Mongo

On the way to a car show large amounts of smoke were coming from the dash pod and clouding up the gauges! I pulled over immediately thinkin the car was on fire. I turned everything off and removed the stereo faceplate. I turned the car back on and now the speedometer and odometer are shot! they don't work at all.

I am holding the wiring of my stereo accountable since i have had 2 electrical problems with this car since the stereo was installed by my employer Circuit City. <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

Does anyone know if there are relays or fuses that are affiliated with the speedometer/odometer??? Is there a wire or impulse sensor that could have shorted out? I would like to note that everything else in the car works fine EXCEPT the speedometer and odometer. I tried the trip already several times but to no demise the speedo and odo still won't work!

Mike Schmidt

I don't think that there's a fuse or relay specificly for the speedometer/odometer. There is an impulse sensor in the transmission that sends the signal to the speedometer/odometer. If the speedomter worked and the odometer didn't, I'd guess it was that plastic gear inside of it that commonly goes bad. Since the speedometer doesnt work either, it sounds like some sort of wring problem.

Mongo

Mike I totally agree with you! Circuit City said to bring the car in tomorrow and they will attempt to fix it considering i signed no waivers indicating them denying responsibility for any problems related with their work.

My only question is that I've been reading posts about entire instrument pods dying and the fuse number 12. But theres nothing wrong with fuse 12. Since its bad wiring and smoke...did something fry on the fuse board? Circuit Foil? or did the whole odometer and speedometer die completely because of the overvoltage from the stereo?

Hopefulyl someone will reply with some tidbit of info to help me..

to everyone who has seen me post before asking for assistance, thank you very much for all your replies and assists. I know the 928 is a very delicate car and I'm going through a dark time right now. I have much appreciation to anyone who replies to this.

Greg86andahalf

I would be loking at what wire they tapped for ground for the stereo.

What were the two other electrical problems you have had?

Mongo

these are the other two:

1. CENTRAL WARNING LIGHT does not go off even after hitting the button. It remains on because I have a broken ABS sensor that I will be fixing later.

2. False belt tension warning light and a tweaker blinker. Plus the Alpine CD player spit out a near scolding hot CD!!!

Donald

[quote]Originally posted by Donald (5/20)
:Topic: Probably the oddest thing i've ever seen in my life....
<strong>Chula Vista-
Check the stereo ground. That is likely to be the heating problem. Also better check to see where the installer pulled the power for all of that. It appears as if he pulled it out of a no-no circuit. The battery is always a good place from which to light up add-ons, and ground them back there as well (at the grounding strap).
Donald

P.S.
I assume that removing the faceplate shuts down the stereo, is that correct?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Mike Schmidt

[quote]Originally posted by EuroSpec944:
<strong>Since its bad wiring and smoke...did something fry on the fuse board? Circuit Foil? or did the whole odometer and speedometer die completely because of the overvoltage from the stereo?.</strong><hr></blockquote>

It could be any of the above, or something not mentioned above too. There's really no way of knowing until things are looked at more closely. Unfortunately there are a lot of car stereo installers out there that either don't know or don't care about what they're doing when working on your car. That can quickly lead to problems on a car with an electrical system like the one on a 928. Complain a lot, get the best installer they have, stand over his shoulder watching if possible, and hope for the best.

Jim Nowak

I'll bet you fried the printed circut board/sheet in back of the instrument cluster.

Jim Nowak

Nicole

I would never let Circuit City or any place like this thouch my car - or even diagnose an electrical problem. What do these guys know about a 928? How do you know they are not going to make it worse?

Remember, this once was an $80k car. You wouldn't take it to the ARCO station for an engine rebuild, would you?

Greg86andahalf

Nicole makes a good point. If Circuit City didn't get it right the first time from lack of knowledge, having them check and repair their own damage would be a mistake. I would take it to a auto electrical shop or an experianced Porsche mechanic. Let them sort it out and give the results to Circuit City.

Bernie

Since smoke was coming from the gauge area, I would start there. Plenty of writeups here about getting the pod off. Pretty easy Too....
I would check the foil circuit board first to find out if any of the traces have been burnt. There is a chance that one of these traces has turned into a fuse!!
I believe these flexible circuit boards are available from the BIG3 so replacing it shouldn't be a problem. Also check the electrical connections to the pod. You may have melted a connector. Once again, as long as the wiring didn't melt in the process, shouldn't be that big of a deal to repair.
Once you find out where the smoke actually came from, you should contact this list again to help backtrack the problem to its source.
Circuit City?????
Cryky Man!!!! Nobody goes into my 928S besides me a someone with a really large PORSCHE logo across the back of their cover-alls. You really need to know where all that copper is coming from and going to before changing anything. The 928 has a very sensitive electrical system. Jamming wires and screws together into her sensitive arteries can easily create a blood clot, followed by heart failure for her and you....... <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Mongo

ok heres the update. We spoke with Circuit City this morning and they said they will fix the ground to the stereo, wherever they put it they must of hooked it up to a big 'no no' area like Donald said. From there we will talk with the store manager and roadshop manager on saturday to make a settlement considering that the corporation would probably have to approve the repair...afterall it's their wrong doing of wiring the stereo up the WRONG way. I expect them to pick up the price for the repairs.

Bernie, you said something about connectors. Is ther a specific connector that you are talking about???

Bernie

Can't really be specific because we don't know which wiring set took the hit.
Here's a hint - It will be the one that looks all globby and melted.
Locate the source of the smoke first and maybe we can help work it backwards from there.

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Dozman

I would definitelt get something in writing that Cicuit City will pay the bill to repair the damage. Secondly, if they fix their problem with out fixing the electrical problem, you may or may not get it fixed.

I would talk to Circuit City and have them agree to let an competent electrical shop proceed with all repairs, and corrections. Not them.

John D.
'85 928 Auto

Greg86andahalf

Euro,

Keep in mind that smoke usually means burnt wire sheathing (covering). If you had noticable smoke, some covering probably has burned in either a viewable or not viewable or accessable area leaving bare copper behind.

Greg