sharknoob

Turn your key to on position do not start the car ...... take a picture of all the lights that are on and post it lets see if you just have a bulb out that should be telling you what the " ! " is for

Vilhuer

Nope, '84 MY was first in ROW cars also.

jwarner6

Just came accross this link which would seem to imply that ABS was available somewhere in '83 (unless of course it's just wrong). That's maybe getting close enough to '82 that those crazy Germans might have designed the light into the cluster a year or two before they started offering the option.

http://928worldwide.com/store/produc...roducts_id=129

Vilhuer

AFAIK '83 is wrong and everything in PET says '84 and later MY for M593 which is option code for ABS.

SharkSkin

That guy is just getting started in the 928 biz -- take that "83" with a very large grain of rock salt!

jwarner6

Excellent info guys as usual!

I'm going to go out and try to take some pictures of the dash. Although at this point I'm not sure why.

jwarner6

Okay here's pics;

Left Side with key in Run position, Parking Lights on and engine not running:



Right Side:



Engine Running:



Antilock lamp text barely noticeble at top of gauge:



You don't suppose the entire problem is that I'm out of gas? Does the ! come on for that?

Jeff

SharkSkin

I can't see the pics. Yes, the ! comes on with the low fuel warning and can be cancelled by pressing the reset button.

Normally, only certain warnings cannot be cancelled(I'm pretty sure the ! will flash for any of these warnings):

• Oil pressure too low
• Oil level too low
• Brake circuit(pressure) failure
• Brake fluid level too low

Are all 4 of those lights functional on your car?

The following warnings can be cancelled, FYI:

• Brake wear (pads) indicator
• Parking brake
• Coolant level
• Coolant temperature
• Fuel reserve level
• Windshield and headlight Washer (where applicable) Fluid level
• Stop lamps
• Tail lamps

I don't have an '82 owner's manual, but the same info is present in both '81 and '83 owner's manuals.

The fact that the warning cannot be cancelled plus the fact that it is not flashing indicates a fault somewhere in the warning system. Do make sure you have adequate oil(level and pressure) before going any further.

jwarner6

Sorry, the pictures were showing up twice at my end so I edited and deleted the attachments but that apparently also made the link no good and so I must have been seeing cached images. Whatever!

I added what gas I had in my can and the car hesitated for a significant period of time before both the low fuel and ! lights came on. Apparently not enough gas to shut them off but enough to maybe make a difference.

I do have good oil level and pressure. I'm not sure I followed your statement about flashing. Is it supposed to flash for all warnings or just the 4 serious ones? The item in your list right before Stop Lamps; is that supposed to be Washer Fluid Level? If so, what is Windshield and Headlight?

I guess I'll go buy some gas.

Thanks a bunch for the info and lists. I've got to shell out for an owner's manual. I've got quite a collection of them but not this one yet.

Thanks again.



Jeff

SharkSkin

Whoops, too quick on the copy/paste/edit. Fixed now. Yes, the light should flash for any of the first four warnings I posted. All of those four lights are working on your dash. Something else is going on... try re-seating the edge connectors on the back of the cluster.

Also, unless your fuel pickup tube(~1/2" dia. tube near bottom of pic) is rusted away, the pickup should still be sucking fuel long after the float hits bottom and makes contact for the low fuel light:



Maybe it's fine but adding fuel jostled the float and caused it to make contact. So the fuel light wasn't on before?

jwarner6

No, the fuel light was on. You can see it in the third picture. I took that picture before I tried adding fuel. But I probably only added a half gallon and judging by that picture you sent of the fuel sender I can see where it could easily have not made much of a difference even though they both stayed off for quite a few more seconds when I restarted the car after I added the fuel. I'll go out and buy more fuel tomorrow.

It seems like the logical answer at this point is that I'm simply too low on gas and the reset switch for the warning system isn't working. Hopefully just a loose or bad connection since it doesn't light up either.

I'm going to think positive now.

nosnow

There is one other possibility. I don't remember the search string but someone was having a simular problem and it had to due with a charging issue. If memory serves me correctly the alternator was not putting out the correct voltage.

Does anyone remember this?

jwarner6

I doubt that would be the case here. I just got done rewiring the alternator and completely rebuilding the front engine harness (T14 connector). I'm getting very good voltage (14+) according to the voltage gauge and my handheld meter. Based on the assortment of loose and corroded connections I've found so far I'm thinking this is the more likely possibility.

I'm going to add fuel to the tank and then regardless of whether or not that fixes the problem I'm pulling the fuse panel next and getting into the console wiring too.

I'd still be interested in hearing about any problems related to voltage though if anyone remembers.

Thanks nosnow.

Jeff

nosnow

I did a search on central warning to try and find the discussion... This one is close.... the remedy was to clean the connectors on the passenger side of the trunk.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...tem-light.html

The other thread had something to do with the alternator exciter but I could not find the specific thread and since you just replaced everything that probably isn't the cause.

SharkSkin

You could just pop the connector off of the fuel sender and see if the problem goes away. It's in the middle of the hatch floor under a plastic cover. If that stops the warning, you know that it's only the one valid warning in the system which will come in handy as you troubleshoot the dead reset switch.