  We present Chandra/ACIS observations of the bursting X-ray transient SAX
J1747.0-2853 performed on 18 July 2001. We detected a bright source at the
position of R.A = 17^h 47^m 02.60^s and Dec. = -28 52' 58.9'' (J2000.0; with a
1 sigma error of ~0.7 arcseconds), consistent with the BeppoSAX and ASCA
positions of SAX J1747.0-2853 and with the Ariel V position of the transient GX
+0.2,-0.2, which was active during the 1970's. The 0.5-10 keV luminosity of the
source during our observations was ~3 x 10^{35} erg/s (assuming a distance of 9
kpc) demonstrating that the source was in a low-level accretion state. We also
report on the long-term light curve of the source as observed with the all sky
monitor aboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. After the initial 1998
outburst, two more outbursts (in 2000 and 2001) were detected with peak
luminosities about two orders of magnitude larger than our Chandra luminosity.
Our Chandra observation falls in-between those two outbursts, making the
outburst history for SAX J1747.0-2853 complex. Those bright 2000 and 2001
outbursts combined with the likely extended period of low level activity
in-between those outbursts strongly suggest that the classification of SAX
J1747.0-2853 as a faint X-ray transient was premature. It might be possible
that the other faint X-ray transients also can exhibit bright, extended
outbursts which would eliminate the need for a separate sub-class of X-ray
transients. We discuss our results also in the context of the behavior of X-ray
binaries accreting at low levels with luminosities around 10^{35} erg/s, a
poorly studied accretion rate regime.
