turbo951fan

Can I install the older engine harness out of an 86 in my 89? I have a no start/no spark problem and don't know what else to do.

Jakerx

86 engine harness is different from the 87-91 harness. but you can easily modify it. search for a thread by "ckkrause" as he ran into the same problem when putting an 86 engine with the 86 harness into his 87 951.

WesM951

I'm assuming the 87+'s are diffrent because of the ABS and airbags.

Ski

low oil level sender is one connection that's different

cruise98

Also, the connection to the dash gauges is different, but this is relatively easy to modify. Oil level sensor is a special shielded cable, and funky connector.

I would not give up yet and start replacing parts. Replacing the harness is not a simple project. You really need the factory manual on the turbo to go through it step by step. What have you checked so far? Is the car stock, air flow meter, chips, alarm? Did it just quit or has it not run since some recent work?

I had a no start problem with mine, and it turned out to be a process of elimination. First mistake was I disconnected the alarm without first disconnecting the battery. I could not get voltage anywhere after that. I cannot remember which wires at the alarm connector I jumped, but the dash came to life and we had voltage, but still no start. After checking and replacing a bunch of stuff, it turned out Autothority had sent me some bad chips. I had even located a good harness to use as a comparison for the one installed on the car. I had just rebuild the engine, changed the turbo and chips, so I had touched everything and needed to start from the beginning.

turbo951fan

The engine basically just quit. I have a Huntley MAF4 but it was running with it. The only thing I changed a few days before was adding a Guru air temp sensor to the MAF but I followed instructions and everything was fine. I don't believe that this is the problem. I changed the reference sensors, still nothing. I tried a different coil, a different DME, still no spark.

Ski

You running the Huntley with the ARC2? Is the tach moving when you try to start the car?

turbo951fan

Yes ARC2. The tach is not moving. I changed the reference sensors, no change.

Ski

Pull the sensors and make sure that the set screw is there in the flywheel, two people would be nice to do this. Recently at TWS a guys 944T quit running when his backed out and was lost.

turbo951fan

I never thought of that. Could you please explain this more in detail, please. There are 2 sensors. Which one should I look at and how does it look like? How do I turn the engine by hand? TKS.

Ski

24mm bolt at the front inside the main assy of pulleys, turn it clockwise.

Did you try just swapping the sensors at the plugs - could you have gotten them backwards at the back of the manifold. Try swapping these first.

turbo951fan

Yes, I changed the plugs too. No change. Maybe the connectors on the DME side are bad. They seem to be OK. Any way I can check them?

cruise98

The connectors usually physically break. Chunks of the sensor side will break off inside the DME side and prevent good contact. The cables are shielded and are fairly durable unless abused.

With the key on, do you have 12 v at the coil? How about the fuel pump, can you hear it run? I suspect something about the new setup has failed, or maybe the DME relay has gone south.

turbo951fan

I have a no spark situation, so the DME relay can't be it. I am also getting fuel. I have 12 V at the coild and DME. I changed the DME, still no spark. One of the connectors looks suspicious, I am also not sure about the set screw. I think the new set-up is just a coinsidence. Can't see how it could screw up everything. Its not the first time I had a MAF and wired into the cars harness. The tach is not bouncing, so it must be in that area.