weird electrical problem on 964- cured!

[Dave Bouzaglou]

Here is a fun one: 1990 C4 got towed in with absolutely no electricity to the dash/starter/ lites/ etc. The battery was completely dead. Okay, so it was an older battery, it sat almost a month, but there should have been something , right? We installed a new battery and no juice! Wiggle the cables, check with a test lite. Yep the battery was fine, but no electricity to the body- Well the ground cable LOOKED perfect, but was corroded on the INSIDE of the connector- you had to look hard with a flashlite to see it.
This car is a very clean well kept car. Interesting, eh?
Moral of the story? Inspect those battery cables and ground connections carefully to keep your electrical system "strong"

[911pcars]

Because of this common symptom, but simple fix, I wonder how many Pep Boys, Sears or other garages less honest would have performed the "simple" repair instead of selling the owner a new battery (assuming the old one was still okay)? That's why you see so many used batteries for sale at the battery shops. They were yanked and replaced. All they needed was a charge or a new cable or a thorough cleaning of the connections. Does everyone have a battery post cleaning tool in their tool box?

The lesson here for others is to not assume something is wrong until it's fully diagnosed and verified. Replacing parts is always easier than proper diagnosis though more costly (to the consumer).

Sherwood Lee
http://members/rennlist.org/911pcars

[ClayMcguill]

My younger brother and I have had this running joke for years whenever something went wrong with any of our cars, or someone started describing the trouble symptoms thier car was displaying-we'd look at each other and say, (in unison): "It's either a bad ground or a vacuum leak."

Only thing is, it started as a joke-but over the years and numerous cars and problems, it's proven to be true, time and time again...90% of car problems can be traced to one of those two causes.

[69 Soft Targa]

Had the same situation with my girlfriends 91 with 31,000 miles. (Not a Pcar). Wasted time checking grounds and found the positive cable was corroded on the inside. Nothing visible.

Won't let that happen again. Spread the word.