Faulty Ignition Switch

1	911.613.011.06	Ignition switch, mechanical portion
1/1	911.613.125.00	Buzzer contact
2	911.613.017.00	Ignition switch, electrical portion
3	-	Key
4	911.347.359.01	Reinforcement plate
5	999.219.017.02	Shear bolt (x2)
6	911.613.169.00	Washer
7	911.613.160.00	Rosette

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ike most vintage Porsche owners, I found myself dealing with a faulty ignition switch. For the last year or so, intermittently it had not been working, then intermittently it worked, and finally it became a bit of a lottery. All key positions were functioning except the last click - engine start.

After reading about the common failure of the electrical portion of the ignition switch (#2 in diagram), I overnighted a replacement. Grabbing my favourite Porsche DIY book - Wayne R. Dempsey's 101 Projects for Your Porsche 911 - I flipped to page 212, Project 91 - Replacing Your Ignition Switch (Google Books and Pelican Parts have some of it online - but you really should buy the book!)

My first challenge was to remove the two shear bolts (#5 in diagram). A shear bolt is a type of security fastener with a head that breaks away after tightening to prevent easy/criminal removal. After some careful drilling and using a Mastercraft GraBit I managed to back out the bolts without needing to remove the steering wheel.

Removing the shear bolts

With a glowing sense of accomplishment I installed the new switch... and had the same problem.

With a now deflated sense of accomplishment, I deciding it would be wise to actually diagnose the problem. First I checked all ground straps and battery terminals. Then I decided to test for power at the solenoid. The main line showed a strong 12.4V but the other two wires were flat when the key was turned to the start position - so I knew it likely wasn't my starter/solenoid.

I then tested the electrical portion of the ignition switch separate from the mechanical portion (what I should have done to begin with) by turning it with a Phillips screwdriver... Eureka! the engine roared to life. I now knew it was the mechanical portion (#1 in diagram) that was faulty.

Looking closely at it, I noticed it wasn't turning quite far enough, maybe 15° short of the full start position.

After several days of driving with the electrical switch swinging by my knees and a Phillips stubby in the ash tray, I figured I either need to dish out the $600-700 for a new ignition switch or try to repair the one I had. If I were to buy a new one I'd need to open it up to rekey it, so I decided to disassemble the old one as practice with hopes of maybe finding an easy fix.

To release the key barrel/tumbler, I used a ¹/₆₄" bit to drill out the single pin. With the barrel out I could see it was showing some age and was a bit sloppy.

At the tail-end of the tumbler there are two plates that turn with the key - the thicker outer one turns with the key and the thinner, inner one turns a bit out of sequence. Mine were turning at the same time.

In a functioning mechanism, when turned clockwise, a spring-loaded pin clicks into a hole and turns the inner plate. Then when turned counterclockwise, the pin pops into a notch on the outer disk, preventing it from being turned clockwise again until turned all the way back. This "start lockout" prevents the car from being restarted after it's already been started.

Without taking the tumbler apart, I tightened things up significantly by hitting the two pins at the back with a hammer and punch.

To save the next guy (or future me) some trouble, I tapped the pin hole and replaced the pin with a cone point set screw. Also, when installing the ignition back in the car I used regular bolts instead of the OEM shear bolts.

Here are two posts on the Pelican Parts Technical BBS dealing with the same problem:

• Ignition switch - inside to fix START lockout
• Ignition switch springing problems

From a Poster to the Real Thing

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n 1984, at the ripe age of ten, I was immersed and infatuated by the blitz of mid-eighties sports cars being imported to North America. Like every kid, I had the Hot Wheels, the magazines and the posters. In fact, an entire wall of my bedroom was dedicated to car posters. It started with just any "cool car" - but it quickly became exclusive to Porsches. I specifically remember receiving two posters as birthday gifts, a red Testarossa and a white Countach. Both were soon demoted to a lesser wall and eventually rolled up and ungratefully jammed in a closet - unworthy of my Porsche shrine.

I collected posters of all colours and all models: Targas, Carreras, SCs, RSs, 924s, 944s, 928s... but the center of my attention was the voluptuous 911 Turbo (or, as I'd remind everyone, "not just a 911, it’s a nine thirty"). This car, in my preteen mind, had everything in the right place. It was the perfect balance of what a sports car should be: friendly but mean, subtle but aggressive, both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Even a few years later when I was taken aback by the revolutionary 959 (this exact poster), I remained true to my first crush.

Road&Track January 1986 The January 1986 issue of Road&Track cemented it for me. On the cover was a line-up of four guards red Porsches led by the one-and-only, the almighty, 930. I can't tell you how many times I read that article. Whenever the Turbo was mentioned, I would intentionally slow my reading and savour the words.

Growing up in rural Nova Scotia I didn't get to see too many exotic cars in the flesh. However, every few months the family would pile into the station wagon and take the hour-and-a-half drive to "the city". This excursion always became a bit of a hunting trip for me. I'd scan the hundreds of cars whizzing by, waiting for a glimpse of a Porsche...just hoping to see an allusive 930. On the rare occasion I'd get a glimpse of one and would instantly become fixated. I wouldn't be able to pull my eyes away. My dad would joke, "Don't stare son! Maybe that's all the poor fella can afford."

As I neared the age of sixteen, I had the inevitable and disheartening realization that my first car would not resemble any of my posters. So I did some homework and learned that Volkswagens were a not-too-distant relative of the Porsche. With a non-existent budget, I found myself in a ten-year-old hand-me-down grey 1980 VW Rabbit Diesel... <sigh>.

Now fast forward about twenty years and several Volkswagens later. In the Appalachians of Pennsylvania, on a winding mountain road cut through a stand of old-growth ash trees, I find myself behind the wheel of a black 1984 930. The cool fall air slipping over the car, down through the huge intercooler and getting sucked into the hungry 3.3 litre. Half excited and half frightened by the savage snarl behind me, I glance at the tach, depress the heavy clutch and reach for another gear.

Later that day I traded my hard-earned savings for the keys.

That day... Obviously when a lifelong dream is suddenly staring back at you, there is a certain degree of surrealism. Amidst the euphoric haze, my most overwhelming impression was that is was nothing like what I'd dreamt it would be. But of course how could it live up to the immortal superhero conjured up in my ten-year-old imagination - after all, it was just a car. No power steering, no power brakes, big turbo lag, unwieldy in the rear... Don't get me wrong, it was in no way disappointing. It was what it was - and it was real!

In Atlantic Canada we store our collector cars through the winter months, keeping them from the perils of snow and road salt. Surprisingly in some ways this is kinda nice. Watching the snow melt, the anticipation of that first spring drive becomes so climactic. Yesterday was that day once again. As the seat bolsters hugged my sides, I felt the direct steering, the turbo lag - the smells, sounds and textures were all the same ...I got that same involuntary grin on my face and I relived that first drive all over again.

Automotive – Porsche Speedometer Replacement

The 930 doing what it does best

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urprisingly, having a low-miles, all-original 1984 Porsche 930 can be a real bummer. It’s a ridiculously fun car to drive, and even washing it can be a sensual experience. The problem is that I never get to work on it. Nothing goes wrong (which, actually, is great) and making “upgrades” to such an OEM car is criminal. However, as a habitual tinkerer, having such a fine example of German engineering in my driveway is a huge temptation. This is why I’ve decided to gut it and convert it into a competitive drift car – – joking.

Luckily I’ve been able to satisfy my DIY urges on my VW Super Beetle (and it needs it!). Having said that, I still jump at the opportunity to do work, even if very mundane work, on its more mature, but “übermensch" sibling, the 930. The latest thing I’ve done is replace the speedo (not to be confused with the like-named, tight-fitting, TMI swimwear).

You can find a lot of Porsche 911 Turbos on eBay with questionable odometers (if you plan to buy one, I highly recommend first investing in an AutoCheck account). However, in this case what I’ve done is actually replace the speedometer with the original factory speedometer – a restoration if you will.

When the car was new, it was imported into the United States as a “gray market” car since Porsche was not exporting the 930 model to the US from 1980-1986. As a “Euro” car, it was converted to American standards, which including de-metric-izing the speedo/odometer. The gentleman who did the import and conversion, the original owner who I bought from, was thoughtful enough to keep the original German equipment, and I thank him for that. I live in Canada and I benefit from the superior metric system, thus my motive to do the swap back.

The American miles odometer has about 20,000miles (about 32,200km). At the time of putting it back in, the original had only about 340km.

Backside

The replacement is easy with only a few considerations – primarily where to hookup each wire. The instrument pulls out without any tools (but a good amount of fingertip strength is required and maybe a push from the back). Once out, grab your toolbox camera and take a snapshot of the existing wire hookup. Compared to the metric instrument, the terminals in the same locations can be used.

Before and after

The internals of the instrument are clever enough to accommodate the differences in scale as well as different upper range of 300^km/_h (186mph) instead of 150mph (241^km/_h). And yes, its documented top speed is 278^km/_h (173mph) – fourth gear at 6750RPM...and remember, this is a stock production car in 1984! And no, I have never driven that fast.

Now don’t worry, I plan to keep the “miles” speedometer with the car as part of its history – and not pass the car off as a 400km car. That said, I am curious how my local Registry of Motor Vehicles will handle the swap – have I just done something illegal? I’ll follow up next year when I get my next Motor Vehicle Inspection.

Automotive – Porsche Turbo Badge Detailing

Removing the badge

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dmittedly this is the most lame DIY ever but I had to start by posting something. This morning I took about fifteen minutes to clean under the “turbo” badge script on my 1984 Porsche 930. Being such a focal point on the car, it was a bit of a dishonor with about twenty-five years of wax and crud built up.

Tools & product:

• 8mm socket or wrench
• Small brush (e.g. toothbrush)
• Non-harsh car wash
• Clean lint-free cloths
• Clay bar (or a liquid clay product)
• Wax remover
• Your favourate car wax or polish

The removal is simple – two 8mm speed nuts from the backside.

The crud underneath The paint on the car is original so I wanted to take some care in cleaning the surface. Having said that, the paint is no longer perfect (the previous owner touched up a chip above the “o”) so I wasn’t overly picky. I first soaked the area and got most of the dirt off with a bit of general car wash. Then I used some Turtle Wax ICE Liquid Clay to remove the hard stuff. After a rinse, the outline of the script was still a bit visible but not enough to be a concern.

The “t” was also bent a little askew – a careful tweak put it back in place. I noticed that the black painted aluminum had some corrosion on the back; a new OEM badge for this car (930-559-317-00-M260) is relatively cheap at only about $20-25. After scrubbing mine with an old toothbrush and wax remover, it looked almost new.

ResultsBefore putting it back on, this is a great time to put on a fresh coat of wax. Instead of wax I used some Turtle Wax ICE Liquid Polish. And no, I’m not being paid by Turtle Wax; I just like their products.

Admiring the results I know I will sleep better tonight. Porsche’s choice of black on black is subtle ...unlike the turbo itself.