highwatersound

Hello all,

My 964 has had some electrical gremlins plaguing it since I bought the car almost 2 years ago. I have methodically gone through all the usual suspects and even put a kill switch from Renline in to no avail.
My beautiful car is now dead as it can be electrically lonely on the streets of NY. I need to get it to the "right" shop and get this mess sorted ASAP.
HELP!!!!!!!

spartansix

What are the gremlins you speak of? What have you tried? There are lots of us in the NYC area who have experience playing with these cars, but not a lot of shops that really know the 964 inside and out.

highwatersound

At first, just a dead battery which I thought strange since it was a newly installed Interstate the day I purchased the car. Once here, in Manhattan and tucked away in the parking garage, if I didn't use the car within a weeks time, the battery was dead. The garage would jump the car, I would drive and all would seem fine for the next week or so. This went on for a month or so until the garage and myself became totally fed up with this ritual. Took the car to an expert shop, they did an evaluation and came back to me and said, car need routine services, wires, belts, etc with the big one being the clutch. I went along, paid a very large sum of money and was told, nothing wrong with the electrics and I requested they install a kill switch. When I went to pick the car up, there was no kill switch. They didn't have the right parts to install the kill switch (generic green one) and was told not to worry and all would be fine. Well, one week past and many many thousands of dollars behind and when I went to drive the car, the garage informed me it was dead. Needless to say, I was not pleased and the same thing could be said for the garage. I went to Renline, bought a new Odyssey battery and their kill switch and housing, installed it myself on the street in about an hour. After that, for the remaining summer and fall of 2018 as long as the kill switch was being used, all was fine when I went to pick up my car in the garage. Today, Easter Sunday, I thought it the perfect day to resurrect my 964 from it's winter slumber and guess what, DEAD. OK, I get that in part but, the kill switch had been on, no parasitic draw, no blaming the clock or the Porsche Classic Radio like the expert mechanic did so, a bit miffed but, it had been months and months. We went to jump with cables, nothing. I then put my charger on the "new" battery, got it to only 88% and the charging stoped and still, not enough juice to turn it over or really, even crank. Finally with that 88% and a jump from a SUV, we got the car started. Brought the car back to my place, put it on the sidewalk and did a fast Manhattan detail meanwhile, the car was running for this entire time. Once done, I went for at least an hour drive so, minimum, the car had been running for 2-3 hours. Once back home, I though, I would turn it off and do some more cleaning and general maintenance. Well, guess what, Dead as a door nail. Nothing, no lights, no door buzz, no a damn thing. Luckily, a space opened up on the other side of the street and I got some friends to help me push it into the parking spot. There it lays. I was able to get the charger on it with the help of a 100' extension cord. First reading 1%.. So, in almost 3 hours of the engine running, the battery was drained. Put the charger on, got it back to around it's max of 88% and was able to get the windows up barely. This is when I threw in the towel and realized I will need this thing towed to whomever can actually get this electrical gremlin sorted. I have been going through PCA and other resources looking into as many shops as I can find in NY, Jersey and CT. At this point, I just want it fixed.

highwatersound

Alternator was my guess after this arduous adventure

fastmd

It sounds like the alternator is not charging your battery. Can you get it to a shop in NJ or PA. There are a few good ones not to far from you in NJ, Autohaus, Precision, Provost Motorsports, Specialty in Allentown PA.

cobalt

Honestly Interstate isn't what it used to be. I purchased a new interstate battery last year for my C2. I have a battery disconnect which was disconnected since November and I charged the battery before putting the car in storage. Just went to start the car since hibernation last November and battery was completely dead. Throw the charger on it and it charges very quickly I go to crank the engine and it kills the battery after only a few cranks. I have never had electrical issues before and I don't believe anything new has occurred so I am assuming it is the battery.

Just something to consider.

highwatersound

I'm sorry to hear you are having similar but, different electrical issues. I had to have mine put on a flat bed today and off to Formula Motorsports.
Best guess, it's the alternator. Hope it's nothing more and that I will get the car back shortly

Vegas993

Did you check your door switches?

highwatersound

Yes and they were fine. Thanks for the suggestion.

sjd1025

Try Mike Tashkent at Mtech Motorsports in New Rochhelle. Smart, experienced, reasonable and honest.

Brig993

Try the easy fixes first check battery, alternator and grounds. If still an issue call Oleg AKA 12 volt doctor in Staten Island. He is a master at electrical diagnostics. Ppl have sent him Bugattis and other hyper cars from all over the country with electrical issues to sort out that even the dealers couldn’t diagnose let alone repair. The shop always has older 911, 944, 928 in the lot he’s working on. He is super eccentric and be prepared to wait but he will get the car fixed if you have a serious issue.

highwatersound

That's awesome, thanks!

highwatersound

Hello all,

Just got my 964 back and hopefully, all seems sorted. Looks like the alternator was not charging but, destroying the batteries every time I drove the car.

Thanks to all who chimed in and I want to especially thank Michael Tashjian and his shop Formula Motor Sports in Long Island City for his concern, immediate attention and fast resolution.

I look forward to a long and wonderful driving season for the remaining 2019.

gregmitch

Glad you got it fixed!
I'm in Manhattan too if you ever want another 964 to cruise with.

highwatersound

That would be awesome, thanks