kevinlieb

Seems this is a somewhat common problem but my ABS connector under the hood, the one that is in the black clamshell type holder, has totally fallen apart on me. Seems the wires inside are still connected but I'm afraid the connector itself is unsalvagable. I'll post pics in the daylight tomorrow and this will make a lot more sense.

Is there a common fix for these connectors?

Anyone know why Porsche did these connectors this way? In the clamshell and in such ceramic? Are they super high current or something? If I have to do a non-stock fix I want to make sure I do it right. And if a stock fix is available I'd like to do that.

Thanks in advance! Everyone on this message board is always so amazingly helpful and knowledgable.

ammonman

The white barrel is plastic that has hardened and gone brittle with age an heat. Some have redone the connectors using aftermarket weatherproof connectors. The only OE solution is to buy a new harness that runs from that junction down to the wheel. I am starting to see the small two wire plugs from the main harness side of that junction beginning to crack. I have been coating the corresponding plug bodies at the wheel ends of the harness with bumper repair epoxy to stave off having to by new ABS sensors. Not sure how the bumper epoxy will handle under-hood temps though. Still researching this one.

Mike

kevinlieb

Here are the pics of the connector issues.

Kevin in Atlanta

As mentioned above you can buy the harness from 928Intl. That is what I did. In my case the connectors crumbled, too. I bought a couple from 928Intl, too.

kevinlieb

From the picture it looks like it is one wire going into two. Or is it one shielded wire going into two, where one wire is the shield and one is the center conductor?

And there is one sort of stray wire pictured that looks like it might have broken off of something. It is especially clear in the first picture. Does anyone know where this goes / went?

ammonman

Each of those small plugs contains two wires. The "stray wire" you mention is probably the shielding ground wire. It is run in the same harness and is grounded to the body in the engine bay and on the steering knuckle at he wheel end. IIRC it helps protect the ABS system from stray electrical interference messing with the signal from the wheel sensor. Those small plugs are what I've been trying to save. At the wheel end, I'm coating them with flexible bumper epoxy. I'm still looking for something that is more heat resistant to use on the engine bay ends.

Mike

Kevin in Atlanta

Update:Brown wires are to the brake pad sensors. Yellow is for the ABS harness.


My ABS connectors and the barrel connection have crumbled into dust. I bought wire harnesses for the brakes to engine compartment harness. Problem is without the plugs I cannot tell which connector is for the brake pad sensor and which is to the ABS harness. All I know is that one set of wires is brown and one set is yellow. I have looked at Ed Scherer's online wiring diagrams but cannot make out the wire colors.

Can somebody get the colors of the ABS harness plugs?

kevinlieb

I ended up wrapping the connectors with self fusing silicon tape and sticking them back in the clamshell. Its working but I am definitely not proud of it. I'd like to do a cleaner repair at some point.

blazing928

Just cut the wires and use waterproof connectors, like navra.
I cut them one at at time at the connector, so it was easy to re wire.
Do the connectors only fit one way?
All my outer insulation/protection was crumbling as well, so the loom was removed, a length of shrink wrap over the wires and then 2 layers of Techflex for protection







Caliper end

Fogey1

I don't have ABS but I'm loving theses pix, though it's hard to see what's what sometimes. Not because of the quality of the pix but b/c of the broken-ness.

Does anybody have pix of a new one to post?

blazing928

in kev's 1st pic, the two brown wires joined together are the earth...i think!

As the suspension is all rubber mounted then you need an earth wire at the caliper, thats the green/Yellow shrink wrap over the wire at the caliper end.

I must be blind as I didn't notice any shielding, its not exactly fragile electronics down there, remember its environment. The pad sensor just makes a circuit and the ABS would be a pulse, the shielding if there was some should be a mesh around the wire [think coax cable] like for the TDC sensor, and yes mine was stuffed as well!

supercedar

Roger does. I just purchased one for left front wheel. $165.00 and I am not touching it.

Thomas

Jehu Gearloose

Resurrecting an old thread. . .

For those who've replaced their disintegrated barrel connectors with WeatherPack or equivalent, what are you doing with the ground wires?

I'm working on our '87 US auto and would like to replace the connectors in the engine bay and each wheel well, but I don't know what to do with the grounds. ABS and brake wear sensors each have 2 leads, and it seems a fairly simple matter to put those in a WeatherPack.

On the '87 wiring diagram the grounds are depicted as "Cluster Lead," which is apparently German/English for "bridge to nowhere." I've dissected two of my barrel connectors and it isn't obvious from visual inspection what I should be doing (if anything) to retain their function.

Any help really appreciated. Thx.

fraggle

Post fire all my connections are crumbled toast, so I plan some sort of 4-pin weather waterproof connectors.

If I can't tell which wire is which, I'll just short out the brake pad sensor and see what lights up on the dash.

Kevin in Atlanta

Wouldn't the ground go to the sheath around each wire to prevent crosstalk(?). In the past I have cut and spliced used connectors sourced from 928Intl with success.

Recently I bought used ABS harness from a 968 whose barrels and wiring covers were in very good shape. I have not installed them to verify the length works, but I think they will do.