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My First DME Relay Failure and a Few Questions

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Old 02-17-2007 | 02:11 AM
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Default My First DME Relay Failure and a Few Questions

Took the 964 out for a spin and a few errands today. While driving I hit a dip in the road and the car suddenly hesitated for about 2 sec. That got my attention but settled down and continued on. When I arrived at my first destination a few miles later I pulled into the parking lot and suddenly the car ran rough, then it wanted to stall. Tried reving the motor and no reaction from the engine when stepping on the gas I limped it into a parking stall and it died. Did my errand and the car would try to start but would not idle or when it did it was rough and 200 rpm at best. I called for a tow and got it home. A few hours later I tried to start it again with the same symptoms described above. Pulled the DME Relay and smacked it on the ground a few times and she started right up and idled as normal. Ill be getting a new DME relay tomorow.

First Question - Does this seem like a DME relay failure, part failure or sticking relay? The symptoms are a little odd compared to other DME relay failure symptoms. Is there anything else I should look at "while Im there"?

Second Question - Flat bed tow driver could not locate a good hookup on the rear of the car. Any good suggestions on where to hookup the rear on a flat bed?

Thanks in advance.
Old 02-17-2007 | 02:29 AM
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From what I've read the relay failure is the result of a solder joint going bad. This relay will probably just get worse from here on out. When you get a new one, you might want to keep that one in the glove box in case of future similar failure. It might just get you home.
Mark
Old 02-17-2007 | 11:08 AM
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You can pop the top off the relay and take a look at the pcb solder joints and the relay contacts . A poor solder joint can be fixed quickly !

Geoff
Old 02-17-2007 | 01:05 PM
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Read here:

www.systemsc.com/problems.htm

under Vibration which is the typical failure mode for the DME relay.
Old 02-17-2007 | 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Red rooster
You can pop the top off the relay and take a look at the pcb solder joints and the relay contacts . A poor solder joint can be fixed quickly !

Geoff
I forgot about that - Ill take a look after I get a replacement today. I'd rather have a spare before I mess with the old one.
Old 02-17-2007 | 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Lorenfb
Read here:

www.systemsc.com/problems.htm

under Vibration which is the typical failure mode for the DME relay.
Thanks Loren. This seems to be what may have been occuring. I just remembered that the car lost power 1-2 times last week while driving on rough dairy roads (yep - us SoCal'ers do have dairy roads) and the recent events were after hitting good dips in the road.

I may just start replacing relays and fuses over the next few months. I know some are still original based on the date code printed on the relays. The relay below is not the DME but still thats an OLD relay.
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Old 02-17-2007 | 01:29 PM
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"Any good suggestions on where to hookup the rear on a flat bed?"
Strap the rim or the tire .
Old 02-17-2007 | 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Indycam
"Any good suggestions on where to hookup the rear on a flat bed?"
Strap the rim or the tire .
I should have qualified my question better. The flatbed did not have straps!! We spent 20 min trying to find a good anchor point under the car. Finally the driver gave up and used his jacket to protect my rear rim and ran a chain thru the rim. The car only needed to go 5 miles.
Old 02-17-2007 | 02:41 PM
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We change them every 5 years, have a 1985 911 3.2 (different relay, but same problems, here now) The relay is dated 1985.........

We also change the C4 ABS pump relays if they are old.

Mark
Old 02-17-2007 | 03:33 PM
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I just resoldered all the joints in my relay and it has been running fine for 2+ years.
Old 02-17-2007 | 04:53 PM
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"Finally the driver gave up and used his jacket to protect my rear rim and ran a chain thru the rim."
You don't need to find a hookup on the rear , you need a flat bed with straps .
I would have told him to go away , I'll call some one else .
Old 02-17-2007 | 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Indycam
"Finally the driver gave up and used his jacket to protect my rear rim and ran a chain thru the rim."
You don't need to find a hookup on the rear , you need a flat bed with straps .
I would have told him to go away , I'll call some one else.
100% Agreed. What if there is no flatbed with straps? Where would you try to hookup the rear to secure for towing? I guess Ill pick up one of these rear tow hooks from Rennline for the future.
Old 02-17-2007 | 08:19 PM
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You could put the tow hook from the tool kit into the rear next to the license plate.




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