924Board.org

garthfan · Joined: 28 Feb 2004 Posts: 226 Location: Manchester, NH

I've been reading these posts since around January when I bought my first 924S....I've read a whole bunch of posts about electrical problems and the "miraculous" fixes attained by cleaning grounds and what-nots, but always remained a bit skeptical about these seemingly simple repairs.

Well....when I first picked up the '87, nothing -and I mean NOTHING- in the way of electrical accessories worked. I thought I was really in for it for repair-work. Now, however, after nearly three months of occasional weekend tinkering (i.e. tearing apart every switch and every grounding spot on the car), I'm happy to report that EVERYTHING electrical works perfectly and -here's the best part- it didn't cost me a DIME! YEAH!!!

So if you're having trouble with your rear-wiper, power mirrors, power sunroof, power windows, power hatch-release, etc., etc., then grab an eyeglass screwdriver and a sheet of emory cloth and get scraping on those contacts before you do anything else!

After doing all the front-end engine work and now having all the electrical work done, this car feels GREAT to drive!

I'll keep y'all updated on the remaing things to get done: clutch, struts and a paint-job.
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1987 924S - Was a daily driver...now it's GONE! *sniff*
1986 944 N/A Guards Red
1996 VW Jetta Grocery-Getter
1995 Saab 900S Winter-Driving-Feeling-of-Security-Vehicle

kye · Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 11:13 am Post subject:

I too have read the "replace your earths" advice, and took it with a pinch of salt because my car is working ok, but yesterday I saw that even though the car is working, it could be working a lot better.

the car wasn't running (have tracked the problem down to the fuel pump or the wiring getting to it) but I called the RAC guy (roadside mechanical assistance) to see if he could spot what was wrong, and because i'd been cranking it over a bit he put the long jumper leads just to give the battery a rest. he put the leads on the battery terminals, and it made very little difference, so he moved the earth lead to clip onto the top of the block, and wham! about twice as much cranking power! it was *not* a small change.

i'd previously looked at that earth lead and thought it was probably ok, and didn't need any attention.. i'll be cleaning those contacts as soon as the car is fixed!

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it's funny, but when they said "Anything is Possible", that's exactly what they meant....

924guy · Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 1:15 pm Post subject:

dont forget to coat the connections youll be cleaning with dielectric gel..or at least petrolium jelly..itll slow the oxidation and keep them clean allot longer than without it...

the 924 is probably one of the most "ground fault sensitive" vehicles out there that doesnt sport "lucas." its amazing how a simple ground issue can totally mess with the running works...but keep the current flowing and theyll keep ya going ....

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Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
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Smoothie · Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 1:36 pm Post subject:

So sometimes when you lead horses to water they actually drink. Albeit reluctantly, they do drink.

I had my own mind just about blown not too long ago when I cleaned the rear ground point, all the way at the back of the car, and my long-dead power mirrors sprang back to life.
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"..it's made in Germany. You know the Germans always make good stuff."

'82 924T, US version, dark green metallic, 5 speed Audi 016G gearbox

kye · Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 1:46 pm Post subject:

so, if I clean my ground connectors, and install new ones with new wiring, can I keep adding more until everything is fixed? that would be sweeeeeeet!

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it's funny, but when they said "Anything is Possible", that's exactly what they meant....

Sleykin · Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 2:18 pm Post subject:

I like to use a bonding brush on the ground points. That's a round wire brus with a center pip used in the drill. Makes a perfect shiney dot to ground to. Then I use nolox. It is commononly used in junction box/breaker boxes when connecting aluminum wire with brass connections. Nolox is conductive and helps avoid the problems of dissimilar metals cooroding from electrolisis. Dielectric grease is nonconductive and only seals out moisture. Nolox is good on battery terminals too.
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Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

garthfan · Joined: 28 Feb 2004 Posts: 226 Location: Manchester, NH

Smoothie has an excellent point about cleaning the ground points at the back of the car.

The problem with my power-mirrors, however, turned out to be another problem altogether. Neither my rear-wiper or my mirrors worked due to excessive corrosion of the internal contacts in the switches themselves. Dismantling the switches -tiny as they are- and using a small screwdriver to essentially scrape away the corrosion cured the problem with both devices. But they're a you-know-what to put back together again.

Hope this helps somebody out there with similar problems.

_________________
1987 924S - Was a daily driver...now it's GONE! *sniff*
1986 944 N/A Guards Red
1996 VW Jetta Grocery-Getter
1995 Saab 900S Winter-Driving-Feeling-of-Security-Vehicle

red924 · Joined: 13 Oct 2003 Posts: 281 Location: London, England

did mine and my elec windows shut quicker then before

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kye · Posted: Fri May 21, 2004 11:29 am Post subject:

so, in terms of where the ground points are, there's the battery -> chassis connections (and replacing cable perhaps), the point behind the instrument cluster, and a rear ground point.. is that all there are?
when I get a moment to clean them I figure I may as well clean all of them!

_________________
it's funny, but when they said "Anything is Possible", that's exactly what they meant....

gwsg · Posted: Fri May 21, 2004 11:54 am Post subject:

Kye
Shine a torch up above the fuse box and behind the glove box and heater and you will see the main grounding crown with about 8 connectors. You may have to move the wiring loom out of the way to see it. I hope you have small hands and a healthy back because it will take you a lot longer than a spare minute to contort your way through all of them. Great job for an 11 year old gymnast.

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My 80 924 loves me.

Smoothie · Posted: Fri May 21, 2004 2:19 pm Post subject:

Additional ground points are -
1- On both frame rails behind the headlights - you should find a bunch of brown wires on each.
2- Ignition coil mount.
3- There should be another (I've heard) - well hidden inside the rear-right fender above/forward of the wheel. The rear window defroster grounds here.
_________________
"..it's made in Germany. You know the Germans always make good stuff."

'82 924T, US version, dark green metallic, 5 speed Audi 016G gearbox

78porsche924 · Posted: Sat May 22, 2004 1:46 am Post subject:

Clean the battery terminals and the battery clamps, it will help a lot. Then go to a car audio store and get a small gauge ground wire(i used a 4 because i had some left over form installing speakers) and some gold plated connectors. Add another gorund wire to another part of the chassis and your car will probably run a hell of a lot better. My 944 now pulls a lot harder, gets better gas mileage, lights are brighter and the fans blow a lot harder. Also made my stereo sound a lot cleaner. It is fairly cheap to do and worked wonders for me.
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90 944 S2
78 924 NA <---now sold and killed by new owner
snailshell trans
Bae turbo kit
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CMXXXI · Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 1939 Location: Vicksburg, MS

One more hidden ground point... on left rear wheel fender, behind the cargo area light, just forward of it. The light itself and one other wire are grounded there, but don't know/recall off-hand what it is for.
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'79 Eurospec 931