So many questions from euro newbie

[tincan]

Which question to ask? I will need to learn the correct US terms for loads of technical stuff first to interpret responses.

On a recent visit to Germany to see my son and grandchildren I bought an 88 3.2 in Venetian Blue with 115k verified kms. The car was first registered to the Behr Radiator Company in Stuttgart and was then registered to 3 members of the family who control Behr, including the CEO. Ownership since then has been by an American based in Germany who had an appraisal done in 04 and the last owner lived Fűrth in Bavaria. The car is a credit to all POs and is exceptionally clean for a 20 year old. I believe that it was only ever driven in summer. No hint of dulling on alloys or aluminium casings or anything else. The service record is fully stamped up, mainly from Porsche in Stuttgart with the occasional Porsche Cup specialist for good measure. It is almost entirely entirely original and the paintwork while not flawless is pretty damn good and 95% original, some touchups were done for shopping trolley scrapes. Toolkit was never used, it even has original spare fuses and gloves in.
I drove the car from Bavaria to Bordeaux stopping off to collect some local produce in St Emilion and then on to Roscoff to catch a ferry to Ireland. 2600 kms and 2.5 litres of oil later. I was amazed at the oil consumption.

So with such a perfect car why have I questions? Almost all refer to wiring issues,

Cruise control is not working, fuse intact but don’t know where to go from there, not really worried if I can’t get this working but nice to have if possible.

2 pin electrical connector under driver’s seat un-coupled - don’t know what it serves and am fearful of reconnecting without knowing

Another pair of electrical connectors just behind passenger headlight- one odd 3 pin and a second 2 pin that pass through the wing (fender?) in a common sheath and disappear.

Condensation behind H4 headlight glass, how do I take headlight off to check or replace, got trim ring off to uncover 2 screws at 2oc and 8oc that look like they are for adjustment.

Have ordered stuff from our host, bonnet (hood - see I'm learning real fast) struts, a DME relay and windscreen wash components as the passenger side wont went.
Am now cleaning everything in sight to bring it back to original state, dealer who brokered the deal used some horrible sticky tack on dash, tyres, door trims and all sorts of other finishes to “ shine“ them up before I took delivery. I will run her for track days at some point in the future but for the moment I just want to enjoy the growl from behind my right ear on the road.

BTW I had no intention of buying such a new model, I went over to look at a 73 targa which was almost the same money but not half the car as it turned out.
If I absorb all the knowledge on this forum I will need two heads to store it all. Will post some photos later.
thanks in advance
Noel

[1982911SCTarga]

Hi, Noel, hopefully someone knowledgeable about later Carreras can answer your electrical questions. With that said, your car has a seriously cool pedigree:

The car was first registered to the Behr Radiator Company in Stuttgart and was then registered to 3 members of the family who control Behr, including the CEO.

I'm curious what the CEO of Behr Group thought about operating the air conditioning, heating and ventilation controls on your car!

Brian

[ossiblue]

Welcome Noel, and congratulations on your purchase. Though I have older cars, there are some things in your post that I think I can help you with:

My guess on the two pin connector under the seat is for seatbelt warning/ignition interlock. If you car operates/starts without a problem and without the seatbelts fastened, then I'd leave it alone--kinda like your cruise control.

Can't help you on the connectors in the headlight bucket except to say I think I've seen these loose connectors in photos on the board. My guess is they are unnecessary for your car.

On the H4's, you are correct that the two screws you found are for adjustment. There is one screw at the bottom that holds the whole assembly in place. Once the bottom screw has been removed, you should be able to remove the whole assembly by pulling forward from the bottom so the assembly swings out a bit, then lifting up so the top "lip" of the trim ring lifts off the fender. Probably your seals are holding the assembly to the car--not an unusual situation. Once the assembly is off the car, you can see how to remove the glass lens. You'll probably need a new lens to assembly seal.

Congrats, again, and we're waiting for your pictures!

[SXSMAN]

We really need .

Congrats on the new car .

SxS

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by tincan

Cruise control is not working, fuse intact but don’t know where to go from there, not really worried if I can’t get this working but nice to have if possible.

Think cruise control grounds through the brake light filaments, IIRC. Are your brake lights working?

Condensation behind H4 headlight glass, how do I take headlight off to check or replace, got trim ring off to uncover 2 screws at 2oc and 8oc that look like they are for adjustment.

Yes, don't touch them. I made that mistake more than once, swapping UK/US lenses. Eventually, I noticed that - at least on my late H4's - the adjuster thingy that screws onto the long threaded adjuster has a little spade that locates into a rubber grommet on the headlight reflector shell itself.

You can actually pop the spade sideways out of the grommer without disturbing the adjustment screws at all. (you'll still need to check/adjust lights afterwards, because there's almost no chance you'll re-seat the lens and reflector in exactly the same place in the rim, but you should be in the ballpark).

Getting the unit out of the wing/fender is the hard part, and you already did that. The arrangement of little spring clips is all that hold the reflector assembly into the rim of the bucket. First few times, I'd strip one and keep the other assembled next to it for reference.

However, the placement of the spring clips aren't really critical at all, just distribute them evenly around the edge, without interfering with screw access etc... The earlier H4's had two different types/lengths of clips, later ones seem to just have the one type.

Once all the clips are removed, you can carefully peel off the rubber gasket that seals the edge and separate the glass lens from the reflector, clean etc. as desired.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly

Condensation might mean that the rubber gasket(s) may be shot/leaking, or the drain tubes in the wing are clogged or missing.


Noel, car sounds cool. Post pics!

Here's a quick glossary of US->English car terms...

Fender = Wing
Trunk = Boot
Rocker = Sill
Hood = Bonnet
E-brake = handbrake
Windshield = Windscreen
Flasher = indicator
Brights = Main Beam
Gas = Petrol

[4flyboy]

PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I'm shouting so that you can hear clear across the pond.

Oh yea. Please.

Yank

[livi]

Welcome Noel!

Great to see another European on the board!

Besides this phenomenal forum with archives miles long where every question thinkable has been discussed (search button), I would recommend the Bentley Manual for the Carrera as well as Wayne´s (the host) 101 Projects for your Porsche 911. Great reading for DIY!

Welcome!

[tincan]

Thanks for the kind words of welcome and the most welcome advice. You asked for pics so pics you shall have. If you look really closely at the stickers in the engine bay shot you can see a Behr label where their own garage did an oil change in 96, one of many judging by the service record.
We have had so much rain here that I can’t get any decent new shots so I'm posting pics from the dealer’s yard taken the day I first fell in love, it was also my twin grand-daughters’ first birthday so I’ll always remember where and when I found the 911 (yet to be named - possibly tincan XI. Tincan was the name of a succession of our caravans (trailers)and now our Motorhome (RV)) .
Uncovered another issue this evening, taking the carpets out to clean under, the floor is wet under the pedals. I'm hoping that the cure is as easy as clearing a blocked drain but no doubt I'll be told in jig time what to do. An article on 3.2’s in the June issue of 911 & Porsche World points towards the sunroof and I really hope it is just a blockage as I have had leaky sunroof troubles in the past on Volvos.

[dshepp806]

She's a beaut!

How's the windshield seal look? Could be the water source..... how much water did you find?

Welcome aboard,..much to be had here.

My best,

Doyle

[paulo]

Hi Noel,
The coding label shown in one of your photos reveals the following about your Carrera:
WPOZZZ91ZJS103263 - 1988 Carrera Coupe - Rest of World spec.
- near the end of the production run for this model
Motor type is 930/25
Gearbox is G50
Options: left seat self-heating, higher amperage battery, prepared for unleaded fuel, manual transmission, 1990 Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 radio with ARI, rear wiper, automatic speed control, without rear model designation, alarm system, air conditioner, sunroof.

Hopefully, this information will help you identify what some of those loose wires are for.
Gute fahrt!

Paulo

[dorschman]

This may sound stupid but could the water be from you getting in and out during the rain? If not you could park it in a good down pour and see if you can find an obvious leak while it is raining.

erik

[dorschman]

double posted

[tincan]

Like a prize giving I'll start with the last contribution, Erik, havent driven the car for a week due to problems with registration so it gets wet just standing, not too wet almost like condensation under the carpet, I intend to buy a carcoon to store her which should keep her dry;paulo, thanks for the breakdown of the options, everything seems to work with the exception of the cruise and the alarm but the alarm is a job for the electrickery shop;doyle will try the screen seal with a hose thanks;Markus I will add the bentley manual to my ever increasing shopping list;
yank dont you know how sensitive we are over here please no more shouting;
spuggy, I said that I needed to learn US speak sorta tongue in cheek, I worked in US a couple of times, the longest spell being 6 months in '99 based in PA brake lights are fine too so more work needed on cruise, will check all drains tomorrow;
LJ as previously stated every appears to work so I wont bother tracing wires until I have loads of spare time on my hands;
and finally Brian i too wonder how the Behr CEO got on with the car, I will have to get AC checked to see if it is still charged with r12, dont think many shops still carry thay her but I will ask

Hope you all enjoy the pics as much as I do

Noel

[billybek]

Very nice!
One of my favorite colours on a 911.
You may have to learn to say "eh" every so often as lots of Canadians are on the forum!
Welcome!