wondering what this part is? it doesn't seem to go anywhere and just lays across the front of the engine.

 

looks like your timing belt catastrophic failure tension warning connector. Should be plugged into the left part of the large middle timing belt cover.

 

that ain't a pretty picture, you need to get that set back asap

 

I may be wrong here, but that's more than a simple matter of plugging it back in. IIRC from my car (86.5) it is only the black part which is a sort of female connector which plugs in. Is the other end pulled out? Somone else confirm... but that means taking the center cover off, soldering(?) that piece back in on the back and then pluging the black part back in through the front of the cover. Sorry if I'm not clear, I can't figure out how to explain it very well

 

looks simply grounded out ... btw ... do not drive or strt the car anymore

 

Yep, it connects to the passenger side timing belt cover. Once inside the cover, it hooks up to the belt tensioner. You'll need to pull that cover off and make sure it's properly connected. Otherwise, you have no warning system to tell you when the belt is too loose.

 

Simon is right. That plug is broken. Part of the socket from the center timing belt cover is attached to the plug. Rich Saunders and I encountered a similarly broken plug. Somebody had gone to great pains to splice in a permanent ground wire. It looked professionally done as if it was part of the original harness. We reconstructed the inside of the plug, solderg o a wire to go to the tensioner arm spade connector. Rich disconnected the extra ground and the warning system now works as it is supposed to.

 

Hi Bill and Dave are right you should not drive the car until you open the right side cam belt cover and see whats going on, their is a chance there could be a catastrophy waiting to happen, I am thinking that hopefully the wire is also gone or removed this system works as a ground to the tensioner if the tensioner gets loose then it has a insulator within the tensioner that will break the ground, the other test is do you have an indication that the belt tension is illuminated on the dash? You should, as the ground has been broken, if there is no warning on the dash then light may burned out to test the system remove the plug from the belt cover start the car after 3 or 4 minutes of running the belt tension light should come on shut off engine reconnect the wire to the front of the timing cover start engine light should be off

 

Oh you need to change the 4 fuel lines yours indicate from 86, remove the lines use the old ends and get hi pressure fuelinjection line installed at any competent hose shop

 

Ha upon closer inspection of your picture it looks like the wire that comes out of the timing cover has been jumpered so this system may be functioning the way it is supposed to , I would still open the cam cover and see whats going on

 

Just out of curiousity... why is everybody freaking out about the warning system being disabled? Not all 928s even have the system. It's just an idiot light that fails more often than it works.

 

Hi if your familiar with where the wire is actually connected to, the tensioner arm, it is about 1/2inch from a spinning belt, any loose pieces and there are a few, could be catastrophic for the belt and valves, so it would really be a smart thing to check

 

matt it is an idiot light and there is no aternativr to it. 928's that do not have it, do not need it because their belt failure cannot be catastrophic.

 

10.4:1 interference motor without an idiot light
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John, 84s never had the timing belt warning system. Porsche didn't deem it necessary until they started selling high compression interference cars to Americans in 85.