TheSui

Hey guys, it's been a while since I posted here. I wrote sometime in July, when I first got my car, and its STILL not running! (Thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/445864-1985-928s-auto-new-owner-here.html My time's been completely consumed by the car, senior year, and everything else, and I completely forgot about the thread.)

I'm at a complete loss at what to do right now. First off, my biggest problem is this insane aftermarket alarm. When I bought the car, the driver's door stayed locked constantly. The battery died a few nights later, and after it was recharged, the alarm constantly went off when a door was opened, and the engine would no longer start.
Any ideas on what to do? I have no clue about electronics. I'll update what little I can find about the alarm.

Also tied into the electronics, nothing electronic seems to work now. This is a big problem for me, because I've stripped the interior, and I need to remove a seat. There's no power, so I can't access the bolts.


So, pretty much, I have two questions:
1.) My car is disabled by a crazy alarm, and I need any and all the help I can get to remove it. Can anyone help, or offer me details/advice?

I need to remove a power seat to put in the new carpet, but the seats no longer move.
2.) How can I take the passenger side seat without battery power?

I have a 1985 s manual, and I'm at a complete loss on what to do. I've done a large amount of time searching for an answer to my problems, but I just can't find any. Please help!

John Speake

There should be a manual crank handle for the seats located in the cover for the sunroof motor.

TheSui

Thanks for the quick reply John! I'm running out to the garage with a camera right now, I'll try that out as I dig around for pictures/information.

Mike Frye

Funny.

If I'd just stolen a car and wanted to know how to strip all the parts without re-activating the alarm every time, I'd start a post just like this one.

TheSui

Ouch, Mike. That hurts. I promise I didn't steal my car.
If I was a car thief, the last car I'd steal is a 928. You know how obsessed those 928 guys are...


EDIT #1:
Oh, looks like my Dad found some information. Or something. It's a wiring diagram.

Mike Frye

I'm just sayin'.

Did you find the seat adjuster? I think you actually just need an allen wrench to turn it. Maybe 4 or 5mm?

Don't be tempted to use a cordless screwdriver with an allen bit to turn it faster though, the teeth are plastic and will sheer off if you're not careful. Over time the grease that was originally used turns to glue and really adds resistance. You need to clean it all out and re-grease it. The same happens to the sunroof gears. Ask me how I know.

TheSui

Hmm, my sunroof isn't working either. Well, i have no clue now, but.. haha
When I still had electricity, the motor would turn, and there was a clicking sound? That's what I remember. Anyway, when you pressed the sunroof button, the motor would turn, and a clicking noise was heard, and you could see something spinning, but nothing happened.

TheSui

Ah hah! Think I found the alarm...
An alarm. Possibly not the aftermarket one, but it could be. Seems to say "HELLA" on the front, as in, "This is one HELLA of an alarm"! Haha, haha, ha... god, this thing has ruined my car.





Also, here's the sunroof motor with the cover removed. I think I'm blind, or really tired, because I can't find those manual seat adjuster things.


Gutted


I've never worked with electronics before, so this a little intimidating to me. And by a little, I mean I get a headache if I even glance at it.

sjfarbs

Yup, there should be a hole the size of an allen head on the front part of that seat, on the plastic front.

If you can not get at it manually, if you can get your hand under the seat and unplug the main wiring harness into the seat, then apply 12v to the red (pos) and brown (neg) wires in the seats wiring harness, this should give you full access to the electronic functions of the seat!

bd0nalds0n

I see an awful lot of those Scotch connectors in that wiring harness...

TheSui

@ sjfarbs = Thanks! Helped out tremendously. However, I have discovered one of the bolts is stripped! How can I remove it? It's the last one left.

@bd0nalds0n = I have no clue what Scotch connectors are. My dad, (who's very good with electronics/anything to do with cars) complains constantly of the P.O.'s extraordinarily awful wiring. The guy actually used shoe glue to "repair" the leather sunroof cover, and caused it to pop off whenever the hatch was opened.

Thanks for the responses guys, it really helps me out. I can't wait to get my baby on the road.

Shark Attack

Do you know what kind of aftermarket alarm it is? Does it talk?

JHowell37

The alarm box in your picture is the factory alarm. There's a lot of little scotch connectors as previously mentioned. I thought my '85 was ****ed when I bought it because you could look down at the floor when driving and see the road passing under your feet. I'm just happy the previous owners didn't try to re-engineer the wiring when things broke. They just cut the wires going to the problem part.

What evidence do you have that would suggest you have an aftermarket alarm?

Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, I can see part of the reason why a lot of the electrical stuff isn't working. In the picture that shows your dash, on the driver's side, just below and slightly to the left of the steering wheel I see a yellow connector. Is it connected to anything? There should also be a black connector in the same vicinity that looks similar. Is it connected to anything. From what I see in the pic the yellow connector appears to be loose. These two connectors go to the control box for the central warning system. The control box normally mounts under the dead pedal that your left foot rests on. I can't see from your picture. Did you remove that control box? If you did remove it, get it and plug it back in.

Second, you need to bypass the factory alarm. Since you've got access to that control box, as evidenced by your photo that will be the easier option. Pull both plugs out of the box. Now, do you see that crude pin-out diagram on the box? You see where it says "87a" and "15?" You need to identify the wires on the plug that those two terminals correspond with. Then you need to make a small jumper wire to connect them together. If you do that, you might be able to start the car.

Try that and let us know what you come up with.

Lizard928

The hella box is the factory alarm do not bother to remove it.

Look elsewhere for the alarm.

JHowell37

Scotch connectors are those little blue things used to basically splice those aftermarket wires into the factory wiring. I can see 5 or 6 in your picture. If you do have an aftermarket alarm, I would guess that is how it's wired in.