[flash]

i was at my fabricator's shop the other day - jeffski's car is there having some things done to it there - he was putting the supercharger back together and he connected the battery - the starter began spinning on it own!!

thankfully it was not in gear, as it would have launched off the rack, but it really stunned us - we started looking all over for the cause - we looked at relays, connections, and anything else we could think of

then i made him pull the starter down - BINGO!

the wiring was crunchy - the housing had shrunken - the primary wire was now making contact with the trigger wire

this is likely to be an upcoming problem for everybody - heat causes the jacket to shrink, exposing the wire

this could happen to you - check your wires!!!

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[Darryl]

I replaced all the wiring when I did the new starter on the Cab. Mine was crunchy and brittle too! Based on the condition of the underside of the Coupe, it can't be any better!

- Darryl

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[banditsc]

Those wires are replaced and upgraded to much bettery quality in the Higher Connections cable kit. Their link is at the top in the Sponsors area.

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[94SilverCab]

Last Spring before Hershey I did both a new starter and a Higher Connections kit. I have not had a single starting issue this year, even when the car sits for a couple of weeks.

Jay

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[ds968]

Hey, it happened to my car - these starters have a mind of their own. I wasn't even working with it at the time, it sat parked all night in the garage, as it does every night, but in the morning prompted by absolutely nothing it suddently decided to start on its own and drove itself forward until it was stopped only by some recycling bins in front of it, and the wall behind them. No damage at all to the car, fortunatley. But I never leave it in gear anymore unless I'm on a really steep hill, and I'll just have take my chances in those cases .. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]

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[rhudeboye]

On a steep incline put it in 3rd.

Cant imagine the shock that would give. With the way my garage is situated it would ram the living room wall. I looked into the higher connections last year but didn't pull the trigger. Worth another look.

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[Jamie '92 968]

Wow! Very scary.

When I was at RSB 2 weeks ago and Max pulled out the cable to the starter as part of my compression check, we saw that some of the insulation for the cable was coming off. A piece of electrical tape seemed to be adequate at the time, but I will definitely be looking at a new set of cables ASAP.

Jamie

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[Langley968]

I always park the 968 in Neutral and apply the E-brake. I never have done that with any other car I've owned!
A premonition? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img]
I better get under there and check those wires!
Thanks for the "heads up".

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[Cloud9...68]

I had a similar problem awile back, so I pulled and inspected the starter, and found that the wires didn't appear to be making contact the way Flash describes. So, I replaced the starter relay, put everything back, and the problem has never recurred. But after reading this thread, I'm now wondering if my problem wasn't caused by a starter wiring problem after all...

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[flash]

we had to cut the outer casing to find the contacting wire a couple of inches up

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[ABrownWhite968]

Sounds like I've had the same problem. My 968's alarm recently woke me up in the middle of the night. It was raining hard - common in Vancouver. I went outside to see if someone had broken in. Instead, I found it had been pushed around a foot forward and stopped against a railing. I looked behind to see if anyone had hit my 968, but no damage. I went to start it to back it into its parking spot, but the battery was close to dead. Then the starter didn't disengage even after I turned it off - the starter kept trying to turn even after I pulled out the key!! Very strange! Then it settled down and disengaged. I went back to bed and tried starting it in the morning, but the battery was dead. Weissach's service department said the insulation on the wires leading from the battery to the starter allowed rain water in and it caused a dead short, which turned on the starter motor until it drained the battery. The alarm must have sensed the car's movement. Now I park with the handbrake ON. It left only a small smudge on the front from contact with the railing. I'll see if I can get it out with wax or polishing compound.

Alan
'92 White Coupe

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[rhudeboye]

Is there a quick fix outside of pulling out and re running all the wires?

Perhaps some electrical tape to keep them in check till one could properly obtain the wire kit?

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[94SilverCab]

That what Max did on my car. Seperated and wrapped the wires until my new starter could be installed. I would not reccomend this as a long term fix.

Jay

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[banditsc]

Installing the new wire kit is real easy to do.

Here is the info on the kit. http://www.968forums.com/index.php?showtopic=6315

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[DaveN]

Got under my car last night after following this thead and happy to report that after 17 years my starter wires are clean and all the insulation/shrouding is pliable and complete. Whewww!

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[banditsc]

Check the insulation on the alternator wire also, you can get at it from the engine bay.

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[flash]

we thought so too, until the problem arose - the outer shell was nice and pliable - the wires inside, and the jackets on them were not

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[Cloud9...68]

As I think about it, even though it wasn't obvious that wires that shouldn't be touching were, I cut back several inches of the outer casing on mine, and wrapped the individual wires within the casing with electrical tape, and clamped the ends with tie wraps to keep the tape in place (until I get around to ordering a ser of Higher Connections cables). After reading this thread, I suspect that touching wires, and not the starter relay, caused my problem.

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[Cloud9...68]

"Installing the new wire kit is real easy to do."

I'm really glad to hear that. Looking at the kit, and thinking of where the cables could possibly lead, it sounds like it could be a pretty difficult project. Glad to hear it's not too bad.

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