bye bye 944, hello 928s

[firefighter7128]

Hi guys. I just recently strayed away from the 944's and bought an 84 Corvette.... that lasted 5 weeks. Sold it sat and bought a rather nice 1984 928s with an outstanding exterior, great motor with no miss and the auto tranny that shifts perfectly. The interior..... oh boy! It was $2000.

There is a long list of issues that need immediate attention. I know nothing at all about the 928 and have found that after redoing 3 944's the 928 is certainly another animal.

I will post pics once the sun comes up. It will be the 1st time i see it in the light myself.

Issue # 1: Check Engine light AND the brak Pad light are both on. Car runs fine. Breaks stop on a dime. The power stearing is more of a cross beetween power and manual and has a new belt

Issue #2: Not one light works IN the car...exept for the flashlight the guy gave me to help me get home without a ticket.

Issue # 3: New window regulators. He said the windows worked fine just the other day and for some reason now they dont. Drivers side is down about 1/4 way and we are getting ALOT of rain.

These are the 1st 3 issues that i would like to attack right now. Suggestions, comments etc would be helpful. Also, if you have interior parts, get ready. Interior is brown/lt tan. Dash is waisted. If you have any interior peices in that color, drop me a line so i have a go to guy. Thanks folks!

- Matt

[Landseer]

Cool, welcome Miller, post a bunch of pictures, we can help you.

I have an 84 automatic, just completed the rescue, and its by-far my favorite 928.

Is yours Euro grey market or USA?

The best place to start with electrical is systematic cleaning of the various groundpoints, removal and cleaning of the CE panel, replacment of a few relays and inspection of the wire bundles, esp. near CE panel and behind console side covers, for melts, skinning by mice and stuff like that.

Go to the 928Specialists website for a diagram of the CE Panel fuse & relay layout (euro is different than the 84 USA). https://www.928gt.com/default1.htm


Window regulator relay can be the cause of intermittency.
Dash fuse or little thumbwheel under steering wheel, left side, can cause interior light problem.
Fuses are VW type. Replace all with right values.
Relays designated 24 can be replaced with 53.
Rennlist.com has deep technical archives, searchable with little hassle, you might need to ante up $20 to join to see some of the pictures, worth it!
Search for something called Dwayne's garage. Makes Clarks garage look like kids play. Not as complete in terms of number of subsystems addressed, but he did a complete dis/reassembly of an 84 USA dashboard, brakes, CV joints and other stuff. Step by step pictures. Overachievement par excellence.
Really great folks here, too, with lots of experience doing really wicked saves, like MPDano, Ifausty, Mitsy and Dangler and others.

One of the best parts sources is 928sRUS, Texas. No-nonsense, highly knowledgeable, excellent prices and commercial practices, direct line to Porsche.
They sell a CD compilation of the workshop manuals, the wiring diagrams and dozens of special factory publications that will blow you away. Invaluable. Far more sophisticated support than I've found anywhere for 944.

[Normy]

Hey! Welcome to Planet 928!

1. "Check engine light"? Can you confirm that your dashboard says this? I wasn't aware that 928's have one of these. It is typical for all the lights to stay on after you start the engine....until you rev above approximately 1800 rpm. It has something to do with the Motorola alternator installed on these cars. May VW's and Audi's do this too. Is the light you are looking at "Belt Ten"? If so this is a BIG DEAL. That means that there is insufficient tension on the timing belt, and this could lead to damage if it slips or skips a tooth! I'm not sure if the belt tension warning was installed on '84 cars or not, but you should make it priority #1 to check the tension anyway. Do you have any idea when the belt was installed? They are good for about 6 years or 45,000 miles.

These cars were built with a pad thickness sensing system. Look at your calipers; you'll see a wire that runs in to the side of the caliper away from the hub. When the pad gets thin, it makes an electrical contact and the light appears. I'd check the pad thickness first. This system can be a pain in the rear! You're the type who knows to maintain his cars, so if your pads appear fine, and after checking all wires, if you still can't figure it out...you might consider pulling the pod apart and just remove the bulb. Hey- it solves the problem-

2. You are going to have to pull the pod. There is no way to change the bulbs on the instruments without doing this. It isn't that bad a job, just requires a bit of patience. Here is a page that contains an excellent write-up on this:

Porsche 928 Maintenance Tips and Procedures

Once you get it apart, you can decide whether or not to delete the bulb from the pad light. While you are in there, clean all the contacts on the instrument cluster with a white pencil eraser.

3. Start with the electrics first. Fuses, and I think there is a relay for this. 928 SPECIALISTS ONLINE STORE - 30,000+ 928 Parts - 928 SUPERCHARGER KITS! has a technical section which lists the location of all the fuses and relays for your year car. If that doesn't work, refer to the Nichols page up above for a description of how to take your door panels off in order to access the window regulators. It isn't a very hard job. In general, you'll find that there is little exotic about working on these cars. Sometimes things are real hard to get to, but a car is a car.

Sage advice: BUY THE SHOP MANUALS! They are available on CD on eBay, and usually in paper form too. I much recommend the paper; you don't want to sit down at your computer and spend 10 minutes paging through a cd.....with your fingers covered in grease from the car when you can simply pull them down from the shelf in the garage and find what you want to find in less than a minute. And if the page gets a bit dirty, so what!

Good luck!

N

[Landseer]

Yeah, what Normy said, check engine light????

No tensioner light on 84.

Alternator is Bosch or Paris/Rhone and can be retrofitted with a Delco 105A unit from a 1988 Camaro, that's what I run on both 84's. Not purist but works great.

Non interference motor, so timing belt issue is a little less important, but will need review soon.

Wiggle the window reg relay or swap with horn relay, that might get windows up.

[firefighter7128]

Ok bookmarked all your links. thanks guys.
I started going thru the car. EXTENSIVE history. Im 3rd owner. Origionally purchased by a dr who kept all receipts. He spent 1000's on this car in 2000 doing timing belt, cluster replacement... Alot of stuff. Some complaints are the same as mins after looking at mechanics notes on the receipts. There is a sticker on the door stating the spedo was replaced at 44k. The current speado reads 23k.

As far as the Check Engine light, I am refering to the top center red light with a "!".
I am also noticing that sometimes the fule guage isnt working as well as the spedo.

The chargeing indicastor is negetive with a little red light. all exterior lights work with out dimming. no probs with starting. yet. belts are fairly tight. not loose enough to cause a negetive charge and the "check engine" light. Also, Alt was changed in 2000 but the one in there now looks newer.

I dont know how to tell if its Euro or US. Also, you guys may have to define some of your 928 lingo.

Here are some pics i snapped this a.m. I have not touched the car at all. Its fairly clean.

[firefighter7128]

.........um wheres the fuse box?

[MPDano]

Originally Posted by firefighter7128

.........um wheres the fuse box?

Look in front of passenger seat under dash. Pull the carpet up, the fuse box (CE Panel) is there. Also you car is a US Model.

[Arizona_928]

Under the carpet in the pass. footwell. Under the wood panel.

[Landseer]

That's a great deal on that car I think.

Very nice.

[stepson]

Matt,
On your instrument lights, there is a dimmer switch under the dash on the left side. It is a rolling rheostat. You will see the thumb wheel for it. These are a weak link in the instument lights. Roll it around back and forth to see if you can't get a better connection. If that doesnt work, you can jumper past it by pulling the 2 wires that go to it and using a piece of wire to eliminate the rheostat. You should have dash lights at this point. Of course, the proper way to fix it is as Normy said above.
BTW, there is also a rheostat on the right side under the dash. That is for the intermittent wiper speed.

Good Luck. Looks like a great car.
John

[Landseer]

And, don't forget your tetanus booster! BTDT.

[firefighter7128]

Originally Posted by stepson

Matt,
On your instrument lights, there is a dimmer switch under the dash on the left side. It is a rolling rheostat. You will see the thumb wheel for it. These are a weak link in the instument lights. Roll it around back and forth to see if you can't get a better connection. If that doesnt work, you can jumper past it by pulling the 2 wires that go to it and using a piece of wire to eliminate the rheostat. You should have dash lights at this point. Of course, the proper way to fix it is as Normy said above.
BTW, there is also a rheostat on the right side under the dash. That is for the intermittent wiper speed.

Good Luck. Looks like a great car.
John

I found a wheel on the right as well as a small black button. What is this button?
I have been saying "What is this" all day to so many thing.

[Landseer]

The intensive washers.

[Fredfox]

The ! light will come on as long as your brake pads light is on, replace brake pads and sensor and it will go out, as long as that is the only trouble light. I do not think you can cancel the light by pushing the button on the center of the dash next to the lock button as a brake pad light is one of the major failure lights.

[Normy]

Originally Posted by firefighter7128

.........um wheres the fuse box?

I meant to mention this fact this morning; sorry, I got distracted. Pull up the carpet on the passenger side until you see black painted wood. Yes, every 928 has exactly TWO part numbers that consist of parts made of wood!

[It is a hand-built German car, ok?]

Remove the upper piece, throw it in the driveway, and you will find the fuse and relay panel. 928 SPECIALISTS ONLINE STORE - 30,000+ 928 Parts - 928 SUPERCHARGER KITS! has the locations of everything for your '84.

The car you bought [GREAT price] is a typical US model '84 automatic. She's no "fireball" compared to some other 928's, but your cars' strengths in my eyes are the cool color, the fact that it is in decent shape, and that it HAS NO RUB STRIPS. That makes the car's "look"! The bad: That interior needs a LOT of help!

Question: What do you want to do with this car?

-Do you want to make it a show-car?

-Daily driver?

-Driver/weekend autocross car?

-Race car?

The answer to this question will give us a better idea of how to phrase our answers.

N

[Normy]

Originally Posted by firefighter7128

I found a wheel on the right as well as a small black button. What is this button?
I have been saying "What is this" all day to so many thing.

This roller-wheel changes the timing of your interval wipers.

It is possible that a loose connection at the other roller wheel eliminates your gauge lighting. Have you checked the fuse?

N

[dewolf]

I'm looking at that car and all I see is $$$$$$$ needed.

[Landseer]

I'm looking at it saying its very solid for 2K and with about 2.5 to 3K more it will be very respectable and cheaper than a corvette.

[firefighter7128]

Update: The dashlights all came on nice and bright after stepson's sugestion. May need to adjust the proper location of the bulb in the shifter which lights the gears. Thanks stepson!

I do plan to use this as a daily driver. I work as a radio DJ. I drive 1 mile to work and typicly take a ride home at lunch. Then drive home that night. We have a station Van i use for anything work related. Naturally i do a little more driving around but that is routine.

The carpet that runs along the center consol/shifter. Would anyone have a peice of the fiber board? I need a template if possible. Carpet is good. Just no board.

Fuse box looks new. clean. all fuses look good too.

Thanks for the help guys. I'll take a look at the brakes tomarrow.
It just dawned on me. The ro didnt have a ket to the locks on the wheels. Suggestions?

[ammonman]

Welcome to the shark tank Matt!! You have definitely got a project on your hands. I bought my 1990 last March and am still working my way through the refresh process. I am in NW Ark. also so if you need help or input give me a shout at ammonman@cox.net. I travel for work and am only around Fri-Sun most weeks. I would do as others suggested and get the ground points cleaned and clean/check the CE panel (short for Central Electrical AKA fuse panel) ensuring all the fuses are good and are making good contact. Definitely purchase the manuals as suggested, particularly for the wiring diagrams. These cars have an electrical system only slightly less complicated than the space shuttle and trying to diagnose it without the drawings would be an exercise in frustration. I opted for the CD set. Has pretty much all the factory 928 technical info ever created plus a lot more usefull stuff.

Good luck

Mike