924Board.org

[seanski44]

Hi all,

I'm gonna keep the 931 project, but I need something more reliable for the day-to-day. I had to go back home for a funeral yesterday (150 miles) and had some alternator problems on the way there, but made it OK. Spent time sorting this for the journey back and the alternator quit giving any current after about 70 miles. I've just got back in having been up and down the country sourcing a replacement alternator only to find that the problem is in the loom wire which I had replaced with a brand new special order from Deutchland part only last month! - seems it was either faulty, or incorrectly routed by the specialist who fitted it. Its totally cooked and the copper at the end disintegrates on touch.

anyway, if anyone fancies a car which with a few tweaks could be putting out 130dd BHP, (see this thread: http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=19167&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) for details of the car. Dynos and poss reasons for performance not being what it should.

BTW, if you want it in the condition it is in (currently needing a loom transplant and sitting in a garage near Northwich UK) make me a sensible offer and its yours - otherwise I'm having the work done and will put her up for sale after that.

THis could just be the heat of the moment, but I don't think so.

Remember, even broken the car's probably worth a grand! - good condition pasha interior, turbo-look fourstud wheels etc etc... Would hate to see it broken though as it goes so well...
_________________
1998 BMW Z3 2.8 arctic silver & red

1981 168HP 931 S2 blue/tan leather - SOLD
1985 121HP 924 2.0l na modded - SOLD!
1992 968 lux SOLD
1989 944 2.7 lux SOLD

[Stampedetrail]

Sheesh, dont give up that easily. Just order a new alternator & install it. If you're totally broke, get one off of a VW and have someone press on your old pulley. Your car looks excellent, dont sell it. You have to find out where your electrical problem is, most likely a gob of melted wire somewhere like mine had, at the headlight switch.
_________________
1977.5 924 "Martini" head / New Old Stock rebuild
1985.5 944 Why? Because I can.

[Mike924]

...totally broke...!!!?

Sean works in television...!
_________________
1985 Porsche 924 'Lux', Kalahari Beige (my ex)
1993 Porsche 968 Coupe, Midnight Blue, 6 spd

'There is no substitute for a little grease under your fingernails.' - Chrenan, 924board.org

[seanski44]

OK guys, that was rather the heat of the moment - and yeah, I work in TV, but trust me, the BBC don't pay that well!

t he problem is this - I go back up north for a funeral, I'm heading to London & Maidstone & Greenwich for filming, which I thought the 24 would be well up for (350 mile trip from up north, plus another 150 to get me home again) the car loses volts outside Manchester after 80 miles, so I call my breakdown insurance.

They remind me I haven't got full cover, so they take me to a local garage who are really actually very good. They quote me £235 to replace the alternator (£160 for a new one) but tell me it'd be an order from Germany - which means waiting.

So my brother kindly picks me up in his 944 as he's returning from the funeral too (he's, however removed his passenger seat to make space for the dog, so I bizzarrely sit in the rear seat with dog at my feet, kind of like an un-stretched limo!) and we drive up to porscheapart in Bolton who have used alternators for £35. bargain - back to the garage in Northwich to get it fitted - they've quoted an hour, so bargain.

Anyway, they remove the old alternator, and the loom wire crumbles to bits in the guy's hand. I mean, he's not BS-ing me, I went to check. This is a brand new loom part which I had fitted about a month ago. so, not only has my brother driven me backwards and forwards for 7hours in Bank Holiday Friday traffic, but we have to leave the car as it needs a new loom part. Again. - so, when I got in that evening I was really angry. anyway, I still have to sell the car as it simply is not reliable enough. I still have the 931, which might get enough attention to get working if I'm not spending every moment on keeping the na running!

so at present, I'm at home with no working car (again) and the car's across the country in a garage waiting for the part. - The good part of this is that I sourced a loom at PH Sportscars down the road in Derbyshire and have posted it up to the garage in Northwich. Instead of last time when I had to wait 2 weeks for the loom to arrive from Germany.

Fingers crossed this sorts it.
_________________
1998 BMW Z3 2.8 arctic silver & red

1981 168HP 931 S2 blue/tan leather - SOLD
1985 121HP 924 2.0l na modded - SOLD!
1992 968 lux SOLD
1989 944 2.7 lux SOLD

[seanski44]

p.s. - sorr for the long post, but it kind of was annoying as hell! - background is that the car was off the road for a month last time I had loom probs because I had to wait 2weeks for the part to arrive from germany and then a further 2 weeks for the specialist to fit me in as I wasn't about to tackle the prob. Then I had all sorts of problems with the alternator shorting out because the fitter had failed to install the spring washers on the back of the alternator cover causing it to fall off, which eventually wore out the alternator earth strap, which took me off the road again... To revisit the same problem so many times..... :/

anyway, it'll probably get sorted this time, but its cost me two days work this time.
_________________
1998 BMW Z3 2.8 arctic silver & red

1981 168HP 931 S2 blue/tan leather - SOLD
1985 121HP 924 2.0l na modded - SOLD!
1992 968 lux SOLD
1989 944 2.7 lux SOLD

[augidog]

If you lost your cover you probably started to fry up the voltage regulator from the heat.
In a pinch I used to run a ground wire from the alt cover up the wheel wall to the battery grounding post.
It worked well for a while until I put a new ground strap on.
I don't think you need an OEM strap. Any good ground strap will work.
This kind of frustrating crap separates the men from the boys. Ive had been through it with the alt.
$300 dollars later and hours pulling and installing only to find out it was a bad strap. It’s kind of a right of passage for this car.
Hang in there. Good luck.
_________________
1978 924 95 mile daily driver.
Audi TB/POR174M/High Flow Cat/2.25" exhaust
I knew that positive thinking thing wouldn't work.

[kike924]

924´s are not for daily driving at least not in my experience, surely I do a 2000 miles round tour every year to go to the winery´s rally but the car is prone to have all kind of annoying electrical problems more often than not.
_________________
Euro 924 1980 N/A
Daily driver + week end racer

[leadfoot]

well thinking that a 25 year old cars electrics is going to be reliable is asking for trouble!!
not having a starter heat shield is asking for trouble!!
After breaking down one day I had the alternater rebuilt with a new loom, due to not having the heat shield cost me both the starter and alternator to be rebuilt as the loom between them shorted and fried both of them...
I had spent over 1500$ in parts and labour at this stage plus all the inconvenience of getting to work at 6am by bike and public transport...

so another new loom later and about a month gone by I started having problems again, this time I caught it in the nick of time, fried wiring shorted the alternator but all I had to do was replace the regulator thankfully....

So I decided I was going to fix the problem once and for all...

Installed the starter heat shroud, which i only found out about after reading through the haynes manual, 10$
new starter loom and alternator loom, 25$ soldered and covered with 2 layers of heat shrink for extra protection 10$
heat shielding tape applied to starter shroud and loom 30$
total cost 75$ plus two days labour, yes I was that throrough...
problems since doing this 2 years ago = zero
full charge, starts like a champ everytime...
Leadfoot
_________________
1981 ROW 924 Turbo -
carbon fiber GT mish mash
LS1 conversion in progress...

[Khal]

[seanski44]

[leadfoot]

number 7 is the one you want
Is this the car with the modified head??
Leadfoot

_________________
1981 ROW 924 Turbo -
carbon fiber GT mish mash
LS1 conversion in progress...

[seanski44]

[Min]

Personally I don't see how its the cars fault that someone previously installed the wiring loom incorrectly. How does someone's mistake label a good car 'unreliable' ?

Min
_________________
Custom means it didn't come from a box.
1980 n/a with EDIS and Megasquirt II Injection. 7 different colors and counting.

[seanski44]

[seanski44]