My 914 has electrical problems. Buzzing from flasher, Turn signal flasher buzzing. Driver door closed Options

[burton73]

My 76 914 has a couple of electrical problems that where covered on the board but I would like to go over them. I do not have power to either side of Fuse 8 with ignition on or off. I have checked them with a meter.
My wipers, radio, defrost fan, and horn do not work. In reading posts someone said to wiggle fan relay J-13 but I do not know where that is. I have shown a picture of my dropped fuse panel.

Another problem is that the turn singles work but the green light stays on when the turn singles are not on. So when the car is running, the green light is on till you put the right or left single on and then it blinks. Clay Perrine Porsche shop in TX did the Checking of my car before I bought it and they said it needed a different relay. I tried a couple of used ones and also changed the one in the rear trunk near the center lock but it did not fix it. The Flasher that I changed out in the picture is Gold in color.

So please look at the picture and see if you can five me some ideas where to start.

Thanks for your help as always.

Bob B

Upside down

[914 RZ-1]

One place to start is to clean all the connections. I took off each spade connector and cleaned them with a small wire wheel on a Dremel. Took forever and was cramped, but it made a difference. Take them off one at a time and then put them back to avoid mixing them up.

I also cleaned the ground contacts in the front by the headlights.

I clean every electrical connection I can as I work on them.

Polish until they are shiny.

[burton73]

One place to start is to clean all the connections. I took off each spade connector and cleaned them with a small wire wheel on a Dremel. Took forever and was cramped, but it made a difference. Take them off one at a time and then put them back to avoid mixing them up.

I also cleaned the ground contacts in the front by the headlights.

I clean every electrical connection I can as I work on them.

Polish until they are shiny.

I got a new to me/ used fuse panel and I ordered special terminal cleaner that Jeff B was saying was the best and I forgot to put in that the cigarette lighter
does not heat up.

[scallyk9]

I also had the turn signal indicator problem and through advice found perusing threads in this forum, I found I had the wrong turn signal/flasher relay. A previous owner had installed a VW/Audi one with only 3 prongs and I replaced it with a Wehrle #914-618-303-11/206 four prong relay purchased on eBay. Voila! It worked. This was for a '74 with the same turn signal circuit as your '76.

[burton73]

I also had the turn signal indicator problem and through advice found perusing threads in this forum, I found I had the wrong turn signal/flasher relay. A previous owner had installed a VW/Audi one with only 3 prongs and I replaced it with a Wehrle #914-618-303-11/206 four prong relay purchased on eBay. Voila! It worked. This was for a '74 with the same turn signal circuit as your '76.

Turn Signal/ Hazard Flasher Relay
Part #: 914-618-303-11-M206
$14.00

I ordered it Pelican. I hope that part of my problem is fixed

Thanks for your help. Now if I can figure where J-13 relay I can clean it and see if Fuse 8 comes back

[Tom]

J-13, known in the prints as the fresh air blower relay and in the Haynes manual as the fresh air fan relay, is identified best by looking at the wires that feed into the socket. J-13 should have a 1.5mm red, a 1.5mm black red, a 0.5mm red white, and a 0.5mm brown. Remove the round relay that goes to that socket, clean the socket lightly with fine sandpaper rolled up into a round tube. Blow it out with air. Clean the relay prongs lightly with the same sandpaper and wipe down. You can slightly spread the prongs with the relay on it's flat top. Using a sharp knife spread them very slightly. Plug it back in. Not a bad idea to do them all while the panel is down.
Hope this helps,
Tom
PS. In your picture per the Haynes manual picture on page 128, J-13 should be the third from the right.

[burton73]

J-13, known in the prints as the fresh air blower relay and in the Haynes manual as the fresh air fan relay, is identified best by looking at the wires that feed into the socket. J-13 should have a 1.5mm red, a 1.5mm black red, a 0.5mm red white, and a 0.5mm brown. Remove the round relay that goes to that socket, clean the socket lightly with fine sandpaper rolled up into a round tube. Blow it out with air. Clean the relay prongs lightly with the same sandpaper and wipe down. You can slightly spread the prongs with the relay on it's flat top. Using a sharp knife spread them very slightly. Plug it back in. Not a bad idea to do them all while the panel is down.
Hope this helps,
Tom
PS. In your picture per the Haynes manual picture on page 128, J-13 should be the third from the right.

Tom, Thanks a lot. I will do so this weekend and see if I can get these gremlins to die.

[burton73]

So I bought a new Four-prong Wehrle relay and cleaned up my terminals and tried it. No good. No turn singles. I then took the wires that where going to that relay that some one had cut and switched as shown in picture as red to brown and brown to red, back to what was the factory wiring as red-to-red and brown-to-brown.

With the new relay with what I believe is the corrected wiring, it was a little better as the turn single light on the instrument was on only on a little dim and when you put the turn singles on it stopped. The bussing sound was new to the new relay.
The old round was a flasher only?

So the problem with the round relay was. The green light that flashes to let you know that the turn single is on was on all the time. During the turn it did flash on and off. Also when you put on the emergency flasher the dash light flashes on /off with no buzzing.

I have an additional problem with my Smog pulley that I will go on in a different post so I could only turn on the key but not start the car. When the key is turned on
and the car not run the flasher made a buzzing sound. When you turn on the turn signals the busser stopped.

I had enough for the day and I put my Carrera back in the garage and the Carrera buzzed when I first put on the key and stopped after I started it. Is that the oil pressure warning or what?

Maybe the 914 is fixed somewhat? On one part. I still have no radio, horns, wipers and vent fan. I did put in the cleaned up fuse panel and cleaned each relay with the cleaner and brush. Relays with Silicon carbide paper in 320 grit a little.

Bob B

[914]

Bob,
Did you try to replace the relays/black round or exchange them around to see if that is the issue? As for the 911 key left in buzzer?
Alan

[914Sixer]

Get a copy of 700 Tips for the 914 by George H. I want to say there is info in there about fuse 8. It sticks in my mind because it was something out of the normal about where to look for the problem.

[burton73]

I own a copy of Georges book. I bought it 8 years ago but I have no idea where it is.
Alan, I was so tired after dicking with my 76 all day I did not know what was what.
I had problems with the fan and the smog pump bracket.

The question is what does a stock 914 do as far as buzzers and is the buzzer maker the flasher?

Bob B

[scallyk9]

It appears that the relay change restored the correct function of the turn signal indicator but there is still a wiring problem as I don't think the relay itself would still be still providing power, however dimly, to the indicator bulb socket positive wire. My TS indicator is not showing any current, with a voltmeter, when the turn signal is off.

George Hussey IV's Tech Tips 700 is a terrific resource. I just checked the battery/fuse/relay section and only fuse #9 is specifically mentioned regarding the alternator light coming on when breaking or the tach dropping to zero; loose contact.

[914]

Bob,
Next time you have the 914 out give me a heads up..I will come over to take a look..
Two heads are better then one.
Alan

I own a copy of Georges book. I bought it 8 years ago but I have no idea where it is.
Alan, I was so tired after dicking with my 76 all day I did not know what was what.
I had problems with the fan and the smog pump bracket.

The question is what does a stock 914 do as far as buzzers and is the buzzer maker the flasher?

Bob B

[burton73]

I missed putting in this photo of the wires mixed up.

Bob

Shown old 3 prong flasher. Gold color

[Spoke]

Your pic of the adjusted wires is zeroing in on your issues. Replacing a flasher should not involve cutting and splicing wires going to other places.

Looks like someone got a non-standard flasher and made it work.

To get your flasher system back in order, you need to un-fuck the wiring.

See simplified diagram below.

The red wire coming in is +12V and should go to pin 49.

The brown wire is ground and should go to pin 31.

The Black/green/white wire goes to the turnsignal stalk and 4-way flashers for external lights.

The Blue/white wire goes to your tach signal indicator.

[Tom]

Spoke,
The first three lines of your post above say it all.
When assisting someone with an electrical issue, once the fact that the electrical system has been modified, the chances for club members to help get to the bottom of the issue starts to rapidly diminish.
Burton, on your fuse #8 issue , do you have power at the #30 socket of J-13 with the key switch ON? Also with the key to ON, you should have power to the #86 socket of that same relay. If you have power to both, replace the relay. There are several other relays of the same type, I think. There is one keyed different, but that may be on the relay board in the engine bay.
Tom

[burton73]

Spoke,
The first three lines of your post above say it all.
When assisting someone with an electrical issue, once the fact that the electrical system has been modified, the chances for club members to help get to the bottom of the issue starts to rapidly diminish.
Burton, on your fuse #8 issue , do you have power at the #30 socket of J-13 with the key switch ON? Also with the key to ON, you should have power to the #86 socket of that same relay. If you have power to both, replace the relay. There are several other relays of the same type, I think. There is one keyed different, but that may be on the relay board in the engine bay.
Tom

Tom,

I know this is lame but how do I know where J-13 relay is located. I know where the flasher is and there are 3 black relays on that panel.


Bob

O, I hope I un-fucked the wires by putting the red back to red and brown back to brown.

[Tom]

Bob,
You should be able to see the relay contact numbers on the prong side of the relay. Sometimes it takes a lot of light and a magnifying glass, at least for me.
Here are the colors: one 1.5mm red, one 1.5mm black/red, one 0.5mm brown, and one 0.5mm red/white. Found my large prints! Do you have large color coded prints? I got one of the salesmen at Pelican to send me the mostly correct prints as an e-mail attachment and had staples make me large copies for easier on my eyes reading. It has been well worth it. Here is the print part that covers that circuit.
If that one is helpful, and you want, I will post the rest of the parts.
Tom

[burton73]

Tom,

Third from the right would make it the new flasher unit I put in. Or is it the 3rd round relay. Not sure. I will print out the color wire diagram at work this week. I ordered a circuit tester with a light. I have been using a meter that you can see on the floor. I will take another stab at it this next weekend. I will also order Georges book to have on hand. Loosing it is paying for the info more that one time. Like losing a CD

Thanks,

Bob B

[Tom]

I believe it is the second from the passenger side. The one with a 11 on it in your pic. The wire colors would confirm that. These cars are getting up there in years and have had numerous folks working on them who may have done things we would not have done to get a circuit working. If you find the one where pin 30 of the socket is hot with the key switch ON and no longer hot with the key switch to OFF and the colors of the wires are correct, you most likely have J-13.
I have 700 Tech Tips also and the picture on page 82 agrees with the second from the passenger side as being the location of J-13.
Tom