Dylan_928

soontobered84

Do you know of a magical way to make the ignition signal jump the expanse of atmosphere that will be present since the wire is shorter?

Other than that and having the correct ends to fit the 928, it shouldn't be a big issue.

Just pony up and buy the correct wire from one of the companies that support our love for the 928. It will cause you much less grief in the end.

Dylan_928

Petza914

Not to offend you, but if you can't afford the cost of a proper green wire, I'm thinking a 928 might not be the car for you. They're cheap to acquire these days but were still very expensive luxury cars when new and proper replacement parts for them reflect the original purchase cost not the current market value.

hacker-pschorr

The shorter one is most likely for the 911 which is too short to reach from our distributor to the harness.

While that's a common sentiment around here, for someone 100% new to 928's it does seem a bit absurd a 3 foot piece of two conductor wire is almost $140:
https://928srus-inc.myshopify.com/pr...-wire-78-to-84
When I looked this up for my response I was in a bit of a sticker shock, it was $70 not all that long ago.

I don't think it hurts to check with the collective. The last thing anyone wants to do is shell out money for something only to find out a week later it could have been purchased for less somewhere else.

Dylan_928

docmirror

I'm fairly sure I could make up a green wire for a lot less than $140. I'm going over to help John today, and he may have a sample of the wire, connectors and plugs I can examine. I've never had a car with a green wire, so starting from scratch here. As I see it, this is a coaxial cable with a weaved shield, and some special ends. Gimme a couple days, maybe I will go into the green wire business. Kinda surprised Sean hasn't already taken up the task.

So far you're doing fine Dylan. Just a bit of patience, and keep asking questions. No harm, no foul, lots of free good brains here to guide us along.

ROG100

We have tried making the green wire before - the wire is OK and the 2 way male at the 14 pin end is OK. The big deal is the distributor end which is unavailable - I have tried and John Speake has tried.
As a single DIY project where the original distributor end is still intact and usable a remake would be totally possible.

Wisconsin Joe

There is some stuff you can 'cheap out' on. There is some stuff you can find a home made alternative for.

But not everything.

There are certain things that you need quality parts to do. Sometimes (not always) the ONLY option is to pay up and get the actual Porsche part. The 'Green Wire' is one of those parts. No real alternative, no way to repair it so it works reliably. Believe me, if there was, it would be on here. (Edit to add: Roger covered what can and cannot be repaired. The distributor connector.)
The crest on the hood comes with a price premium sometimes.

Something to remember (and I've said this more than once), the 928 was the Porsche flagship for quite a while. Most expensive, fastest, most powerful in some (not all) model years.
It cost the equivalent of a mid-sized house when new.
Regardless of how much you can find one for now, parts prices, especially Porsche parts, are going to reflect the 'price when new'.

And if you think this is bad, take a look at what "Porsche Classic" parts are going for. They are in the process of realizing that there are people that like these cars. And bringing back some of the NLA parts. But the are NOT cheap.

If you aren't willing (or able) to pay that premium for some parts (again, not all of them), then maybe a 928 isn't the right car for you.
Not ripping on you, but there's a cost that comes with ownership (at least if you want to drive it).

docmirror

Yup, that's what I just found out. I can get the wire, I can get the molex dual pin at the remote end, but the dist end is Bosch proprietary, and they apparently will NOT sell the dist conn and rubber boot. Unless I want to commit to making ~5000 of them injection molded, it's not happening.

I'm going to look into 3D printing now. I may need a sample to map. The rubber boot is also going to be a challenge. I'm thinking of 3D printing the whole thing including the boot, and then use a rubber seal bushing around the dist housing.

hacker-pschorr

This green wire is the lifeblood of the computer system. They can typically last 25-30 years. It's honestly one of those areas where if I get involved with a CIS / L-Jet car and see a stiff, old green wire, I just replace it. A randomly shorting green wire will send you down so many wild goose chases, it just isn't worth it.

I fully trust and know your skill set doing things, however, this is one of those areas where as long as a new one is available from Porsche, I'll pay the price. It's not like these are an "every 5 year" kind of a part. I have 3 cars with this green wire and all are close to new. Good chance I'll never have to buy another one in my lifetime (unless I buy another car with one or do something stupid).

docmirror

Thanks, but it's not the skills question here, but the materials. Also, the 928 is not the only car that has used this dist seal/conn. The 911 from 77-84, Audi, MB all use that same connector at the Bosch dist. Different lengths of course.

hacker-pschorr

Just wanted to be clear my point in saying I'd rather by a factory new one has nothing to do with your ability to make a quality item.

Dylan_928

hacker-pschorr

Not to keep beating a dead horse, but you are kind of missing the point. This isn't the kind of wire you can test with a meter and determine if it's good. This is a shielded wire carrying an ignition signal across the engine bay. If there is any internal issues with the shielding, this can cause random / intermittent running issues that could be disguised as coming from somewhere else.
Years ago my 79 developed a very, very random misfire that only happened on the race track towards the end of a session on warm / hot days. There is a laundry list of things which could cause such an issue, reality was the green wire. The old one looked fine.

Now could my issue have also been related to a worn / old ignition lead causing the interference? Absolutely, that is why a fully functioning green wire is so important. It's one of those things I'll replace on a CIS / L-Jet car with running issues before anything else. Unless I have documented history showing it's fairly new.