Edward1

Hi

I am in hopes that someone has an ignition switch they know works that is not installed on their car. And maybe they would not mind running a continuity test between contacts 30 and 50 and telling me what the results are, when the ignition switch is turned to the start position.

Thanks

Edward

Brads911sc

Pete,

I have power at the Yellow male/female behind the booster when in the crank position.
I have power at PIN 14 in the engine compartment harness all the time... Even when the key is in the off position. When I open it up this is a fat Red Wire. The Fat Yellow wire is at Pin 1. There is no power here whether key is in crank or off position.

Where do I do go from here?

Thanks
Brad

Brads911sc

Pete

Wanted to add... Checked the connections under the dash... They are tight...

Thanks for your help in steering us along...

Brad

Brads911sc

If I jump the 30 pin with the 50 pin on the switch harness starter turns over... Id add that I get no spring action on the key... I ordered the electric part of the switch... does this sound right Pete? or you think I need the whole assembly? Any other potential areas to look at?

Peter Zimmermann

Brad: I think that your car is a candidate for an entire switch. I wish I could say definitively but this problem is unusual - the norm is the switch just locking up and not turning, or the spring-loaded feature of the switch fails and plays dead. It seems that if you can jump 12v and the solenoid wire at the dash, with success, that pretty much nails it. Terminal 50 does branch in a couple of places - it would make sense to energize the fuel pump relay - but the main wire is pretty much a straight shot to the solenoid. Other than a loose connection or an old, aftermarket alarm component acting up, nothing much can go wrong with it.

Edward1

Hi

I replaced my entire ignition switch and housing with the same results as the old. Although I don't have a good ignition switch to test. If I did I would remove it from the wiring harness so there is no voltage and text across pin 30 and 50 to see if this creates continuity. When I test the old and the new I get the same results, no continuity. This appears to me that there should be some kind of switching action when it gets to the start position. Since I figured the old switch was bad I took it apart and there is no spring inside to return it to the run position after the engine starts, actually the whole inside of the ignition didn't appear to be bad, there was no corrosion, no rust either since the contacts are brass it appears. I am totally baffeled as to what the problem may be. I tested the battery that is on the car, although it is over 6 to 7 years old it tested good and it turns over the engine when it jump across pin 30 and 50. Someone mentioned that they once had a battery that tested good, but didn't have the amperage to start the enigine.
If the engine will trun over when jumping pin 30 and 50 this rules out shorts, bad relays or any other problem. Only one component that I am not sure of is the ignition switch. So if any one with a ignition switch that they know is good that is not installed on the car, if they could test between pin 30 and 50 with no voltage, using a continutity test see if it makes a contact.

Edward

Brads911sc

Any luck Edward?

Well, I got the new switch from the Porsche dealer (Stoddard Imports in Ohio). It was 450$. Genuine Porsche part. And same symptoms. Power at starter if I jump pin 30 and 50. No power at pin (fat yellow) in engine compartment with Key in start position.

Power at connection by brake booster.

Cleaned all the contacts under dash (plugs) with electrical cleaner.

Not sure where to go from here...

Brads911sc

Can someone give me the pin numbers and color of wires that plug into the ignition switch. I opened that up and stupid me they came out jumbled. The black case has this clockwise... just need the colors...
50
P
30
X
X
30
30
R
15
15

Thanks
Brad

Edward1

Hi


Brad, if I don't get back from work to late tomorrow I wil get this for you. I bought a complete ignition switch as well as the housing, but this did not work. The odd thing about this was that after I installed the new switch it worked for two starts and went dead again. I have completely taken the old ignition switch apart and there is not a thing wrong inside the switch, by all right it should work. When jumping across pin 30 and 50 it will start, so by that logic when the ignition switch is turned on there should be continunity across these two pin, but there is none. Have you tried using an OHM meter across pin 30 and 50 to see if there is continuity across these two pin. The old switch and the new switch do not. It would appear to me the switches are bad, but for even the new one to be bad is putting doubt in my mind about both ignition switches being bad.

I will try to get this for you tomorrow

Edward

84_Carrera

Can you guys verify that the wires aren't moving or shifting at all when installed?

My 84 still works fine with the original switch, but only if it's hanging down under the dash & using a screwdriver to start. Once reinstalled, the car doesn't start.

Peter Zimmermann

Something here just doesn't make sense! Brad & Edward - what is the condition of the pin receivers on the harness plug that attaches at the ignition switch? Is it possible that a cold solder joint exists, so when the harness is plugged in something moves and contact/connection is lost?

Brads911sc

Peter, do you have the wire colors and what order they go into the round connector that goes into the back of the switch?
I dont have any lose wires.. I know because I opened it up to check and they all sprung out.. hence my problem with needing the wire colors and what order they go in.
Is it possible that there is a short in some relay or switch somewhere? cold start? would this cause this? would have to be somewhere in the circuit that would allow a 30-50 pin jump to work but could alter the outcome by interrupting the circuit...

Peter Zimmermann

Brad: I don't have a current flow chart for your year car - sorry! I will look at my car tomorrow and try to figure it out for you.

The ignition switch merely makes a connection from 12v to terminal 50, exactly what you do when you jump the two and make the car start. As soon as the car fires you release the spring-loaded switch, and it returns to run position. I have seen groups of defective parts come through the system, such as SR-68X Bosch starters, but I can't ever recall seeing a faulty, new, ignition switch. It's possible that is what we have here, but I don't have a way to tell production dates/places of the new switches that you and Edward have.

Fred: Your switch works hanging under the dash, can you move it to the approximate position it would be at if installed (in other words, do nothing but load the wires inside the connector) and see, if by doing nothing but moving the switch it stops working? I'm thinking that something in the harness, at or near the switch, has developed a problem that only rears its ugly head when the harness is pushed onto the back (front) of the switch.

Edward1

Brad

I took apart the connector and here are the wire colors. I am viewing the connector from the rear. I start at pin #50 going clockwise. This will kake it easier to locate each wire.

1. @ #50 big yellow wire
2. small red/blk stripe
3. yellow wire together with small red/blk stripe
4. big red
5. big red
6. big red/yellow stripe
7. big red /yellow stripe
8. big red
9. small blue

I hope this helps out. (4 & 5 as well as 6 & 7 don't have anything to distinguish them apart from each other) The wires are cut pretty close to the length in which the pin they fit on so maybe the length will be a give away as to where each belongs

Edward

Brads911sc

Thanks Edward. Now I can do some more diagnostic work.