Ispeed

Sunday: Car almost completely not running, with no warning.
Monday: Called Dave Chamberland, he arrived and within 1 minute had diagnosed a bad LH computer. Called Rich Andrade and he had a rebuilt LH on it's way within minutes.
Tuesday: Received the LH, swapped into the car, now it runs great.
Funny, Dave C. had warned me to have the LH rebuilt last winter,.....and I didn't do it.
Dave C.
Rich9928 Andrade:
We have a lot of great resources among us, for sure.

the flyin' scotsman

No warning.............thats what I'm worried about especially if I'm in the middle of the boonies someplace in bear bear country.

Have you noticed any changes in the way the car runs, idles smells?

dr bob

There's a real case for prophylactic rebuild, especially for cars that get stored during the off season. Pull the brain sometime in the fall, and have it renewed and back in before the spring thaw.

Beats getting stranded someplace. As you know, it's a matter of "when" and not really "IF". My luck says that I would be stranded on a hot desert highway at night. I know I'll need the replacement soon, based on statistics. So I had a spare one rebuilt, heading off disaster. Of course, with a spare in the ready, the old one will run forever. No spare, and you are just another sob story waiting to be told.

tdelarm

My LH Brain went during a trip to Washington from LA...just north of San Francisco on HWY 1 no less...my cell phone showed no service but...somehow I was able to get in touch with Devek to figure out the problem...$500 bucks for a tow to San Fran and the next morining I was on my way with a loner brain...$1200 later I received the rebuilt brain...electronic boards will become brittle and crack with age breaking varioius connections...which was in my case.

This is one reason I listed the new brain in my 'completed maintenance list' as eventually...these boards will probably all fail and have to be replaced. When is the question. Pay now or pay later

Bill Ball

How did Dave diagnose it in 1 minute? Usually I have to do an LH swap. Sometimes you get the classic symptoms of the injectors clicking wildly with the car not running. Or if the car dies suddenly and won't start (or starts but idles like crap) but you hear the fuel pump running on the start attempts, the LH is a very good guess. That's how mine failed, 30 miles from DEVEK - an hour later I was back on the road with a loaner from them.

tdelarm

Bill...that's exactly what happened to mine...I stopped to enjoy the coastal view after an exhilarating run through sum windy roads and upon the restart...Natta…Zippo…nothing but injectors clicking like mad...when it did catch it sounded like it was only firing on 4 cylinders. I thought possibly the dreaded ‘limp mode’ had kicked in but…the LH brain’s circuitry board finally had enough dry and brittle days. However...there's nothing money can't buy...

a "tow job" TO Deveks = $500 fun chips

a brain = $1200 fun chips or 2400 pints of beer

having cell phone sex while waiting for the tow truck = PRICELESS

littleball_s4

Sorry for little OT:

I can get a cheap used LH from a 88 s4 auto which, sadly, doesn't need it any more. My car is a 87 s4 5spd.

I recall both MY are a little bit different, although interchangeable, and I know there is a jumper panel to tell the LH several things -such as the tranny type?-, but I don't have the manuals with me and I dont want to fry anything:

Can I simply swap both to test (before purchasing)? If not, is it an easy way?

Thx!

wds928

What is the predominant factor for LH brain failure? Mileage or years?

Carl, glad you got it sorted so quickly. BTW, my rims arrived yesterday on the Big Brown Truck. Thanks for you help.

Ispeed

Dave ssimply unhooked the LH and connected his spare LH and the car started and idled normally...he came prepared with LH, maf, and other parts and tools.

jayc67

Who was overhauling these? Wasn't someone offering an improved design as part of their overhaul?
England maybe? I can't remember dangit......

the flyin' scotsman

Check out John Speake.

H2

I consider spare brains, relays, MAF, etc. as investments. If you never need them, you can sell them later on....likely for more than you paid for them. I buy critical and key spares when they become available at reasonable prices and carry them on long trips for insurance. It beats being stranded 77 miles from the nearest telephone and paying for a tow, then paying premium for a "quick-ship" but expensive part. We pretty well know what tends to burn out. Why not get spares if you travel distances? As an example, about a year ago, I bought a brand new in the box MAF for $80. If I had to buy one on an emergency basis, wonder what it would cost? I'm saving the MAF and if I never use it, it'll be worth more than I paid for it. I'm paying for some peace of mind...and investing in 928 parts rather than the stock market. It surely can't be worse than my stock investments.

Making a list of these critical spares to carry around might be a good idea. A trailer might be required.

Harvey

jayc67

John Speake, JDSPorsche, that's the name. Thanks.

I'm wondering if it's worth it to go ahead and proactively have mine overhauled now rather than wait for it to die. I don't have a spare, and the overhaul is cheaper than a spare.
Hmmmm Spend money on something that isn't broken. Yeah, the 928 is expensive

Schocki

Yes that's the way to do it. Change it and you are not getting stranded due to this.
My GTS was running fine but I still changed the ECU with a John Speake unit in 2004.
If you have an original unit (in my opinion) change it with an upgraded version. Money well spend!

BTW I'm going to change my intank fuel pump this Saturday. Just because it's known to cause problems, sooner or later. Mine is now 14 years old and pumped (if it still does) 121000 miles long fuel into the main pump. My GTS also likes to ping a little and according to Sterling this will solve the problem on many cars.

I will keep you updated...

Rich9928p

The major failure is the hybrid circuit - a custom part that is not sold as a replacement item. It fails as a function of module age, not miles. As a matter of fact an LH can "die" while sitting on a shelf. Therefore, I don't recommend purchasing used LHs because they may not work when you need them.

Note. This type of failure is only for the 35 pin LHs used in 1987 and newer 928s. The previous generation 25 pin LHs have no hybrid circuit and thus don't have these types of failures.