74 914 Stalling + buzzer problem

[Norway914]

Hi

i have imported a 74 914 from the US (they are hard to find here in Norway and pretty expensive in Germany) that im restoring. Its been welded and got a new paint job and have been running good but lately i had a few problems i hope some can help me with. Its a 2.0 with FI.

1. Sometimes the engine just stalls, like the fuel
pump is disconnected for a second and than goes back on
again, but lately it has stopped completely and will
not fire. After 10-20 mins she fires up again. The
weird thing is that it can be just 2 mins since i
fired her up and drove off and other times 1 hour
after i drove off.. it has ignition on the spark plugs and the timing has been checked and is ok but its also fitted with a Bursch exhaust and i hear allot of backfiring when i take my foot off the accelerator.

Any idea?

2. The other thing is that the hand brake buzzer
sometimes comes on (only buzzer not the red warning
light) but not in full stenght, just like its a bad
connection somewhere. When this happens the turn
signal light (green light in the rew counter) comes on
staticly (flickering) with the buzzer but stops and
work like normal when the hazard light is on or if i
use the left/right indicator.
Im not that good with electrics, but have reviewed all
the earth connections with no solution Drives me
mad..)
Maybe even my to problems are correlated...


Help anyone?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Can you check the fuel pressure when the car will not start? Does the pump run at all when this happens? You should be able to hear it "buzz" for about 1.5 seconds when you turn the key from "off" to "on", and it will run again once you turn the key to "start". If the pump does not run when the car is not starting, then you need to troubleshoot the pump circuit.

I would suspect an electrical issue of some kind; intermittent problems are very often electrical in nature. Check around for loose wires, or ones with brittle or cracked insulation. Wiggle the wires in the engine bay to see if any of them makes the car stumble.

My guess on the buzzer is that it is not actually the buzzer at all, but the flasher relay flipping back and forth very rapidly. Clean up all of the electrical connections that you can--even the fuses, and especially the grounds. The relay may be starting to get old as well... There is a replacement available, but you have to jumper one connection on it (I think; I'm foggy on the details) to make it work correctly. You may also be able to open up the relay and clean the internal contacts; that can help in some cases.

--DD

[Norway914]

Thanks Dave! Now i at least have an idea where to start
The buzzer-sound is from the relay that sits with the fuse box. If i remove it the hazard lights and left/right indicator does not work.

[Tobra]

probably the flasher relay, not sure if that would be connected to the ignition system, I think it is a separate circuit, or thought so anyway

[Norway914]

You helped allot Dave! The stalling problem seems to have been a case of bad/poor contacts at the Bosch relay on the right side in the engine bay where there is two contact clusters. Cleaned this up on Friday+ isolated the wires a little and now its been running like a dream since then.

A little update on the buzzer problem. I'm now pretty sure its the buzzer making the sound not the flasher relay. What i also noticed after using it all weekend is that sometimes the buzzer starts or stops when i hit the brakes but same as before, not with full power and with the indicator light flicker with different intensity following the buzzer. In addition the brake warning light comes on the the buzzer is intense but often it goes away with one hit on the brakes. The buzzer can be quiet for a long while, but using the brakes or indicators can set it off again.
What really also make me think its a electrical problem and not the relay is that the rear lights is not working as they should. The driving lights dims a little in same beat as the indicator lights when i turn them on and if i brake with left or right turn signal on together with driving lights the reverse lights comes on very weak but you can see it.
My experience with cars tells me this is a case of poor ground connection but i have tried to clean up the grounds(looks like the ground for the rear lights is in the left side of the engine bay right?) and i also tried an additional ground for the rear lights without success.
Any ideas anyone?

Thanks!

[Tobra]

The problem you describe sounds like poor grounds. It is possible that the ends of the ground straps are nice and clean, but the strap has deteriorated internally and developed increased resistance, had that on a beetle before