944 Exorcism

[AFJuvat]

Well, I had the oddest thing happen today.

Tooling along the freeway at a leisurely 95, (on my way to get parts for the car) I noticed my voltmeter reading about 11 volts - and I just replaced my alternator and battery about 2 months ago. However, no associated warning lights (neither the volt meter, nor the "Master Caution" light) - so I stop at the local garage and pick up my parts and have the mechanic check the electrical system - everything is fine - reading about 13.5 volts at the battery with the car running.

On my way home, with the volt meter still reading about 11 volts, I noticed that the car seems to be running a bit faster than normal (about 1100 at idle, 750 - 800 with the AC on)

Now, after checking it a few times my warning light on the voltmeter is now not working - voltmeter still reading 11 volts and the car is running smoother than it has before (it really wasn't bad before - even with the AC on but now it simply purrs...)

Anyone have any ideas? I am beginning to think the car is possessed.....

Oh yes, it's an 85.5 NA

Any comments/suggestions would be welcomed.

AFJuvat

[Bob's944]

maybe your voltmeter is off?? just a guess, does it read higher when it's charging? it should...

[AFJuvat]

I'm thinking I probably have a bad ground for the gauge, or the gauge itself has failed.

still can't quite figure out why the engine suddenly started running a little faster - not that I am complaining, it just seems odd.

AFJuvat

[DennisR_944]

Can't explain the way the car is running, but the gauges in our cars are *****. My voltmeter never shows more than 12 volts and will even go down to 10 volts with everything running (A/C, fans, lights, etc,). But pop the hood and hook up a real voltmeter and it puts out a steady 13.8 no matter what's running. I had the clutch and belts done about 1K ago and suspected that a ground was missed, but can't see any left off. Go figure.

Dennis Russell

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Dennis Russell
Indianapolis, IN USA
1987 944 n/a

[AFJuvat]

Well, the car died on me yesterday.

Driving along the road and suddenly there was no power. Got it towed to the garage, they did another voltage check - system is dead.

We are figuring that the alternator failed - which is a bit strange since it is only a couple of months old. - I got it from a local autoparts store - guessing that although it was a bosch case, it was rebuilt with el-cheapo components.

AFJuvat

[Bob's944]

my own opinion... DO NOT BUY ANYTHING OF MECHANICAL IMPORTANCE FROM DISCOUNT AUTO PARTS, you'll just have to replace it with anuther POS in a few months, so what if it doesn't cost anything for the replacement, it aint worth it to go thru the labor again. That goes for all cars, not just porsches... i had my bad experiences before i got the 944

[AFJuvat]

Agreed - I am working on getting my money back - I don't want another one from them - Gonna get a bosch

AFJuvat

[DennisR_944]

If you'll take it off and take it to [shudder]Auto Zone[/shudder], they'll put it on the bench tester and test it for free.

Dennis Russell

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Dennis Russell
Indianapolis, IN USA
1987 944 n/a

[AFJuvat]

Nope - fortunately there is a garage around here that works on nothing but PCars - and thankfully he can get parts from the Porsche warehouse in Atlanta at dealer cost. He already tested the alternator - the bearings are toast. It would seem that although the original alternator has bearings that can withstand a belt with 2 - 3 mm of deflection which essentially makes the belt like a guitar string, the rebuilt bearings cannot withstand that sort of tension for long - hence 2 months after install, its dead.

I'm getting my mechanic to do the swap and my timing/balance/PS/AC-alternator belts at the same time

AFJuvat