new owner 964 c4

[airevalley]

Just bought 1990 911 c4 .
done about 200 miles with no faults ( absolutly love it )
But noticed it was turning over slightly slower , still starts o.k .but then
abs light stayed on , so i pulled over and stopped the engine , it then would not start again , had a flat battery , managed to bump start it , it got me home just ,charged the battery , its o.k again .
the belts are o.k the lights on dash are all out and the battery ligght has not come on at any time to show poor charging .
any one any ideas ?
regards john

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

John,

I think the first thing I would do is to measure the battery voltage when the engine is running (should be at least 13.5 volts) just to make sure the alternator is doing it's job. The absence of the battery light (actually a charging light) may not mean very much. I assume the charging light DOES come on when the ignition is switched on??

The warning lights in the clock (including the charge light) are often affected by a well known problem created by bad solder joints in the back of the clock. Check that you have four lights on in the clock when you turn on the ignition.

BTW Welcome to 964 ownership. You might get more response to this question had you have posted it in the 964 Register section rather than your local Region section.

Regards

Dave

 

[airevalley]

Thanks dave for reply
have checked lights on dash , all there , do have charge light on for a while but only as one would expect .
have been out in car since with no aparent probs .
just need to get confidence in car again / need to get to know common faults etc as its 17 years old .
regards john

 

[ianellison]

Hi John - PM sent. Get a trickle charger to keep the battery topped up. I had a few electrical gremlins when I got my '90 C4 Cab two years ago. Don't overfill the oil whatever you do (I did!!), make sure you check the dipstick on level ground and with engine hot (quarter to on temp dial). Fill to within 5mm of max no more!! Dont rely on oil level gauge until you know its working correctly. Cheers... Ian (Ps I am in Shipley in the Aire Valley where are you?)

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

ORIGINAL: airevalley

.......do have charge light on for a while

John,

That little comment worries me!! The charge light should go out IMMEDIATELY the engine is started. If it doesn't, there's a problem. There is a well known issue with the clock connections (as I mentioned before) which prevents the charge light going off until the engine is rev'ed to approx 3,000 rpm. If that explains your "for a while" it needs more investigation.

Regards

Dave

 

[airevalley]

Have now checked charge rate and its perfect , 13.61v at tickover rising to just over 14 on higher revs .
The car has behaved perfect since , but there was a deffinate charging fault .
I will have to monitor the light as i said it has a couple of times stayed on but i do go steady with the revs when cold so cant be sure it went over the 3000 .
I have been on plenty short journeys and a couple of 25+ mile ones with no faults since ,
just starting to get more confinence in it .
What I did not mention , it was the first time I had taken the wife in it when it had the fault , she ended pushing me so i could bump start it ( very embarrising )
maybe solution is dont take her out again ?

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

John,

The problem I mentioned before with the bad solder connections on the clock seem to be very intermittent in nature. When I had the problem on my car I would occasionally get a situation where the speedo wouldn't work when started from cold - and then it would miraculously spark into life as I drove along. I also had the same charge light syndrome on occasion.

Once I'd pulled out the clock and dismantled it to remake the solder connections neither fault has ever re-occurred - and that's more than 3 years now.

I'm sure the bad connections are affected by temperature and the weather. Damp air will conduct better than dry air and the metal will expand slightly in warmer temperatures so you'll find that these types of problems show themselves much more in the Winter than at other times of the year.

Regards

Dave