Lilja

Ill try to explain this as detailed as possible knowing that noone will figure this out.
I took the engine out of my 944 85A to rebuild it, when I did that I accidently broke the relay that is connected to engines wiringharness.
After having rebuilt the engine and installed it back in the car I forgot about the relay, when the engine started it ran very badly, it was missing and running very lumpy and unevenly and had absolutely no idle. After a while of checking absolutely everything it wouldnt start at all, after cranking for a good 20 seconds it just coughed a little, once or twice I managed to get it going but it still ran very badly and as soon as I let go of the throttle it died again.
I tried to put an ordinary relay into the relay slot on the engine wiringharness but it didnt help, the relay clicked but it still wouldnt run.
Finally I decided to find the broken relay I threw away, I found it in the trash but the plastic shielding around it was lost and the circuitboard was broken in half but all the solders were still connected. Hoping it worked I put it back in and wola, the car runs fine. Runs smoothly as ever and perfect idle.
Now I obviously cant run the relay like this since the curcuitboard is broken and the relay has no shielding, I need to order a new one.
The problem is, what is this mystery relay for? What does it do? Whats it called? How do I order a new one when it seeminly doesnt exist?
Iv checked in every wiringdiagram available and it simply doesnt exist.
Its not in the slot where the DME relay should sit, and there is already a relay in that slot, its hard to see but Im guessing there is a DME relay. Also if it was the DME relay that some previous owner moved the engine wouldnt start at all would it? I mean it starts but it runs badly without the relay.
I also want to say that the relay is a part of the factory wiring harness and is not aftermarket or put in after the car was built, both the relay and the harness looks very much stock.

So what is this relay? Ive asked on other forums and asked alot of people who knows about these cars but noone can tell me.
Some of you must have an early 944 and can check what relay is connected to the engine wiringharness, cause there is only one relay that is.

car_slave

Your engine problem sounds like the plug wires are out of order. No idea about the relay, but I'm sure you can find one that will fit. They're not that complicated. Try a wiring diagram

Rich Sandor

take photos and post them if you want answers about the relay.

Lilja

Lets see here now



This is the connector, this goes straight into the wiringharness of the DME



And this is the relay, you can see the numbers on the connectors. I cant find a relay with the same setup on any of my cars.

Ive also talked to a local expert on these cars that didnt know what it was for either.

konakat

This is an 85.1, right? I can't find a relay with that pin numbering in the wiring diagram for the early cars. Where was the plug, just loose in the driver footwell? It is also definitely not the DME relay.

Lilja

Yes it was, close to the ECU and the radio relay in the footwell.
And yes its an 85A with the old style dashboard so the ECU is under the steeringrack.

According to some expert some cars have these and they run like **** if they are removed but noone seems to knoe what theyre for, also since I dont know what theyre for I cant get a new one and therefor I cant get my car started.

GGX2

Isn't the power window relay next to the radio relay? Not sure what other relays are down there off the top of my head.

-George

Van

I can't say exactly what it is... but using the DIN terminal standards, it is activated by the ignition switch (via #15) and closes the circuit between 30 and 87a.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_72552

Van

P.s. does your car have an alarm?

Lilja

Yea so you get 15 in via the ignition and then 30 from the battery. Then youre supposed to get power from the relay on 31 and on 87A.
So actualy in theory it could work with any relay that has an 87A exit if Im not completely off now couldnt it?

No it doesnt, it had an aftermarket alarm when I bought it that I threw out but it wasnt connected to this relay or the engine wiring harness at all.

Van

Can you post a picture of the top side and/or circuit board part of the relay?

Lilja

Here you go, and thank you for trying to help me in this mystery

Butters944

If I recall correctly I removed that relay from my 83 and have tapped into the posts to use for various electronic add-ons in my car, like my power door locks.

I assumed it was just a relay relating to the OEM radio system and I was never able to quite figure out what it was from my wiring diagrams. There were two relays near the dme closer to the center console, right next to eachother. I have both disconnected without any affect to the car's performance. We might be looking at the same thing.

konakat

I will try and check my car tonight to see if I have one.

Lilja

I appreciate all the help I can get but please do read throu everything before posting.

I cant remove the relay since the car barely runs when its removed. It basicly diesels like a fishingboat and has no idle if I remove it. If I put the old relay back in it runs like a charm.
There is no way it can be for anything other than the engine as its connected directly to the engine wiring harness and the engine ECU.

My guess would be that its either some sort of very primitive anti theft device or that it has to do with the airflowmeter or the speedsensors. Its not on any wiring diagram and alot of cars, probably most car dont even have this relay, doesnt even have the connector in the wiring harness, but some do, mine is one of them. No idea why.