Newbie in Florida

[pensacola mike]

I have been searching and dreaming for a long time, and cannot seem to wipe the smile off my face. I purchase a 1987 carrera and absolutely love it. The obsession becomes reality....now to fix some of the problems. First is the windshield wipers do not turn on. Second is the gas gauge is not correctly responding and thought, well I could just watch the odometer and estimate when I need to refill but that too is not responsive. I need to figure out how to add a belt to the a/c compressor, and how to replace the sunroof cable. and to see if the front seats can be saved or do I need new ones? and well that is just to list a few things. I love this site and have gained valuable information from everyone on this site
so here are the obligatory pictures Mike

[Winter]

Excellent! Now if Pleco would only follow your good example! (inside joke).

Check out the tech articles on this site, they've been a good source of info on how the various systems work for me.

And, of course, the highly knowledgeable members of this forum don't hurt either.

Good luck!

[eds119]

Hey Mike, I am in almost the same boat. Just bought a 1980 911 SC out of Ft. Walton. This site has been a huge help just searching threads. If you are military the auto hobby shop on Corry has the tech manuals as well as access to that high dollar program mechanics use. Let me know if you can find a reputable person in this area to ask questions on. I havent had much luck with the Porsche dealer out of Destin, not to say you wont... As I learn more about my car, plan to do all the work myself, I'll try and pass it on.

[eds119]

... and the manual I am using published by Bentley. Between that book, and this site I have been able to figure most things out.

[pensacola mike]

@ Ed thanks for the advice, there is p car mechanic in ft Walton but he a seems to never answer a call or never open when I've driven by. In pcola harry Williams is our local Porsche mechanic and will have to visit him soon. And I'm a vet but not a retiree.

[JQ911]

Congratulations! Same here I got my 86 2 weeks ago and so far I'm having the time of my life. Too bad i'll be out of the country for a month and won't be able to use it until May 15.

It sucks when you just had something you've been dreaming for a longtime and won't be able to see or use it. Talk about timing. but no regrets, at least I need to earn a living to enjoy life.

[Dublinoh]

Welcome! My thought is check fuses and relays first for the wipers and fuel gauge. The fuel sending unit is not hard to replace if that is the problem, but don't attempt before reading a DIY.

Does the speedometer work and not the odometer or both not working?

[pensacola mike]

well I checked the fuse and it was missing? i added a fuse hoping that would fix it, still nothing not sure how to find the relay for the wipers I need to buy a how to manual or our host book 101 projects for your porsche. but I'm really enjoying working on it.
thanks for your help.

mike

[pensacola mike]

Oh and the speedometer works but the odometer does not move, any suggestions?

[Winter]

Odomometer is probably the classic broken screw inside the housing, the screw that drives the mechanism for the odo. Do a search. May or may not be worth fixing.

[timmy2]

Originally Posted by pensacola mike

Oh and the speedometer works but the odometer does not move, any suggestions?

The drive gear breaking is a common problem, "never push the trip meter reset while car is moving" should be in the manual.
Repair instructions have been posted many times on this forum, or you can send it out to be repaired.

May I suggest you try using the advanced search function, type in your term and select titles only. Not trying to discourage your questions just your ability to find multiple, well written responses to common problems with our cars. Sometimes they can raise more questions in one's mind, other times they have the ultimate solution.

Oh, and get the Bently Manual and all 3 of Wayne's books...

[Chuck.H]

"never push the trip meter reset -- EVER" should be in the manual...

Sorry, but these gears are just too damn fragile for me.

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 332k miles (odo not reset in last 150k)