GTR John

My 1987 928S4 needs spark plug wires badly.

It has needed it for a while, but i don't drive the car often. I was driving it last night and for the first time the EX thing on the dash started flashing red. What does this mean?

My car has a HUGE stutter problem and it vibrates like you can't imagine. Sometimes it runs fine however and than the car hauls some serious ***. Getting it fixed on Monday. Is the car ok to be driven like this?

the flyin' scotsman

Is it raining a little on the West coast? Bad spark plug wires shall short directly to the closest path to ground especially when damp/wet (BTDT many times in Scotland where it only rains a 'wee' bit).

As you know the wires are bad replace them and go from there; many options out there.

GTR John

it rains like crazy out here in Vancouver BC, Canada. What does that have to do with the (EX) flashing dashlight?

BrianG

a dead cylinder will pump gas into the exhaust system, which will get ignited in the CAT and the heat will set the EX dash-light.

In later cars ('89-on), the ignition system will respond by shutting down 1/2 the engine.

Garth S

It is NOT safe to drive! You DO have a catalytic converter on fire due to raw gas passing on through - as Brian noted, and indicated by the thermal sensors screwed into the rear end of the cats : This is a Japanese 'ZZZ' import ... right?
Unless you are certain that it is ignition wires, I would pull plugs, wires, distributor caps & rotors and clean/replace as indicated. Also, check the coil towers for corrosion and their primary connections - and the wiring to the two ignition control modules on the left front brace.
If your engine has been 'stuttering' as described, I would also assure that the flex plate tension was released ( assuming it is an auto).

GTR John

I had the local Porsche dealer check out the car, and it seems that the only problem is that the wires in very very bad shape. I'm getting the car fixed on Monday. Thanx alot for the input. I will keep the car off the road auntil fixed.

the flyin' scotsman

GTR..........although the shop is a Porsche dealer are they knowledgeable of the 928?

If you can't do the work yourself check out http://www.jageng.com/auto_1.htm, they might be able to help; otherwise bring it out here..........-5C and 6" of snow on the ground.

Mark

For what you are going to pay a dealership to replace the wires....you can:
Call one of the Big 3 on Monday
Buy a set of NOLOGY wires
Have them overnighted
Put them on yourself in 15 minutes
and save a BUNCH of $$!

PS - I visited with Dave and Jeannie at 928 Specialists this week. I saw them IN STOCK! www.928gt.com

Ketchmi

Or use Magnecore wires at considerably less cost and at least as good of quality which we have IN STOCK. It will take a bit more than 15 minutes to replace on an S4 with all the clamps and guides, figure about 1 hour to do it right but it's not hard.

pasa

GTR John

take the car to SCAN automotive in North Vancouver those guys know 928's and they are much more cost effective.

Dan 1990 928GT

jarroyo

I agree, I called the stealership to get wires for my 81' and the guy there told me " well you need 9 wires, and they're all sold separately at $96 each" needless to say I told him to pound salt. I bought the accel "build your own" wires kit for $80 and haven't had a single problem.

GTR John

My old man owns a car tuning shop out here in Surrey, BC so I will have him do all the repairs. The cost is pretty cheap that way. All the work gets done at my shop, but we have alot of cars on the go right now, but th is thing is getting fixed on Monday.

I had the local Porsche dealership just do a random check on it. Diagnostic testing. basically point out everything that is wrong with the car.

Scott M.

John;

Your must be a gambler, cause you're playing with some very (and I mean very) potentially damaging issues here.
The fact that your ignition is dropping out is the tip of the iceberg. Since your new to the list, do a search for thrust bearing failure (TBF) and go out and check your crank endplay.
As others have mentioned, the stuttering means your dumping raw fuel into the cats. Pull your cats down and inspect the internals visually.
Inspect and measure the coils while your are replacing the wires AND CAP/ROTORS. These are things the dealer will not check. Did your car have the cat heat shield recall performed?
If the problem persist, stop driving immediately.
If you'd like to see what your 'stuttering' will cause, I can email you pics of an 87S4 that was almost used to roast mashmallows.

Good luck.