Installed a new genuine Porsche green wire today (purchased from one of the big 3) and the car ran like crap. I did a little investigation and found an interesting thing:






NOTE: Yes I know that they are not being held in the same orientation. Not enough hands or dexterity.

The arrows are color coded according to continuity. Note the differences in the old vs. the new.

After installation the timing was so far advanced that retarding it as much as is possible with the distributor bolt in only yielded approximately 28° BTDC at idle speed of 450 with vacuum advance line disconnected.

Replaced old wire and set distributor at its prior position, and timing is 8° BTDC at idle speed of 700 with vacuum advance disconnected.

Beware, another rennlister posted a thread describing the same problem with a green wire he purchased from a supplier other than the big 3. Evidently there is a problem.

FYI

 

Were you able to pop the retaining pins and swap the terminals in the connector?

I am going to need one of these soon too.

 

PorKen,

I am going to call 928 Int. before I do that. It appears that with a jewelers screwdriver it is possible to reverse them.

I am not certain I want to take a $60.00 gamble in case I am unable to pop the pins cleanly.

 

The green wire I purchased from 928 International was "plug and play" perfect fit, no problems. FWIW

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic

 

Anthony,

You don't by chance still have the package it came in do you? Curious as to what date is on the label. Mine is 02:10:2002.

It looks to me as if there may have been a batch? of these that got screwed up.

 

Sorry, I don't have the original packaging, but according to the invoice, I recieved it in the end of March of this year.

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic

 

You may just have found the solution to a problem that a local 928 owner has wasted a lot of time and effort trying to diagnose.

 

Oh my, you are describing a nearly identical problem one of the guys in our group is having after a Euro engine rebuild, during which time he dutifully replaced his green wire. However, the problem persists after replacing the new green wire with the old.

It is easily the most perplexing problem any of us has ever experienced as we have tried everything to get it right. Amongst other things, we have swapped in and out the distributor and brains; no dice. We put the distributor and brains into another Euro, and that other Euro ran fine. The only thing remaining to do is replace the plug wires.

To 'solve' the problem in the interim, he's running the car at the track with the vacuum advance disconnected. Below 3k RPM it runs rough, 3k+, it runs like a champ.

I'm sure this case would be a good candidate for viewing on 'Unsolved Mysteries'.

 

I also bought one of these from one of the big 3. Car would not even start. Put old back on and runs fine. New wire is laying on shelf, now I know what is wrong with it. Thanks for saving me some time.

 

After consultation I was able to pull the connector off of the distributor end without a problem

Ut Oh....the wires are molded into the black piece that connects to the metal holder. Reversing the connector isn't feasible due to the orientation tab on the connector.

Stay tuned......

 

I can't see your picture that well. However, the green wire on my 79 has one of the standard Bosch square connectors on the ECU end. The pins in these can easily be pulled from the housing and reversed. Bus Boys (Volkswagon) sells the small simple tool to remove the pins but you could easily fabricate your own.

Sean

 

Add me to the list!! I changed out my green wire on Saturday and had nothing but trouble. Mitch mentioned his problem on a post yesterday, and I put the old wire back on tonight, boom!! starts and runs like a top.
I bought mine from Pelican, I'll see if I can find the batch number.

 

Sean,

The Bosch connector on the wire in front of me is molded around the wire and pins. Due to the wire being coaxial, I can't see how any tool could push the pins out without destroying either the connector or the wire.

I'll see if I can find more information on the tool though. Don't have a VW part # by chance do you?

Would it be possible to reverse the connection on the ECU itself? Anyone familiar with the connector on that end?

 

Mitch, from your description it sounds like your connector is a one peice moulded unit. This is unlike the original Bosch plugs. I don't think the tool would help you. I have had the ECU open, and I think with a soddering iron the connections could be reveresed.

Good luck
Sean

 

Thanks Sean,

After some thought the idea of altering the connection at the ECU isn't so appealing. I think I'll seek another avenue.

Thanks for the info.