mazdaverx7

brought home my newly aquired 944 today! drove well but there was some clunking in the rear end and it sounds as if the rear wheel bearings on the right rear are toast. the second issue i'm having is that near nothing works in the car. the headlights do not work, the lower fan switch is stuck and doesn't work..until you hit a bump and then it jars it on.. the headlights not working are my biggest electrical concern. checked the fuse and its good.. i get no dash or headlights.. not sure where to go from here. and it looks as if i have relays missing which is really odd.... doesnt seem like enough warning lights come on on the cluster when the key is in the accessory position.. seats are completely wasted, dash has an ugly cover, and the carpet behind the seats is not pretty..and the paint and wheels are in need of plenty of attention. this is my first 944 so i'm hoping to get the issues sorted out so i can enjoy the car more and more! here are some pics:

new owner happy to have the car and be on the way home:



all washed up:









am i missing relays or am i assuming i am?:



enough dash warning lights or should there be more?:



found the original window sticker in the glove box along with the epa paper and another strange option paper that brings the total higher than the window sticker states:







all tucked away for the night:

Crackership

I had no idea how much different the fuse box is on an early car, compared to a late car.

As for the relays... I have no idea.

As for the other electrical issues, try just running your finger over those fuses to make them spin in their sockets. My Alfa is full of those type of fuses, and they corrode badly... spinning them in their sockets will (usually) clean them a bit and stuff will start to work. Buy some replacement fuses first though, cause those kind sometimes fall apart when you spin them. From your picture, it looks like #6 and #8 are already starting to come apart.

When I bought my Alfa, the headlights didn't work, the wipers didn't work and the heater fan would cut out/on when going over bumps. I just spun the fuses and replaced the ones that fell apart and everything worked. Obviously, it's Italian, so it has since invented new ways to not work right, but still...

Po924S

Congrats! Although I can't really assist in any help with your electrical problems, I'd really like to know if the crest on the nose is just black an silver(:
Or just faded.... Ha.

mazdaverx7

the crest on the hood is badly faded. the car was originally sold in TN and some of the paperwork from the car is from AL.. the car spent many days baking in the hot sun..

i'll try spinning the fuses and see if that helps. if not i'll remove each one and try and clean them. i have a few spares but i'll go out and pick more up today.

AScholtes

wiring diagram and find all the ground locations... check/clean all grounds.

mazdaverx7

^^definatly on my list of things to do. the previous owner gave me a workshop manual and a copy of the parts manual as well as an engine manual set and some other books. between those and a keen eye and some research here i should be able to locate all grounding points. i can see the nest of ground wires near the left headlight bucket seem to be fairly corroded.

AScholtes

Yeah, you need to get that corrosion off. That is likely the cause for the headlights not working. After cleaning the corrosion you may want to spray the grounds with some inhibitor...

ernie9468

This is your fuses/relay boxe on your early car ,seem to me there is relays missing but hard to tell by the pic the green fuses don't belong there ,probably some electrical tampering by the PO.First check all fuses to make sure none are burn,then remove relays clean with electrical cleaner & reinstall plus clean all grounds,not sure beside your oil ligth indicator the battery one should come one when turning the ignition on.

Hollywood D

Fo sho. When I cleaned all my grounds a few months ago I made the parking brake light start working again. The idle smoothed out too. It's an easy job to do and it doesn't cost money lol. The grounds on the top of the bellhousing are a real pain to get to though. I had to disconnect the coolant hoses that go to the heater control valve. Not a huge deal though.

And the fuse box and relay box on the early car sucks. It's hard to get to and you can't see much.

Seat covers are easy. I got a kit off of ebay and did it myself.

ernie9468

Forgot from now on your best friend will be www.clarks-garage.com don't be shy & use it.

AScholtes

From that chart, the 2 that appear to be missing in the photos, should be missing... as they are not used.

TexasRider

Congrats on the car.

I too had no idea about the differences between the 1985 and my 1986 951 - especially the dash gauges etc.

And another thing - the price went up $10,000 in less than a year. Wow!

mazdaverx7

thanks for the info guys! the fuse/relay diagram will come in handy! i've been looking at www.pelicanparts.com and it seems they have a lot of good prices on repair parts so i'll probably be using them, 944online, and rennbay. i'd love to post interior pics but its soo embarassing..once i clean it a bit later today i'll get pics up.

after i sort out my electrical gremlins, i'm gonna concentrate on my high idle. idles at 1200rpm. idle is smooth though so i can't complain too terribly much. gonna dig in the manual i suppose. all i have is a haynes manual...which isnt great but better than nothing i suppose.

VirginiaF1

Great to see original sticker fot a $21k base... plus the dealer gouge add-on sticker!
Love that silver grey color.. is odo working? If so, any idea if its first or second 100,000 miles ?
Can you share what you paid and was it private sale or auction?

mazdaverx7

i will tell the odometer hasn't worked since i've owned the car. the previous owner claimed the car has only around 70K miles. i don't believe it at all. i'm positive the odometer stopped working at 119K. not 19K. my guess is that it has near 150K miles based on the condition of the car and the wear of certain components. it looks as if the timing belt job was recently done as some used parts came with the car and the timing and balance shaft components were among the used parts. i will re-do the timing belt and associated parts this summer but will inspect the belt before i wait that long. first thing is to replace the horrid rear wheel bearings and check the trans mounts as i hear some clunking when turning and can hear the torque tube get noisy when turning abruptly..

i bought the car on a private sale. before i am flamed and my body put up on display in tow square, i overpaid for the car and i accept that. there are almost zero 944's in my area that were in my price range. i wanted stone grey or gemini grey and this car happened to be stone grey. i had to have black interior and this car has it. i paid $2200 for the car. i realize thats probably $1000 too much but the engine runs exceptionally well and the trans has zero grinds. i am confident in my mechanical ability as i have restored RX-7's for the last 12 years and am confident that i can get this car back to 100%.