87turbo911

Hi all,

I had my engine rebuilt (top end) and some things upgraded in the process some time ago (964 cams) as long as they had it out.

But, when I got the car back for the "break-in" period of varying rev-ranges in different gears, being careful not to go to full boost too often, etc., strange things were happening...

1. My power locks and remote keyless stopped working consistently.

2. When I would downshift for a turn (practicing heel-toe for DE), the gear would seem to engage correctly but, when I'd accelerate, I'd end up smelling what I could only describe as a a burning clutch combined with, maybe, washer fluid and something sweet. This would only happen on downshifts (fairly casual ones at that). I didn't get this odor when I'd hit the gas on my way UP the gears.

3. Sometimes, under load, the RPMs would stop increasing at ~3K or so RPM (sometimes 3.5K) and the car would, then, act like it was hitting a rev limiter- cutting out (sort of...more like sputtering) but never going over wherever it would start to do that. If I changed gears then went back to the gear I was in, things would act normally again. This doesn't happen when the car is NOT under load and I've only noticed it in gears 1 and 2 under a little more than casual acceleration (1/2-throttle to WOT).

4. One time I was driving at night and the CD player starting going nuts then cut out. Then all of the lights (guage and headlights) started getting gradually dimmer to the point where I almost had no lights. The car stopped accelerating and was, actually, acting kind of like my accelerator wasn't working- it was just coasting in gear. While rolling (not very quickly), I engaged the clutch, turned the ignition off, tunred the ignition back on, and then clutched out. The car caught and everything came on like nothing happened.

After (3) happened, I brought the car back to my mechanic (they did the rebuild as well as all work I've had done on my car). I called yesterday but the main guy wasn't there- the person I got on the phone said that they hadn't figured out what was wrong with the car but not to take his word for it and that the main guy would call me back.

So that's where I am right now.

Any ideas? I think that, maybe, part of it has to do with the car alarm with remote keyless (it has a ignition/fuel kill type of thing but I've never enabled it) but they shouldn't have touched that part...besides, they were the ones who installed it a year ago.

Thanks in advance,
Adrian

ZCAT3

I would say your alternator may be shot - that would explian the electrical issues and the car cutting out on you - the shifting thing seems kind of weird though.

PorschePhD

Yep, voltage regulator is not working. The smell is more than likely the battery boiling and you are picking up the vapors since you are slowing down they are going into the cabin. I would put a volt meter on it and see what it is reading. If it is and you let this go on too long the car will start to pop electrical components like the CDI box etc.

pete77930

When you get a new alternator put in, make sure they wire it up correctly as per the specs on the valeo instructions, I had mine put in and the shop just wired it up like the original and about a 20 minute drive after that everything went dark and the engine cut off... Turns out, if you don't follow the updated wiring instructions you fry the entire engine wiring harness. be careful

Last930

It could be possesed..............

87turbo911

I was able to speak with my mechanic (they've been working on my problem on-and-off over the past few months) and this is what I was told:

The electrical gremlin I experienced with gauges and lights dimming then coming back on was a result of bad contact on the battery terminals.

As for the engine on occasion not willing to go above 3K (sometimes 3.5K) rpm when under load, they've narrowed it down to something going on with a processor that regulates the mechanical fuel injection but, as yet, they are unsure whether it's due to bad input or output.

Also, they were only able to repeat the problem when two things were in effect- ambient temperature is cold as well as the engine itself. As soon as the car warms up or ambient temperature is warm, the problem goes away so they've been unable to repeat the problem due to the weather getting warmer in the last couple of months. Due to this, they can only "test" it once per day lately when it's colder in the morning. He's acknowledged that it could be indirectly related to the rebuild as far as when they took stuff apart and/or put it back together effecting part of the electricals.

Does this sound plausible? It IS true that the rebuild was completed around the November timeframe and that the occurrences did happen during the cold of November and December (I brought the car in in January)...I guess it had to since that's when I got the car back and I brought the car back to them while it was still cold.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Adrian

PT

FWIW - there's no processor for our fuel injection system. The injectors are mechanical ones. Maybe he means the fuel distributor? And if the problem occurs only when everything is cold, maybe it can be something wrong with your WUR?

87turbo911

"How should I know? I'm just a cave man!" - paraphrased from "Cave Man Lawyer" characterized by Phil Hartman

I have to admit that, for all I know, he could've used the term "processor" so that I, a computer (but not mechanical) geek, would understand that whatever is involved with metering fuel. The idea, I think, being that any component that receives a signal and does something with it is, basically a "signal processor" give or take.

Whatever it is, he said that they can't just remove it from the system because it would cause the car to run too lean and that, if they used that as a solution, they'd have to replace it with a Euro fuel injection system.

Or something like that.

From what I've said, are there any ideas as to what, specifically, he was talking about? Something that seems to be only affected when the car itself as well as ambient temperatures are cold that causes fuel feed to be restricted at given RPMs?

Thanks for all the input!

Adrian

PS- Speaking of electrical problems and Germany...

"Do not be so sure, Mr. Rivers. Evidently your friend did not realize that here in East Germany we use 220 volt current. He was found in his hotel room impaled upon a large electrical device. Our surgeons did what they could, but it took them two hours just to get the smile off his face."
-Top Secret!

A930Rocket

What was this from?

Sounds pretty funny...

87turbo911

It's from the movie "Top Secret!" starring Val Kilmer.

The statement is funnier when you know that, earlier in the movie, you see what the electrical device IS that the guy is impaled on.

For me, a hilarious movie! I happened to think of it while writing the post since I've been having electrical problems in the 930 and thought it was so fittingly funny that I had to make it part of my sig.

- Adrian

"It's an .88 Magnum...It shoots through schools."
- Danny Vermin, "Johnny Dangerously"