Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

I've recently purchased my first Porsche (a 1989 944 Lux) & have posted pictures in the introductions section . As is to be expected of a 22year old car there are a number of jobs / issues that need sorting . Some of them were known when I bought the car & others have developed / come to light since .
Items sorted so far :
Fitted new gear gaiter (not quite the right shade of blue but will probably use some leather dye to match steering wheel / interior)
Fitted new o/s/f fog lamp bulb . Had to drill out one of the sews which unfortunately widened an existing crack in the lens .
Fixed fan speed control (only blowing when set to max (4) 1,2 & 3 not working) by removing and cleaning corrosion from the fan speed resistor pack
Fixed rear window demistor . After having one of the rear struts replaced the previous owner had experienced some problems with the wiring (mainly burning & melting) .thanks to Black Bat 2 who posted a good explanation on the correct wiring of hrw a couple of years ago I've now got it working again . Took a few frustrating hours banging my head on the rear screen / locking pins whilst wielding a multimeter and contact cleaner but got there in the end .
Fixed boot locking mechanism which wasn't closing around the above mentioned locking pins .
Removed old number plates & fixing brackets / spacers and fitted new plates flush to the body
Had OPC Aberdeen fix sticking throttle peddle(before I killed someone)whilst they were trying to (unsuccessfully) diagnose ABS fault .
Items that still need sorting :
New belts / pullies / water pump
Needs a service
fix slight sticking of the n/s/r brake caliper
replace o/s/f fog light lens
investigate brake pad warning light
source luggage compartment roller blind for split fold rear seats
Needs two new front tyres but I am probably better off just buying a 2nd hand set of alloys with decent tyres already fitted (thinking may be some 16" cups or d90's)
Tidy exhaust tailpipe .
Diagnose ABS fault .
I have read several posts on ABS problems but none seem to have the same symptoms as mine . Basically the ABS does not work but the warning light does not come on either . If I pull out the relay it illuminates then so bulb does work .When I lock the brakes there is no pulsing through the peddle but i can here a whirring from the drivers side foot well where the pump is . I've not heard the grumbling sound from the same area that is supposed to occur once the vehicle starts rolling & it runs a test on the system although I could just not be hearing this if its very quiet . Its been to OPC Aberdeen for them to investigate (they had from 12 on the friday til 10 the following day) but no joy . They don't have the correct connector to plug into the abs ecu to run a diagnostic test . Its now booked into the indy here in Aberdeen on monday who have agreed to diagnose on a "no win , no fee" basis but i don't want to be spending any more on labour if i can avoid it . Anyone here had or know of some one who had the same problem and what the fix was ? Any help would be much appreciated . sorry this post has turned into an essay

My brother's Golf has the same ABS symptoms, ABS not working but no ABS fault light. Thankfully it was new enough for me to plug a laptop in and was informed that one of the sensors had given up, popped a new one in and straight away the ABS system was working again.

Sadly it wasn't quite that straight forward as the bolt holding the sensor had rusted then sheared and the bolts holding the lower wishbone on had also rusted so the whole hub, bottom arm and driveshaft (cv gaiter had split) got sent off to a mechanic to get freed up. I don't know how the ABS sensors are mounted on the 944 as neither of mine are fitted with it.

I didn't think that the ECU diagnostics were advanced enough to work for ABS on our cars?
There is a Porsche manual for diagnosing ABS issues, they occasionally come up on ebay and I know my indie used something when they fixed mine.

Certainly you have slightly odd symptoms but if the pump is working (good because they are quite expensive even SH) then you could try swopping out the relay or the ABS ECU. Ideally find a spare or a friendly owner whose you can "borrow".

Alasdair may have a few spare bits from his breaking although he's still some way from you just outside Perth.

If it was just a wheel sensor I'd have thought that would have shown up in the usual way, light on after a few seconds.


This might be a useful thread
http://www.ilexa.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4179.0

I have a similar problem. No warning lights, pump whirrs when moving off but ABS inoperative. Super Marv on PCGB had the same issue and it was the pump itself. The valves stick and they stop functioning for ABS purposes, but still go through the motions of whirring and making the ECU think it's ok.

Can't say I've ever heard mine making a noise when I jump on the pedal but don't think it would be loud enough to hear above engine/road noise anyway.

I sourced a pump from the USA but not fitted it yet. Paid about $50 and about $30 more to get it over here. From California so should have had a dry enough existence!

Stuart

Thanks for the reply chaps . Had the car into Bavaria yesterday and they couldn't find a port to plug the diagnostic equipment into and they now don't think its possible to "read" the ABS ECU . Didn't charge me anything so can't really grumble . Given your replies and my conversation with the mechanic the best course of action would be to buy a second hand pump and have a crack at fitting it myself . David mentioned Alasdair who might have parts from the car he is breaking near perth . Had a quick look in the members section but couldn't find anyone of the same name . Is he a breaker in the perth area ?
As an aside from this , whilst the 944 was in the garage the abs & engine management light came on (and stayed on ) my X-Type and then when I got the porsche back i discovered over 2 gallons of water sloshing around in the boot right storage well ! Traced the cause today to water getting in via the rear lights .

Alasdair is Sulzeruk on this forum. PM him. He is in Bonnybridge. He has got ABS pumps on cars but he's not sure if they work. I ended up sourcing mine from the states. They seemed to be more plentiful over there with sellers vouching for the pumps effectiveness.

Stuart