Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
914World.com _ 914World Garage _ flapper box heater attachment - RESOLVED!
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 04:03 PM
hi guys -
I'm under the car trying to hook up my heater system - but the wire cable connector from the heater lever in the cabin to the flapper box under the car has me flumuxted! How do you connect the wire heater pull cable to the flapper box? anyone have a picture and maybe I can "McGiver" something together....
thx
td
Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 5 2013, 04:10 PM
you need a barrel nut on each of the control valve arms to secure the wire.
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 04:16 PM
you need a barrel nut on each of the control valve arms to secure the wire.
thanks for the reply - I think I know what you are talking about - but it seems the cable is too short and the flapper will be fixed open -
here's the thing I'm talking about - pic
Attached image(s)
Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 5 2013, 04:18 PM
is the heat control handle pushed down?
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 04:22 PM
is the heat control handle pushed down?
Lever is fully down - and the psngr side is certainly too short - I can pull on the flapper box lever and get the thing inside the bracket, but I 'assume' that when I pull on the control handle it retracts the wires - yes?
thx
td
Posted by: JawjaPorsche Jan 5 2013, 04:24 PM
Did you put in a new cable? The passenger side is longer that the driver's side.
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 04:29 PM
hmmmm, interesting question - The cable does not look new. I got the car with no heater system hooked up - the cable ends were twisted up around stuff to keep them from being loose.....I don't have them mixed up side to side - I suppose they could be reversed in the tunnel. 
how big of a deal is to chase that down?
td
Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 5 2013, 04:30 PM
no pict of the rest of the ducting. do the warm air elbows, the tubes the valves mount on, bend towards the center line of the car when they are installed on the heat exchangers?
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 04:31 PM
OK _ I'm going to head out and fuch around with the driver side now - back in a bit. Ideas welcomed! thanks for the help so far - I'll report on the length of the drivers side after I get it lined up.....td
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 04:34 PM
no pict of the rest of the ducting. do the warm air elbows, the tubes the valves mount on, bend towards the center line of the car when they are installed on the heat exchangers?
yes, elbow bends towards the middle and the hat on the flapper box is facing the middle as well....td
Posted by: mepstein Jan 5 2013, 04:39 PM
I would buy a new cable and get some barrel nuts. I did that about a week ago and as long as you get the cable length right, it all works fine. Passenger side cable should measure 2" longer than driver side when it's out of the car. I already had a new cable and didn't want to wait for mail order barrel nuts so autozone had some that just needed to get drilled out in the brass barrel to fit the end of the cable. Took 2 minutes to drill and 15 minutes to hook it all up.
Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 5 2013, 04:41 PM
with the elbow and valve (arm on the bottom) in place, how much too short is the wire? 1", 2",...
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 05:01 PM
HI guys -
OK< have the drivers side hooked up as well - and both sides are about 2" short.
the reference pic I'm using has the arms on the top -
so, does the barrel of the wire - fat part - fit into the connector on the lever of the flapper box? held in place by a barrel nut?
here is a pic of mine installed, the crappy looking one. the ohter photo is a reference car that was on the hoist at mcMark's the other day so I grabbed a pic so I would know what I was shooting for. I 'think' I have mine in correctly.....
but the wires are about an inch short on both sides....
story of my life, always an inch short! ratz
sigh.
td
Attached image(s)
Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 5 2013, 05:27 PM
arms to the bottom. haynes, p.15 fig.3.4. try switching them side to side.
k
Posted by: tadink Jan 5 2013, 06:51 PM
Now I'm not one to doubt Haynes - - - uh, but, wouldn't that move the problem further away not closer?
I've done a bit more poking around and while on my back, rain water running beneath me, under the car, etc etc etc - I've determined that the wires JUST BARELY TOUCH the brackets on the flappers....
sooooooo - maybe with a really long barrel on the nut, it might just work?
I'd love a pic of one that is installed correctly - but I hate to ask any of you to get into the position that you could take one! LOL Having spent the majority of the day under there - oh my. Maybe someone has a scissor lift and could just saunter out there and show me the way the Germermans want it done?
thanks all for helping....
cheers!
td
Posted by: reharvey Jan 5 2013, 06:53 PM
The arms on all of my cars are on the top. Is this wrong? They're all hooked up and working.
Posted by: JawjaPorsche Jan 5 2013, 07:43 PM
The arms on all of my cars are on the top. Is this wrong? They're all hooked up and working.
Posted by: BKLA Jan 5 2013, 08:06 PM
My '70 had the same issue and the cables look original. My flapper boxes are new and the cables were short by about 1.25". I have a local vw parts store and bought a throttle cable rod end that I added to the cable. (Had one left over from the empi HPMX carb kit, so i only needed one extra.) That rod fit the brass barrel nut and made up the shorted distance.
I figured that it was just the fact that my car is a Frankenstein with heater boxes, tubes and other parts sourced from a number of parts cars:
-heater boxes are '73 2.0
-motor is '75 1.8 freshly rebuilt with back dated motor mounts and crossbar.
-heater tubes where from a '74 2.0
-flappers were two NOS parts that I had in my stash...
-new hoses from mikey914 aka 914rubber.com
I'm still looking for a blower fan to connect up to the tubes by the heads...
If you can't find out why it's short, try the throttle cable clamp rod....
Posted by: Spoke Jan 6 2013, 07:46 AM
The cable ends on my car were cut when I bought it.
I got some wire of similar gauge and tiny U clamp from the hardware store to extend the cables.
The cable extensions don't have the special end but those aren't necessary to terminate the cable at the flapper valve.
Attached image(s)
Posted by: mepstein Jan 6 2013, 08:20 AM
You could buy similar wire and find some barrel nuts that will clamp down on the smaller diameter. Once you have the length correct, give the end of the wire a twist to keep it from pulling through the nuts. 78" of wire needed but you could always start out with a little extra. Or pop for the $40 oem wire and be good to go.
Posted by: wndsnd Jan 6 2013, 09:48 AM
Porsche Workshop Manual shows arms on top:
Posted by: Dr Evil Jan 6 2013, 09:57 AM
You can get barrel nuts at the "Help" section at your FLAPS. They are the section with various prepackaged parts for all kinds of things. 
Are your heater wires untangled inside the center tunnel?
Posted by: tadink Jan 6 2013, 11:40 AM
THANKS everyone - I'm headed down the hill to check out the local Napa Auto parts store - located in Napa, CA. Try to google THAT with any hope of success....waaaaayyyyy to many "Napa's" in that search string! LOL
It could be that with a longish barrel nut, the cables might just work. I panicked and said they were 2" off, actually, they are just almost able to touch the end of the cable to the end of the bracket, and it could be that the longer barrel nut gizmo might make it work. My own tool kit was woefully inadequate when I was trying to McIver something together....maybe I'll have better luck at the car parts store? Home Depot, orchard supply hardware, Ace, etc.
I'll keep you posted....
thanks again for the pix and research....
td
Posted by: steuspeed Jan 6 2013, 12:50 PM
In my case the passeger side wire was too long because the connecting pipe to the flapper valve was bending/pulling towards the middle of the car. Maybe yours are bent/mounted further away from the center of the car making the wire just a tad short?
Posted by: Gint Jan 6 2013, 01:13 PM
I can't tell from your picture, are your arms two pieces? They are two piece with an elbow in the middle. If you only have one part of the arm, your cables are going to be to short. And you won't have the loop that the barrel nut slips into that is on the end of the outer arm. Just a thought...
Posted by: wndsnd Jan 6 2013, 01:22 PM
Posted by: Gint Jan 6 2013, 01:23 PM
Good and krusty, but it's all there.
Posted by: wndsnd Jan 6 2013, 01:33 PM
Good and krusty, but it's all there.
Well thats what good old New England Driving will do for your parts! These came off of a Maine car. Almost everything had to be cut off for restoration.
Posted by: tadink Jan 6 2013, 07:01 PM
YIKES - I thought mine looked bad....sheesh.
OK< update: I have heat! Napa parts came up with a barrel nut that was of course too large for the porsche part it is supposed to fit into. Given that the weekend is nigh over, and heat remains a priority - I was able to modify the barrel nut to fit the end of the wire, and then gave a mighty tug to ensure it would not slip off - - - - wait for it - - - - and gained about an inch or so in length when something gave way in the tunnel. good grief.
However, it remained to find a way to secure / attach the barrel nut to the flapper arm - and with some good old coat hanger ingenuity - we now have heat! I'll do it right when I find the right barrel nuts - but for now we are back on the road!
Thanks guys for all your help - I think this myth is busted!
cheers
td
Posted by: Gint Jan 6 2013, 08:26 PM
Make sure you didn't just pull one cable against another in the tunnel. Check clutch and accelerator function.
Posted by: arsprod Nov 26 2015, 01:55 PM
The cable ends on my car were cut when I bought it.
I got some wire of similar gauge and tiny U clamp from the hardware store to extend the cables.
The cable extensions don't have the special end but those aren't necessary to terminate the cable at the flapper valve.
Sorry to be a zombie but how did you connect the bare wire to the flapper box arm? I have wire but both ends broke off.
Posted by: Dave_Darling Nov 26 2015, 08:52 PM
The barrel nut should be able to crank down enough to even hold onto a bare wire. You might be able to crimp or solder on a thicker end if you feel it's necessary.
--DD
Posted by: barefoot Nov 26 2015, 09:10 PM
The barrel nut should be able to crank down enough to even hold onto a bare wire. You might be able to crimp or solder on a thicker end if you feel it's necessary.
--DD
You can buy crimp sleeves used on fishing line, check your hobby shop as well.
I purchased a beetle heater cable set cheap but have not pot things together yet to see if that will work. An official 914 heater cable is $$
Barefoot
Posted by: arsprod Nov 27 2015, 07:21 AM
The barrel nut should be able to crank down enough to even hold onto a bare wire. You might be able to crimp or solder on a thicker end if you feel it's necessary.
--DD
You can buy crimp sleeves used on fishing line, check your hobby shop as well.
I purchased a beetle heater cable set cheap but have not pot things together yet to see if that will work. An official 914 heater cable is $$
Barefoot
Problem is I only have one barrel nut and it's toast. The crimp sleeves is a great idea - thanks gents
Posted by: rgalla9146 Nov 27 2015, 07:56 AM
The cable ends on my car were cut when I bought it.
I got some wire of similar gauge and tiny U clamp from the hardware store to extend the cables.
The cable extensions don't have the special end but those aren't necessary to terminate the cable at the flapper valve.
Sorry to be a zombie but how did you connect the bare wire to the flapper box arm? I have wire but both ends broke off.
Use a long cotter pin to replace missing wire ends.
The cotter pin goes through the barrel nut.
The broken wire end is looped through the hole in the cotter pin.
Easy fix.
Picture.
Attached thumbnail(s)
Posted by: arsprod Nov 27 2015, 08:00 AM
The cable ends on my car were cut when I bought it.
I got some wire of similar gauge and tiny U clamp from the hardware store to extend the cables.
The cable extensions don't have the special end but those aren't necessary to terminate the cable at the flapper valve.
Sorry to be a zombie but how did you connect the bare wire to the flapper box arm? I have wire but both ends broke off.
Use a long cotter pin to replace missing wire ends.
The cotter pin goes through the barrel nut.
The broken wire end is looped through the hole in the cotter pin.
Easy fix.
Picture.
That's nice, mcguyver would be proud... except I don't have barrel nuts. Going to see if I can find something similar at local hardware store
Posted by: barefoot Nov 27 2015, 08:29 AM
Barrel nuts:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/9144/POR_9144_VENTHT_pg1.htm#item1
Posted by: arsprod Nov 27 2015, 11:30 AM
I don't usually post pics of my work but this qualifies for at least honorable mcguyver mention. I used @Spoke's idea of a piece of cable and u-clamp and @Barefoot's idea of crimp sleeves, used cable ferrules. So far works fine - I'll buy the real parts if it fails!
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)