NS_Carguy

so i just bought my first 944
so far I am happy but there are a few things that need to be addressed .
1- when starting there is a grinding sound . as soon as it kicks over it vanishes . i was thinking that it is the bearings in the starter starting to go . any input would be appreciated on this

2- the rear hatch pops open randomly . it seems to latch , but then pop while driving it opens . i used a zip tie to hold it down and they seems to work as a temporary fix .

3 - have some electrical gremlins they seem to be related to the stereo . when the stereo is on the driver side controls for the passenger side power windows won't work . when it is off they work fine . a couple times the stereo stopped playing and I noticed the tac needle jump , once the unit was powered off this issue did not return .

4 The pop up head lights don't pop up , I can't believe i forgot to check them until after i bought the car but i got excited i guess . truthfully i forgot all about them until a few hours later when i went to turn the lights on and they didn't pop up . I assume they automatically pop up when you turn the dile on the left behind the steering wheel with the light symbol on it . any advise would be appreciated .

5 - i probably need a new battery the charge meter looks low and even after running the car for 5 hours today it only came up to 12 on the dial .

6 - apparently the DME relay has been bypassed . the owner told me this . I have ordered 2 new ones and they should be here in a couple weeks . any chance the bypass on the DME relay is what is causing the electrical gremlins ?

other than all that the car runs really good . a friend and i took it for a tour today and I was very happy . she ran for a good 5 hours highway and city driving , and other than the above issues ran really well.

the interior is fairly good , I would say above average from what I have seen here on line . the seats are very comfortable however the leather is very hard , it has not split yet but i do need to do something to it to soften it up so it won't crack and split .

oh and the odometer is not working it reads 59k and change but who knows the actual milage . i will order the parts and repair it this winter .

any input and advice would be appreciated . i will post some pics soon .

Schmooey

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. I have personally found that the good people here are always willing to help and the advice that I have received is top notch. Anyway, lots of good questions but let me offer my experience with the back hatch.

This is one of those pesky well-known issues with 944s and 924s. When I got my '84, the hatch first would not open, so I solved that by reattaching the cable from the lock to one of the two receivers, which is where the hatch pins go into when closed. So I could now open it, but then, like you are experiencing, the hatch would pop open at speed.

The solution for for me was twofold. First, I replaced the seats in each receiver, and these are just little round rubber(ish) holders that grip the pins when the hatch is closed. The ones that were there were dried out and falling apart. Easy instructions online about how to do this.

The other thing i did was to clean and lubricate the cables and adjusted the attachment to the hatch release motor. (It was too tight so the hatch would pop open over big bumps.) There is some debate on the value of even using the remote hatch opening, and some folks disconnect the motor, which basically prevents what I just explained. Personally, I like being able to open the hatch from the driver seat, but I can understand the other side. Let's just say it's finicky, at best.

so I think this may be a good place to start, but don't give up. As I mentioned, the rear hatch is just a pain in the neck, but this issue can be solved.

NS_Carguy

thanks for the info on the hatch . glad to know it is a common problem with a known solution . i will work on that this weekend


I have to say it is afun little car to drive . a bugger to get into and out of for some one use to driving a pickup as a daily driver . folding myself into the driver seat was an interesting experience . fun once i was in though

screamin94Z

Congrats on the purchase and welcome!

Some more information on your particular car will help the other members assist with diagnosing your issues. Let us know what the year and trim is of your car. With your description of the headlight switch I am assuming you have an 85+ (late) model.

Also, check out the ultimate reference for diagnosing and repairing a 944, Clark's Garage http://www.clarks-garage.com/

Some general tips as you're starting out:

If the timing belt has not been changed in the last 3 years, or you do not know the last time it has been changed, do that right away.

Electrical gremlins in the 944's have been well documented and many are solved by cleaning the grounding points in the various locations around the chassis. Tackle as many as you can get to. Does your car have an aftermarket stereo or is it the factory unit? My car had some very shotty wiring from a previous owner.

Your starter issue sounds like just that: the starter. Change it out.

Headlights: check fuses and the relay on the headlight motor

Battery charging: the voltage regulator on the back of the alternator is replaceable and cheap to try first.

I know others will be much more help than this, but good luck with it and post some pictures!

NS_Carguy

thanks for the info , I plan to start checking fuses tonight . Supposedly the belts were changed a couple years ago . but i have no documentation on that , so they will need to be replaced just for my own peace of mind . The car looks to have been well maintained . there are no leaks on the ground when i park it . from what I am told , the owner prior to the previous owner did a restoration on the car . there is a list of stuff including the clutch and an engine rebuild by the sound of things this was done about 9 or 10 years ago . the car has been in the POs family for the last 8 years . They did a bunch of stuff as well . including putting in a JVC head unit .

I priced out starters last night $100 for a used one $200 for a rebuilt . that is a cheap and easy fix . I got the car for what i think was a good price $4500 cdn around $3500 us .
it is a 1988 , 59k miles on the odometer but like i mentioned that does not work . Tires are good , paint is good , interior i would say above average . she is very tite on the road no slop , engine hums along . Other than the start up noise from the starter no odd sounds or knocks .
with the hatch issue there was a bit of a gap which let in some exhaust fumes and they smelled like a 2 stroke motor , like a weed wacker . The tank was 2/3 full when i got it . after 100 kms of driving i pulled in and topped the tank up with high test . After another 100 kms or so the fumy smell went away and the exhaust had a normal exhaust smell to it . I attribute this to old gas with fuel stabilizer in it from the year before .
The only thing that really bugs me about the car is that the decals are not correct . whoever painted the car did not put back OEM style decals , and they are gold in colour i would have preferred silver . other than that i love the look of the car . it is black with black interior .
here are some pics of the car from yesterdays drive :

morghen

cool car

mrgreenjeans

no photos came thru

NS_Carguy

i will try them again

hmm i just tried reloading them and the don't seem to want to reload to the site . i will try messing with it tonight and get some more pics up

KVDR

Congrats and welcome to the club!

Clarks Garage will be your best friend. I have a binder full of printed instructions. For everything else, I can usually find the answer by searching through Rennlist.

With the DME relay bypassed, is the fuel pump running even with the ignition off?

I recall that at least one person has forgotten to undo the relay bypass which flooded the cylinders with gasoline, hydro-locking the engine and causing damage on the next start-up.

NS_Carguy

not that i can tell . the rad fans stay on for a bit sometimes when i shut it down but other than that nothing sounds like it is running when i shut the car off . I plan to crack the fuse box tonight and have a look and see how it has been done . I have ordered 2 replacement DME relays , they should be here in the next week or so .

mrgreenjeans

Curious about something:

Does this car have 8 inch 16s all around ?

OR, is it like the '88 Jubilee/Celebration cars and have 7s and 8s, and the 7s are on the other side ?

( it happens. And yes, the Jubilee - '88s came with 16s staggered. 7s on front , 8s on the rear )

Any pics of the door panels ? Or of the other side ? Or better yet, of the white build code tag in the rear hatch area, under the carpet, by the left rear taillight ?

(It is always a possibility it was once a complete Jubilee and is now in 'disguise'.) It will have a code of 757 if it is. And the original color either Satin black metallic or Zermatt silver.

NS_Carguy

no idea but i will check tonight and find out .

NS_Carguy

I had some success last night , i got the pop ups to work , it was just a fuse when i popped the cover on the fuse box there was a fuse with a light glowing and it was the one for the headlight motors . I replaced it and up they popped . I took it for a spin and then turned the lights off and they would not go down . it turned out that what happned was the hood release cable had gotten caught on the headlight bar and would not let them retract , so i blew another fuse . i unjammed it and pulled the cable out of the way replaced the fuse and all is now good .

I was unable to see where the PO had bypassed the DME relay , there were no cabled/jumpers , and when i pulled the DME he had not used the paperclip bypass either . as far as I can tell the DME relay is not bypassed . is there another way he could have bypassed it ?

also there is a random wire hanging out by the fuse box , it looks factory but is not connected to anything , does anyone know what it is ?
I have attached pics .

DSMblue

Someone in the past has definitely hacked into the wiring. I will try to shoot a picture and post later today what wiring looks like around the fuse box area on my '87. Foreward of the firewall, it definitely looks like there has been a re-wrap of factory wiring with electrical tape and is missing the holder for the connection by your vacuum hoses.

NS_Carguy

yup the wiring is a mess . i think i will have to start tracking stuff back , and replacing questionable wires with good wires . if you can send me the pic you mentioned of the wiring on your 87 that would be appreciated . It will give me a reference point . From what I understand the 87 and the 88 are basically the same

I ran out to Cdn Tire to buy a bunch of car goodies , $300 later i was happy until i jumped in the car and it would not start , I thought the battery was dead so i called CAA for a boost . They arrived and it would not start even with the jumper cables , I figured the battery was drained and it was the alternator . ( I had ordered a voltage regulator at NAPA this morning ) the tow truck guy was great , he did a quick test on the battery and the battery was fully charged 12.6 , it looks like the starter is toast . but he noticed the ground wire to the battery was all hacked up and spliced together . he helped me bump start her and she fired right up .

I got her home , the plan for the coming week is to pull the starter and test it , hopefully it is not the fly wheel . While I am at it i will start tracking back wires and replacing anything that looks hacked up . Start checking and cleaning grounds as well .
see if i can't track down a few of the electrical gremlins .

Also I checked the tires and they are 255 60 r15s I think that is what they said might have been 255 60 r 15 , they are what ever is stock for the base line , I will grab a pic of the info plate tomorrow or friday , when ever i get the chance to work on it .

Also the pop up headlight bar got snaged in the hood release cable again and blew the fuse again . . I have to find a place to zip tie that out of the way