flipstah

Onto fun diagnostics. Three issues came up when looked around.



- Key was in ignition; wouldn't crank
- Took off key
- Checked every fuse and no blown to report
- Checked relays for loose connectivity; same with harness
- Cleaned fuses; loud, steady tick-tock was heard in engine bay. Located to area (A)
- Unplugged and replugged (A) to which ticking stopped; tried to start car:



Another tick-tock was heard. It's on (B):



- Unplugged and replugged (B) to which ticking stopped; still won't start

- Noticed that (C) is collecting oil. If you look at it straight down, there's a small pool of oil:





Note the reflection highlighted; that's oil.

I'm Googling what these part #'s are, but guess is immobilizer/alarm related.

ammonman

None of the items you circled is related to the alarm/immobilizer. Item A is the charcoal canister vent solenoid valve. Item B is the solenoid valve that controls the intake manifold resonance flap aka "Flappy Valve". Both are controlled by the LH fuel injection computer. This isn't a car to guess on as the electrical system and related microprocessor modules are only slightly less complicated than the space shuttle. Do a search for "No crank" and you will get many posts with excellent diagnostic steps to follow. Possible likely culprits in no order are a) dead battery, b) bad ignition switch c) bad starter relay. Do all the dash lights come on with the key in the "ON" position?

Mike

flipstah

I'll search and see what happens, Mike.

A.) Not a dead battery because it's fully charged and right now is plugged to a charger but still no crank
B.) Possibly
C.) I'll check my diagram again. There's only one fuse box in the car right? Passenger side underneath the glove box. The lights come when the key is on the "ON" position.

ammonman

Only one fuse/relay panel but multiple control units and assorted other relays scattered around the car in various places. Try swapping the horn relay and the heater blower relay for the starter relay and the X-bus relays. Assuming the horn and blower work this will tell you whether the no crank issue is because of bad relays. If this fixes the issue order 5 or 10 new relays from on the the 928 parts vendors here on this forum and swap all the "plain" relays out for new.

Mike

flipstah

You are correct with the starter solenoid. Tapped it with a hammer and it started again. HUZZAH

The interior fan started working as well!

I also need to find the leak around the steering rack. Power steering fluid trickling.

ammonman

Sounds like it's time to have the starter and solenoid reconditioned by your local auto electric re-builder. Glad you got it started.

Mike

flipstah

Thanks!

More fun: Checked the alternator if it's charging the new Interstate battery

Idle is about 12.3 to 12.6 V

Revving jumps to 13.3V ish.

Might not be enough charging from the alternator or bad ground...?

flipstah

Parts are slowly trickling in from Stuttgart! Still waiting for the door lock cylinders.

flipstah

This weekend sure was fun!

While dealing with a kerfuffle with my Golf R (brother took it for a joyride while I was away on a work trip and bent a valve), kept busy changing the gas shocks and the trunk latch release. The electronic release from the inside works now!





There's an interesting diagnosis that occurred which meant there's a short in the circuit:

Both the fan and the starter won't engage initially; voltmeter says that the starter is always on, which means there'a short; car was jacked up on the starter location; car started and blower worked. So either there's a wire pinched and it's alleviated when it's jacked up, or the opposite where the wire is frayed and gets contact when there's pressure. Starter is fine.

While looking for that short, there were plugs disconnected on the HVAC control area on top of the hood, underneath the rain cover. Plugged it back in and the intermittent starting/blower not functioning issue stopped. For now... >.>

Headlight relay is malfunctioning, so time to buy a new one:





There's still a parasitic drain and until it is found, a trickle charger has been set up for the time being. Set it up similar to a block heater and you just plug it in when parked. WIN.











Since it'll be winter parked, this was a win-win setup.

flipstah

BUMP.

Been daily driving the 928 and she's been running supreme. No big issues to report, but some outstanding items:

- Steering rack still needs to be rebuilt for gasket changes
- A/C needs Freon or condenser is clogged (but the sunroof is fixed now!)
- Still waiting for door lock cylinders
- Still waiting for headlight relay
- Still need to replace instrument cluster bulbs

The trickle charger is working beautifully, and just keeping it clean and pristine as much as I can. Definitely needs a Stage 3 polish.

The new blue dashmat is looking better than the weathered old one. Took it to Cars and Coffee last night. Saw a Speedster and a 944 Turbo. WHOAH!

mj1pate

Regarding the seats;
Buy a container of Leatherique leather Rejuvinator. The instructions direct to apply it liberally to the leather surfaces and park the car in the sun with windows up during a hot day in the summer. The effect is amazing. My hardened seats became so supple after that treatment.
Regarding scuffed seat bolsters; I'll relate what I did to restore bolster color. I took a swatch of leather from under a rear seat to Home Depot. I had them mix a quart of semi gloss Behr enamel paint. After applying the Leatherique treatment and then thoroughly cleaning the bolsters, I painted the bolsters to a *perfect* match. There have been dire warnings from some on the forums about leather not breathing after such a treatment and here is my 2 cents: seats can breath from either side. I performed this treatment 9 years ago and my seats look great. If someone's seat leather is already deteriorating, then of course, no amount of restoration or recoloring will turn them around.

flipstah

Oh man, I have to try this out soon. It needs a refresh BAD.

mj1pate

Yeah, the intake refresh including sand-blasting plus paint gave considerable satisfaction and the wheel de-anodizing/polishing likewise, but both of those jobs were very labor intensive. The seat refresh was relatively instant gratification. I could use more like that one, but those types are hard to come by.

flipstah

^ I might buy that rejuvenation stuff and go from there!

Meanwhile, this exact thread is my issue today:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...rear-cold.html

So I'll have to read up on it and see where it takes me. Freon is fully charged, and rear AC is cold but front AC is hot. Also, the alternator is getting defeated by the AC, so it's not charging efficiently or something. I also don't know if the HVAC is clogged and don't know where to start. TO SEARCH!

Also opened up the headlamp 'relay'. I use quotations because this is not a relay. It's more of a circuit lmao. However, cleaned up the contact points using sandpaper and flux cleaner. Good to go again!

flipstah

So the alternator had a worn out carbon brush. Auto Value was able to offer a Bosch replacement vs. NAPA selling a whole alternator rofl.

Explains why it won't charge efficiently.