Tim Ashfield

My car is a '95 registered '94 built Carrera 2 with 35000 miles on it. I have had a couple of instances where the ABS and ABD warning lights have not gone off after starting. Having driven for some miles and then stopped the engine and restarted the lights have gone off as normal ( it happened again today ).Is this a symptom of the wiring harness problems known to affect this model year.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Tim.

Sachin Misra

That's typically how it starts. A few lights here and there, which then leads up to some major electrical component not working (AC on mine). You may also experience starter run-on (engine and starter remain engaged even with the ignition off).

There's quite a few threads on it in the archives, if you want more symptoms. My harness is getting replaced this week. After 2 letters to Porsche, they have decided to replace it with the latest harness (no P/N) free of charge. Although, I've heard most owners are not quite that fortunate.

Tim Ashfield

I have had no instances of anything major misbehaving yet but when the car was serviced a couple of weeks ago two fault codes were stored in the memory (43 and 68) are these related to the problem in any way?

Thanks
Tim

sandman

Dear Tim

I have the same problem. My car too is a 1995 and the wire harness was replaced. However I still have the problem with the lights coming on every now and then. The good news is that you problem is not due to the wiring harness. The bad news is that this mystery remains unsolved for me as well as a few other Porsche owners.

Sandman

Tim Ashfield

Thanks Sandman I think I am going to have to keep a very careful eye on this one!

Tim.

David C

I think anyone with a '95 (or possibly '96) should be concerned with harness. I had mine replaced and the old on was scary. Naked wires throughout. The shop also replaced 2 others about the same time and ALL were fried. Just my opinion.

Tim Ashfield

Thanks David.

Can the harness be replaced as a DIY proposition,does the engine have to come out, and if a specialist were to change it - how frightened is my bank manager going to get?

Tim.

Hank Cohn

Tim and others:

I had to replace my wiring harness, which was bad, but it never caused the ABD and ABS lights to illuminate. I have, on the other hand, broken an alternator belt which instantly makes those two lights illuminate. I realize that the wiring harness is connected to the alternator, starter and battery so, perhaps, this is an indication that alternator power is not reaching the battery. If this is true, it would sound like there would be a hell of a short or a very loose connection in your wiring harness that should be dealt with pretty quickly.

Hank

deltajetfixer

"Can the harness be replaced as a DIY proposition,does the engine have to come out, and if a specialist were to change it - how frightened is my bank manager going to get?"

Harness is @$450 and The Book says 10 hours labor.

Jim Ellis in Atlanta gets $95 an hour so I've opted on doing my own this weekend...
<img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Tim Ashfield

Thanks for the info I suspect I may have a problem here!

Deltajetfixer I would be very interested to hear how you get on. Best of luck.

Tim.

Hank Cohn

Deltajetfixer:

I am in Atlanta and replaced my harness myself. It is actually not that bad of a job to do. There are a lot of items to remove before you actually get to the harness, but if your Rennlist name is indicative of your mechanical skills, then it will be a walk in the park. I am in town and available this weekend if you have questions. I would budget about 10-12 hours for the job. If you do it all in one contiguous block of time you can probably complete the task in 8-10 hours. Call me on my cell phone if you want to discuss.

404.664.8547

Hank

deltajetfixer

Thanks Hank!

Between my two toolboxes in the garage and the Guinness/Boddington/Corona cache in the 'fridge...I anticipate an uneventful R&R interupted only by my occassional belching.


Should prove interesting but not NEARLY as heinous as say a 727 APU change!!!

Dave Lawrence <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Tim Ashfield

Not sure my mechanical skills are on a par with yours - bought up on Motorcycles! But would really appreciate hearing how you get on.

Best wishes
Tim