My resoration project with problems!

[paulhagedorn]

First off, I would like to thank all the people at Pelican Parts. You have been exrtemely helpful. More so than I would have ever thought. Also, I would like to thank Dave for all of his help.

By the way, this is for a 1973 2.0L
Anyways, to keep a running tab on what is going on with my project, I have now done a compression check. When cranked for a small period of time, each cylinder gets up to 125 psi. If cranked for longer, #1,3, and 4 get up to 135 psi and #2 gets up to 140 psi.

I have ordered a new fuel injector as one of mine was tired...meaning it sprayed fuel but would also dribble a little. I have also rented out the ecu tester to see if that will tell me if anything is wrong with the ecu. I got the engine from a parts car purchased from AA about a year and a half ago...and last week, when i was trying to see why my engine wouldn't start, I looked closer at the ecu...and I found a faded out writing on it that said...BAD! I am hoping that it is not, but if it is, then I am going to be purchasing another one or looking for one. Does anyone have a good used ECU for a '73 2.0L? I believe that the '73 1.7L would work also?

Does anyone know how much the vacuum advances the timing?

Anyways, thanks to all who have helped me.

I have found where my money will be going in the future! PELICAN...

Paul

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Yes, the 2.0 and 1.7 shared an ECU in 73.

For the distributor advance, the 914 Club has a chart with the various distributors and how much advance is caused by what RPM or vaccuum. http://www.dgi.net/914 , click on "tech specs" then "distributor specs".

--DD

[paulhagedorn]

Well, the distributor advance probably works fine, but not sure. It doesn't work all that smoothly, but it seem like it would advance it up to 8 degrees or so. Anyways, like you said Dave, one of the fuses was burnt out causing the guages not to work, but the problem is, I think there is a grounding on one of the power wires. When i replace the fuse, even with a blue fuse(i think 24 amp) it will fry it when the key is turned on. Not sure of where to start checking, but i guess just follow the wiring diagram from where the fuse leads to...and see what happens.

Friday I will post again, because that is when I should get the ECU tester...Thanks again for all of the help.
Paul

[Jim Osborn]

I have a good used '73 1.7 brain. If you still need one please contact me @ Sureguy510@yahoo.com

[paulhagedorn]

Ok, I got the ECU tester today and everything except check #12 was fine. Check #12 says it checks a pressure sensor with wires. What is it, where do I look, can it be something other than a bad sensor, like low oil or something?

Thanks
Paul

[paulhagedorn]

Well, I figured out my problem. The sensor was the AAR. Nothing was wrong with it, just the wires were twisted so much and coming loose that the two inner wires were shorting each other out. I unraveled the wires and put silicone around them to keep them from doing it again. While I was at it, I put silicone around the some of the other FI wiring just to be on the safe side. So, I don't need a new ECU, but thanks for the offer.

More to come...when I get it running right...hopefully!

Thanks again for the responses,
Paul

[paulhagedorn]

She's alive! She's alive!!!

Well, sort of...the car does run, but has a miss. I am pretty sure the timing is correct, but after I set it and tried to check the timing again, the timing gun wouldn't work.
Also, when the lights are on, the left turn signal doesn't work. And whenever the car is on, both of the green turn signal indicators are on. When the turn signal is in use, only one is on and it flashes like normal. Another problem is that when the car idles every now and then, the alternator light comes on bright and the radio goes off. When driving, every minute or so when going about 70, it is like the car completely shuts off. The alternator light glows and it has a complete loss of power but is still running. It starts to slow, but then picks up again.

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD MECHANIC IN ATLANTA?

I am going to be taking my car there, and am wondering who else there knows 914's besides AA.

THanks, Paul

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

It's almost certainly some sort of grounding problem. Probably all related. Did you by any chance replace a turn signal light bulb recently? I had very strange problems when I put a single-filament bulb in the dual-filament socket for the turn signal. (In the rear housing, but front would also do strange things.)

My car kept running with the key "off"--as long as the left turn signal was on!!!

I suggest hunting around for loose wires or anything else that could be shorting to ground.

--DD

[wjdunn3]

Hi Paul,
I concur with Dave. I had the same problem that Dave described plus others. The best thing you can do is take a full weekend armed with the wiring diagrams (avail from this site or Haynes Manual) and go through (trace) all the wires end to end. Check all the dash switches and make sure the right wire is on the correct terminal (hardly any of mine were. it's a wonder that any worked), replace any missing wires. Most importantly, find all the common ground connections and clean them. Remove the wires and take some fine sand paper or steel wool and remove all the oxidation and reassemble and grease to seal; there is one in front of the battery, about the same point on the other side of the engine bay, transmission to body under trunk area, behind the fuse panel, some more up front.
Not hard work, just time consuming. You do not want to be paying a mech 55-70 an hour to do this.
I live in the metro Atlanta area (NE near Road Atlanta). There is a place call Black Forest in the Road Atlanta Business Park that does Porsches. They have been recommended to me by several PCA members. I have not used them because I do all my own Mech work anyway.
Hope this helps.

[JP Noonan]

If the car sat for a while I would do the following.

First re-ground the 6 main grounds. What I mean is take a SS wire brush (wire brush? 'cuase it works!) and really clean all the ground points. Also see that the ground points are still good, i.e. that the ground point hasn't rusted. 1. Trans to body 2. Batt to body 3-4. behind each headlight 5. under relay board in engine compartment. 6. above fuse panel under dash. Fixing the grounds behind the headlights fixed my turn signal problems, as did cleaning out the socket the bulbs go into. Another ground to look at is 3 pronged ground for the FI. It is under the airintake bolted to a case bolt.


Next, look for any tampered with wiring. I got a 74 that had wires twisted together, with masking tape over them, for the radio and solid household wiring for the main harness. So see if any hack has been in there before you. Start fixing these wiris, as anytime the wire is spliced (possibly 30 years ago) corrosion can get in. Cut a splice the wires with shrick tube and solder, at least use a butt-splice connector and a GOOD set of crimpers (the kind that don't just "smash" the butt connector but the ones that put a "divit" into the connector). Also look for signs of mice they eat wire insulation.

That should help, most of my electrical problems have been from previous owners wiring (and my own, did I say that?) and not from the factory (except the mice that ate my +12V feed to the fuel pump under the gas tank of my '75) and not do to any factory wiring. If this dosen't work them I agree you might have to go through the intire harness.

To wjdunn3: Maybe the reason the dash switches were hooked up wrong was a PO hooked up the fog lights to work with the headlights down??? I think Panorama had a tech article on how to do this a while back. (not satified to just fix things I want to figure out why they broke. Either that or I break them agian just to be sure)

[wjdunn3]

JP Noonan Wrote:
>>To wjdunn3: Maybe the reason the dash switches were hooked up wrong was a PO hooked up the fog lights to work with the headlights down??? I think Panorama had a tech article on how to do this a while back. (not satified to just fix things I want to figure out why they broke. Either that or I break them agian just to be sure)<<

Unfortunatly, JP, it was much worse than that. The PO did not have a Haynes book or wiring diagrams, he just keep playing with the connections until it kinda worked; and work it barely did (classic hard start / slow turn over, glowing blinkers, engine still running w/o key, etc.). One weekend with the diagrams, spool of wire, connectors and crimp tool; problems gone. I have the Fog Light mod done as well as the ability to operate the parking lights w/o the headlights popping up. Also, did you know that there is a "Flash to pass" feature for the headlights? I pull back on the blinker stalk twice and the headlights light and popup for a second! I did not know this was a feature until I had straightened out the wiring and just stumbled upon activiating it (some how my light cord caught on the stalk and pulled back on it, and up they popped.) Imagine my surprise as I lay under the dash, jerking the light cord, hearing the headlight motors activate! (heh heh)