Show & Tell, help me restore this neglected 930

[RarlyL8]

Well after sitting on the lift for 3 weeks with a cover thrown over the car it was time to do something. I enjoy working on my own stuff but time is in too short supply for me these days. Besides that I suck at electrical stuff. So make a phone call and let's drag this dead horse to the vet. When we were unloading the car I told Wayne now that the car was cold it would start but would likely not run for long. I hit the key and it fired immediately. The idle was rough so I didn't think it would run long. While backing it off the ramp it died. Abrupt turn the key off dead. This was the best thing that could have happened. Wayne was right there to witness. I could tell he knew right then what the problem was. I had to take off so I left him to the mystery. Maybe a half hour later Wayne calls and sais "you clean that 14 pin connector?" Sure that was one of the first things I looked at. "Well the wire that powers the CD box was corroded on the female side, took it apart and cleaned everything and it fired right up. Drove it for 25 miles; damn that car runs good." Well yes it should since I've replaced every freakin' component. I didn't know weather to be happy or disgusted. Well the car's back so I'm happy. The car stayed at the shop and Wayne is going to surgically remove that alarm system. More happy.

[mreid]

Here comes a happy ending!

[911 tweaks]

nice Brian...dont stress over someone else gettin' her dun...look at it this way...now you can drive her w/o worries & enjoy the car...she sure is a sweat machine...I look fwd to more pics & a vid of her in action... :-) thx, bob

[Norm K]

Sometimes it's worth it to let the (in this case, electrical) expert do what they do. Tough to swallow, but on occasions over the years I've had to admit that Callahan was right when he said "A man's got to know his limitations."

[CaptainCalf]

Great news, glad the see its running well for ya now get back to work

[jsveb]

Absolutely fantastic.

I simply love those wheels and those bigass tires -Looks amazing.

[tops911]

that's great news!!

[oilonly]

Dam! I'm glad the problem is solved but aggrevated we couldn't nail it down ourselves.

[Tt surgeon]

Electrical gremlins are my nightmare on these cars.

[RarlyL8]

You know, electrical stuff really isn't that bad if you have enough experience with it so you don't waste time. My "mistake" was from lack of experience. I followed the troubleshooting list in the Porsche Workshop Manual and used the tester to isolate where the power quit. Pulled the 14 pin plug and cleaned it. Wayne knew that was the likely problem by the action of the dead cut-off and kept digging until he found the faulty wire. Like most things electrical it became much easier to solve once the system completely failed.

[wjfk32]

GREAT!!!

NICE PICS

Walt

[onboost]

Originally Posted by Tt surgeon

Electrical gremlins are my nightmare on these cars.

I hear people say this but it has been my experience that these cars typically do not have electrical gremlins unless, it has been involved in an accident and was not repaired with attention to detail, or someone who had no clue what they were doing had been in there for whatever reason, or in many cases someone has installed an aftermarket stereo, alarm, door locks, 3rd brake light, etc.. Of course, as in the case here there may sometimes be a bit of corrosion causing an issue, either with14 pin connector, one of the grounds, the yellow wire to the ignition, green dist wire, and of course one of the round relays.

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

You know, electrical stuff really isn't that bad if you have enough experience with it so you don't waste time. My "mistake" was from lack of experience. I followed the troubleshooting list in the Porsche Workshop Manual and used the tester to isolate where the power quit. Pulled the 14 pin plug and cleaned it. Wayne knew that was the likely problem by the action of the dead cut-off and kept digging until he found the faulty wire. Like most things electrical it became much easier to solve once the system completely failed.

Ahhhh yes, and sometimes we over think the problem, especially when its electrical. However, as you've stated, you replaced a number of logical components in going through this which has provided for a car that is now running like the beast that it should be. Congrats and go burn-up some asphalt!

[JFairman]

"I hear people say this but it has been my experience that these cars typically do not have electrical gremlins unless, it has been involved in an accident and was not repaired with attention to detail, or someone who had no clue what they were doing had been in there for whatever reason, or in many cases someone has installed an aftermarket stereo, alarm, door locks, 3rd brake light, etc.. Of course, as in the case here there may sometimes be a bit of corrosion causing an issue, either with14 pin connector, one of the grounds, the yellow wire to the ignition, green dist wire, and of course one of the round relays."

Old cars with relays on top of relays controlling the grounds of other relays that control ignition and fuel pumps will definately have electrical gremlins that'll get you eventually... period.

Add an air cooled engine compartment, ignition distributor, and coil that is totally open to being soaked during rainfall and you'll eventually have corroded electrical pins and plugs like Brian's. Guarenteed.

[boostfix]

Knowledge and an honest wrench = wide black streaks!

[RarlyL8]

Yah it's pretty much a given that a 30 year old car stored in a barn will have some coroded wires. When I first got the car I pulled and cleaned the fuses and relays as well as the 14 pin and 6 pin connectors. It's the hidden stuff that gets ya.
When I put the turbo engine in the red rocket the CIS chain had no power and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why not, as all looked good. Eventually I isolated the wire and unwrapped the harness from origin to insertion. You're gonna love this ... the wire had been cut and wrapped back up in the harness. God only knows why.

[RarlyL8]

I didn't want to waste a piggy back ride on the wrecker on a 5 minute fix so Wayne is pulling out that god forsaken alarm. We are finding some REALLY interesting things about this system.

> There are valet switches in the console that allow limited time for Jr to park the car and then the power is cut.
> The door locks do NOT work manually. The tab for the key was cut off so the lock cannot be picked. Only way to unlock is with the key fob.
> The power is cut at the ignition switch and also one fuel pump.
> There is a panic button on the fob that locks both doors, raises both windows, closes the sunroof, kills the pump and ignition, and sets the siren.
> The fob allowed remote lock, remote window operation, and remote sunroof operation.
> There is a level detector in the trunk that sets the alarm off if attempting to tow the car.

This alarm is NUTS! It is '80s gadget mania extreme. The window frames had to be removed to weld tabs back on the key locks. The factory phone (yes phone) was tied into this mess as well but was left in place as it has Porsche part numbers so may have value.




And just in case Wayne wasn't having enough fun there is this crazy pull-out sterio that only AC/DC addicts could love. Complete with cabling the size of my thumb going to mystery amps. I plan to put a cap on the radio hole with fuel pressure gages in it. Much better use of that space.

[PrimeMvr]

Don't feel too bad Brian, I spent three weeks this summer diagnosing painfully poor running off-idle. Car would start right up, good throttle response in neutral, pull out of the drive and it wouldn't rev over 2500. My troubleshooting went as far as flow testing injectors, and re-checking cam timing, because replacing a cam seal was the last thing I did before the crappy running. I was moments from calling a flat bed too before I decided to do one more back-trace of everything. The culprit? Wait for it.....a rag I stuffed in the turbo inlet while it was apart for the seal rapair!

You just never know with these old girls and, in my case not yours, their weekend mechanics.

For anyone coming across this mea culpa, the lesson is that the problem isn't always where the symptoms lead you. When the engine would puke, the AFR gauge would show really lean, so I was totally focused on the fueling. Restricted airflow makes it lean? Well sure, when the fuel is metered by a barn door flapper.

Glad to hear you'll be burning it up in that beauty soon.

[JFairman]

Looks like you got a nice car Brian.
I'm changing the subject as usual but I like how your pre '86 dashboard isn't all swollen up around the AC duct, the knee pads are straight and in line, and the glove box door isn't warped. Good stuff

You front trunk looks pretty good too. Just dusty and full of alot of sloppy extra wires.
I know you have a really nice and quiet made in France Bosch front fuel pump too. I never shoulda removed it from mine and sold it
Oh well..

Good luck with your sexy slantnose man, and I'm looking forward to more of your future updates and reports in this thread.

Just wondering, did you ever install the new 044 fuel pump in the rear?

[RarlyL8]

Good lord Steve if I added my own goofs to this mess we'd NEVER get it solved. That's why Wayne is doing it, ha!

Thank you Jim it really is a nice car under the 20 year in a barn dust. The seats are hard and show age but the dash is great. I'll have to get the seats reupholstered. No the -044 pump is still in a box. Chris sent me the fitting about the time the ignition went wacky. I'll put that pump in when we're all done and back on the road. After all this I'm not convinced that my front pump was bad but having yours in place gives confidence in at least that small area.

I can just see Barry Gibb getting out of this car back in the day and hitting the key fob. Windows roll up doors lock and sunroof closes. He puts on the shades, throws his jacket over his shulder and heads to the night club. Ha!

You know the best part? Right after I took that picture of the dash Wayne says "watch this" and hit the key. The engine fired right up. Gotta love it!

[onboost]

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

hitting the key fob. Windows roll up doors lock and sunroof closes.

Hey, that's what the new cars do...

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

The seats are hard and show age but the dash is great. I'll have to get the seats reupholstered.

Brian,
If the seats aren't torn or broken, remove them and try soaking them down heavily with rejuvenator oil. Put plastic trash bags on them ans set them in the sun (if there is any at this point) or a really warm area in the house. Let them soak-up the oil and them wipe them down. You'll be surprised how this stuff will bring back the softness.