www.frwilk.com or www.powerprom.com/

 

Recently got my hands on a 1988 Porsche 944 S black on black with a 1990 motor in it. The car drives and runs fine but most of the electrical gages don't work. One of the running light lenses was cracked so I bought an after market fixture which when I hooked it up overheated and began to smoke the wiring on the new unit. The previous owner was sort of a wheeler dealer and I couldn't get much info on the motor swap history. I kind of suspect either a harness is unplugged somewhere or something was incorrectly wired on the engine installation. All the exterior and safety lights work fine. Any suggestions on where to start on this maverick?

I would like to ultimately get everything operating on the car and do some of the suspension upgrades mentioned here. I'm pretty handy with my hands but not a certified mechanic, though I know a few, just not Porsche mechanics...

 

Oy, um, I'm not sure where to tell you to start. They shouldn't have had to touch anything lighting wise with the engine swap (I assume they put in an S2 engine, but if you could post some pictures, that would clear up a lot of stuff). I would lean towards the aftermarket unit burning up the wiring as that problem. Electrical gauges will most likely be due to not being hooked up at the DME location. If the connectors are different between the S and the S2 they probably didn't bother tracing the wires to see where they go.

 

so i have a 87 944 non turbo i have the turbo and all the lovley jazz to install still have to fabricate mounts. but my question is. Will the o2 sensore and mas sensor register that the engine is running lean and composate for the extra air or do i need to get a costom chip. i am only planning on running ten lbs max. bottom end is being redone as we speak although i have not changed rods. whats the difference in the turbo and non when it comes to the block.

 

i just rebuilt my head on my 944 non turbo. started up fine but idles rough. pulled both the 1&4 wires no change 2 or three engine dies. i noticed when i removed the timing belt it was off one notch along with the roter was missing the bolt and was twisted. but if i try starting the car with the cam where it was when i removed it will not start i have new plugs on all four cylinders and am getting spark. but does not seem to fire. the exhaust manifold for the two cylinders is not even getting hot i can grab it yet the 2&3 burns with the slightest touch. the exhaust is also puffing but the mas airflow is not. compression came out at 150psi all the was accross.
on other note i redid the top because i had a bent valve. along with the valve seal went out so my exhaust was filling with oil.

any ideas help thank you i am stumped on this i almost fear i may have bent a valve (forgot to tighten nuts on tensioner when i first turned over but caught it before it started spring style tensioner) but like i said compression is good.

again thank you for any ideas to help me solve this i got to get car back on road.

 

Hm. Double check to make absolutely sure the timing is correct. Are you sure you didn't mess up the orientation of the plug wires?

Looking from the front at the cap it should be:
42
31

Also, #1&4 injectors are wired together, 2&3 are wired together. If the injectors are not firing to those cylinders or there is no spark, there won't be anything to combust, so the headers of course won't get hot. I am surprised it runs on 2 cylinders.

You might check the wiring to the injectors. Pull back the boots and inspect. The wires are known for cracking (especially since you were moving those around in the project), and if they short out on each other, that could keep the injectors from firing.

Easy way to check the injectors, is to remove the fuel rail with the injectors attached: Remove the coil wire as well or you will have a fire ball come out of the injector ports if there is any remaining fuel in the cylinders when the plugs fire! While holding the rail (use a rag or something to point the injectors at, or dixie cups, etc), have someone crank the ignition. You should see all the injectors spray fuel out. If they all spray fuel, then go back to checking spark.

Also, you made sure you put the #1 intake manifold gasket on upside down correct? That one is different in orientation from the other 3, and must be place upside down in relation to the other 3.


Also, this should really have it's own post.

 

thank you i figured it out later that day when i had the intake off i somhow got something in all the injectors. so i changed them out with my spare set and it took right off. yea surprisingly you can drive on the two cylinders and i could get it to run on just one, thank you very also do you know where i can look for info an putting a turbo on a non turbo moter not looking for much just a little kick

 

hope can help you,but i doonnt know clearly

 

would also add to this great write up about checking the clutch pedal. Have someone press the clutch pedal while you check the firewall from inside the engine compartment looking straight down to see if firewall moves. The welds tend to break and if it is neglected the firewall will snap and leave you stranded. It requires a plate to be placed from the firewall to the inner fenderif i recall correctly This also applies to 968's.