out why SAAB chose to nerf the headlights on the North American 9-5, but unlocking factory lamps’ hidden potential completely changes the driving experience at night.

You’ll find that the newly acquired beam is illuminating everything up to the far reaches of your high beams. There’s plenty of power in there to satisfy even the most demanding drivers.

Long Term Effects of Headlight Relay Mod

Whenever a mod like this one gets figured out, some will wonder whether there are long term adverse effects waiting down the road. With this particular ‘hack‘, there doesn’t appear to be any side effects.

There’s no load on the wiring harness, nor will you run into heat issues that could melt any connectors. Remember, all you’re doing is unlocking the hardware that’s installed by the factory. The headlights in your car were literally designed to withstand this mod.

The only time you might run into issues is if you decide to perform the hack the old-fashioned way. Any time you start messing with the wiring harness, bridging connections that weren’t meant to be bridged, and similar, you’re risking the integrity of your electrical system.

There were issues reported with ill performed wiring jobs that have caused shorts, all kinds of electrical gremlins, and other problems that were hard to fix later on. The 666 relay mod brings no such issues.

All you’re doing is using already existing connectors and plugging in a mass-produced relay. There are hundreds of SAAB 9-5s out there running with this relay for years now. Someone is yet to report a catastrophic issue regarding this mod.

Keeping the 9-5 Rolling

We still offer the 666 relays within our catalog, along with a whole range of other parts for SAAB vehicles. Here at eEuroparts.com, we understand that SAAB has left behind a void in the hearts of many of its fans.

Because of that, we’re doing our best to help keep these awesome cars on the road for as long as possible. To find quality genuine, OEM, or aftermarket parts for your SAAB, simply head over to our online store and input your car’s details into our search tool.

Alternatively, you could also use your VIN to get a list of parts that are perfectly tailored for your car. In case you’re not finding the parts you’re looking for, reach out to us, our customer support might be able to help you.

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38 thoughts on “Upgrade Your SAAB 9-5’s Headlight Relay With This Simple Mod

  1. 666 was the first “mod” I did to my ’03 9-5 when I bought her in January of ’10. I’d consider it well worth purchasing this relay- no hacking into your wires, no risk of shorting anything out, don’t have to try to force fit the fuse/relay board back into its normal position as you wonder what all you’re putting stress on. The benefit of relay 666 is absolutely phenomenal. The extra light output illuminates everything from your bumper to the far reaches of your high beams, no poorly lit spots in between.

  2. If there isnt enough light already then your blind or you wil blind the oncoming driver. As much these will burn out your halogen bulbs faster and result in a system failure leaving you blind on the road. I reviewed this product and would say its not real enough to bother with.

    1. Burn out your halogens? How can you burn them out at all if you can’t turn them on , Greg?
      What are you saving them for???

    2. FYI, Greg most people turn off their high beams when there is oncoming traffic….. Maybe you are the guy I’m always cursing out that is coming at me with the high beams on??? I might be blind as well. My left driver side shutter is not fully opening and this will help until I get the time to fix it.

      1. This happened once to me, it ended up being chunks of glass left over from a previous owner’s exploding lightbulb, which was jamming the mechanism. I removed the light and poked around, shook it and gently tapped. The glass eventually rattled out and all was good after that.

  3. You ‘reviewed’ it, Greg? Did you test it, talk to anyone who has used it, tried it?
    Great ‘review’…maybe you should have said, “I read about it.”

    1. Hi Barry, Check to see if you actually have bulbs in your center halogens. I’ve read that 06+ years have them completely omitted! If they are in there, and your flash to pass does work (with the headlights off) then I believe this should work with your car.

      1. Sorry, I should have been more explicit. The headlight cluster doesn’t include a halogen bulb. Rather, there are two xenon bulbs. The outside bulb appears to be both high/low beam. The inside bulb is not activated by the switch and appears never to come on unless it’s the daytime running light which I’ve disabled by removing the fuse.

        1. Yes, even though there appears to be projectors in the headlight cluster there may not actually be a bulb or wiring present (cost cutting, they figured the Xenons were good enough). This is on US cars only as far as I know. To know for sure you would have to remove examine and possibly remove a headlight to see if the centers actually have the ability to light at all.

        2. On my 2006 95 Aero only one Xenon on the outside of the cluster that has a flap that opens for hi-beams. The inside lens is totally empty. No bulb, no harness.

    1. For now, we are only aware of this working within the specific application range of SAAB 9-5 02-05 with Xenon headlight bulbs. I can look into E46 systems for you to see if there is a similar problem/solution.

  4. Did Bosch do the modification or is this a Bosch relay that has been modified by another party? Whose warranty would apply?

    Thanks!

  5. I just received this relay, and replaced the defective one. Easiest mod ever, and my first mod on my new (to me) ’03 Saab Aero. Plug and play!

    Can’t wait for it to get dark to try out my new high beams. I’ll be trolling this site for more ideas now…

    1. Hello,

      For my ’04 Saab 9-3 can you please tell me in what number position this relay should be installed in the panel? Thank you

  6. I have a 2007 Saab 9-5 Aero Sportcombi wagon that I just purchased this past December. The light output at night is horrible and I can barely see what’s in front of me when I am driving. The 666 relay sounds perfect as a solution but is it compatible with my car?

    1. I’m sorry, the 2006+ cars have a different style headlight setup and is not compatible with this mod. Xenon 9-5’s from 02-05 only. It sounds like you need new bulbs, and perhaps a headlight restoration if the lenses are hazy.

    2. I have same car, with same issue last year. I finally discovered that the PO had installed new Xenon bulbs, but not locked them into position. Make sure the 2 black tabs are at 3 & 9 o’clock positions when bulbs are in place (release position is about 2 & 8). Also, look at bulbs to be sure they aren’t spent. There are lots of images of what a good & bad Xenon bulb look like.

  7. I have been having issues with my high beams for awhile now, two mechanics have looked over my saab 9-5 2006 light bulbs /lights /fuses and can not seem to find out what is wrong, although another mechanic did point me in the direction of the relay, he just wiggle it and the high beams worked for awhile lbut it’s not the solution. I would like to order this item or perhaps the appropriate part (relay) since I to have an issue with the strength of my headlights and high beams (when they were working)

    helpless in the dark.

    1. Hard to say exactly what is going on, but it sounds like you have a simple loose electrical connection on the fuse box contact. If the relay is okay, try to either bend the contacts in the fusebox, or shim the relay blades to try and make a more secure connection between the relay and the contacts. Good luck!

    2. If you have the Xenon lights the high beam shutters might not be opening in the Xenon lens. This is the problem I have with my driver side.

    3. Barb, keep in mind you may not have the inside halogens to begin with. Just like my 2006 95 Aero. Apparently the change was made in 2006 to have only one bulb (xenon) that has a flap that opens for HI beam. My lens next to the xenon is empty!

  8. Adam, To those with 06 to 09 9–5s- The highbeam lens is not wired for a bulb at all. However, the socket does accept a halogen highbeam bulb. I’m GUESSING that if you were to wire the highbeam halogens and use the modified 666 , You’d get the same result as the 02 to 05. Please note, I haven’t tried this myself or even examined wiring diagrams. Logic would dictate this would work but Saabs are not always logical cars.

  9. 666 relay and dtrl fuse pulled …..no flash to pass when lights are off…..
    Let me know thanks….love eeuroparts!
    2005 9-5 Aero

    1. When the lights are OFF, the flash to pass will not work. I don’t believe they will flash in the center position either, the low beams must be ON. Post amended.

  10. This is an old post but I just picked up a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero about 6 months ago. My first Saab and I love it!! It took me a while to figure out why those center halogens were not coming on. It didn’t help that my driver side shutter was not opening when I put my high beams on. This relay will help a lot until I get the time to fix the driver side shutter. Thank you eEuroparts!! Glad I stumbled on this gem of a part!!!

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