Stefan

Thanks for the extra info. Maybe my location in Canada with low temp has something to do with the cables lasting longer? I'll inspect them more closely.

My mechanic has been around these cars since he started in the business. He trained in germany, used to be head tech at the Toronto dealership and now runs his own shop for quite a few years. He also has his own personal 951 for racing so he knows the cars well. I don't think he'd offer me bad advice, but maybe his opinion is different.

This is the first I've heard about car fires from the cables and fuel rail, but now that I think about it ... it worries me too!

IceShark

Well, I don't know about your mechanic's qualifications, Stefan. I do know that about every regular user of Rennlist knows about the two fire risks mentioned. We had several 944/951s burn up recently, just in a little over a month. Those are the ones we know about in this small community.

Perry951 is sort of a legend around here with all his effort and skill to bring his car back from the dead. He even won some sort of award from Rennlist for his work. His car caught on fire from positive battery cable failure.

I guess the point is, those cables weren't that good out of the factory. We are now well over a decade down the road with all those heat cycles.

Jaak Lepson

Not to mention all of the SALT that has been laid down on Toronto's roads. That would be one of the bigest killer of the Original Factory battery cables.

I used to service standby power supplies when I was in the field (CATV) and found those that where located by a major roadway had baddly corroded cables and terminals. I cannot count on how may of them I had replaced. They do not go through the same punishment that our cars go through!

Even if you check the resistance in ohms the cable length is short and the DC resistance would be small. You have to test them with a large current draw to see (measure) the actual voltage drop!

Jaak Lepson

IceShark

Jaak, well you can tell what the drop will end up being with the measurement (if your meter is accurate enough), but you are right, the real way to see the status is to run a big current load through and see the voltage drop. That smacks you right in the face, clear as day.

You also raise an important point regarding salt and the terminals. The OEM terminals are bare copper crimped on. Not tinned or soldered or sealed. The corrosion with salt will be a nightmare. Just ask anyone that has been at sea. Or I guess working highlines next to salted roads.