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By XR4Tim
#261011
I left my desk job a few months ago and started fixing cars out of my garage. Since I don't have any social media accounts, I thought I'd start a thread here to chronicle some of the more interesting things I work on.

One of the first cars to come through was this 1994 Alfa Romeo 164 LS.
1994_alfa-romeo_164_dsc09539-27473.jpg
My friend bought it sight-unseen with the seller noting that it doesn't rev above 2,000 RPM. He had the car shipped directly to my garage. When it arrived, it would barely run, much less get to 2,000 RPM.

I found a bunch of electrical connectors for things like the airflow meter, crank sensor, and fuel injectors were missing the metal clips that keep them engaged. There were no gaskets under the intake runners, the rubber boots connecting the intake runners to the plenum were all cracked and falling apart. The ground strap for the throttle body was not bolted to the throttle body, but was instead taped to another wire that was screwed into the plastic coolant reservoir at the other end. :banghead:

I did a compression test to get an idea of the condition of the engine, and found that the front bank of cylinders was all at around 50 psi. The rear bank was all around 170 psi.

I pulled the timing covers and found the carcass of a snake wrapped around the rear intake cam gear, and the front exhaust cam gear was one tooth out of time. I'm guessing the snake got up in there and didn't survive the next engine startup. He almost took the valves out with him. Resetting the timing, I got good compression on all cylinders, so we got out of it with no valve damage.
IMG_20231026_215541209.jpg
New timing belt, new clips on the electrical connectors, intake gaskets and runner boots, air filter, exhaust gaskets, oil pressure sensor, rear brakes, a battery, and a sunroof seal, and it ran like a champ. The car came with a binder full of receipts for maintenance, and the prior two owners had spent a combined $106k in maintenance and repairs on this car, including a $10k engine rebuild about 30k miles ago.
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By XR4Tim
#261015
Currently, I'm working on this beautiful 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL. It's getting front wheel bearings, a rear main seal, transmission front pump seal, steering box reseal, and an adjustment to the hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension, since the rear was sitting low when it came in. This should keep me busy for a while.
IMG_20240323_181806148_HDR.jpg
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By XR4Tim
#261094
Another one of the first cars to come in was this 2002 Mercedes S600.
IMG_20240123_184349973_HDR.jpg
My tailor bought it from an auction in Florida and had it delivered to another shop, who told him that it had a massive oil leak. They diagnosed it as a leaking oil cooler (common problem on this engine), and told him that they would not be able to do the repair. He had it towed over to me, and I drove it into the garage where it left a massive puddle of oil on the floor. The oil cooler sits in the V of the engine, and both cylinder heads have to come off to get it out. In all, it was not a difficult repair, just very time consuming. The car had 66k miles on it, and the spark plugs looked to be original, so I replaced all 24 of them during the repair.
IMG_20231229_165642220_HDR.jpg
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By fpena944
#261113
Very cool @XR4Tim!

I know you were also thinking of some retail operation as well, did you ever get that launched?
By XR4Tim
#261127
fpena944 wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 4:14 pm Very cool @XR4Tim!

I know you were also thinking of some retail operation as well, did you ever get that launched?
I got a vendor's license and have been selling Alfa parts, but only through word-of-mouth. I don't have any e-commerce stuff setup at this time.
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By fpena944
#261156
XR4Tim wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 5:34 pm
fpena944 wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 4:14 pm Very cool @XR4Tim!

I know you were also thinking of some retail operation as well, did you ever get that launched?
I got a vendor's license and have been selling Alfa parts, but only through word-of-mouth. I don't have any e-commerce stuff setup at this time.
If you ever need help setting up a digital presence and promoting it let me know.
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By XR4Tim
#261160
fpena944 wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 8:11 pm
XR4Tim wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 5:34 pm
fpena944 wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 4:14 pm Very cool @XR4Tim!

I know you were also thinking of some retail operation as well, did you ever get that launched?
I got a vendor's license and have been selling Alfa parts, but only through word-of-mouth. I don't have any e-commerce stuff setup at this time.
If you ever need help setting up a digital presence and promoting it let me know.
I definitely will!
By XR4Tim
#261280
IMG_20240325_164245853_HDR.jpg
This 4Runner was purchased in a barely-running condition and trailered over to me. The seller claimed to not know anything about what was wrong with it. It was running very rich and not firing on all cylinders.

I found that the intake plenum was missing a couple of bolts, the spark plugs were finger tight, and the plugs on the left side of the engine were a different brand than those on the right side. The air filter was new, but the MAF and throttle body were both very dirty. The oil looked clean, but smelled like gas. The valve covers were both leaking badly because the bolts were loose. There were remnants of mud in the engine bay up to the hood. I think someone submerged the engine and started to try and fix it, but gave up and hastily put it back together.

Compression on all cylinders was good, so I set about fixing the other stuff.
IMG_20240301_174757496_HDR.jpg
The timing belt was in bad shape, so it got all new belts, new plugs, ignition coil boots, a MAF, valve cover gaskets, and an oil pan gasket. After all that, it ran better but had a cylinder 3 misfire. The plug was completely dry because the injector was not firing. Hoping to get away with replacing just one injector, I pulled the right fuel rail, and saw that the #1 injector came out, but left its tip in the intake. I fished the tip out and replaced the #1 and #3 injectors. Now it had misfires on cylinders 1 and 3. It turns out that all of the other injectors were performing so poorly that the ECM was compensating with extra fuel, which was making the new injectors dump way too much into cylinders 1 and 3.

When I pulled the left bank of injectors out, they were all missing their tips (and corresponding bottom o-rings). Someone had broken them pulling them out, and then put them back in without their tips. :kickbutt:
IMG_20240325_112745407_HDR.jpg
After replacing the rest of the injectors it ran perfectly.
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By XR4Tim
#261285
SeanR wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:21 pm This is how things start. Then people want you to work on their stuff. Then you start doing it to make a living............
Exactly what happened. I had too many friends asking me to work on stuff for me to possibly get it done in my spare time. Plus I hated my day job anyway.
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By fpena944
#261324
SeanR wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:21 pm This is how things start. Then people want you to work on their stuff. Then you start doing it to make a living............
XR4Tim wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:29 pm
SeanR wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:21 pm This is how things start. Then people want you to work on their stuff. Then you start doing it to make a living............
Exactly what happened. I had too many friends asking me to work on stuff for me to possibly get it done in my spare time. Plus I hated my day job anyway.
This is how my dad started his business.

He would always fix cars on the side when in the Army but when he was nearing retirement he figured it could progress into a business.

Eventually got a shop with 8 bays and ran a pretty successful outfit for 23+ years. Sold it to move closer to us and truly retire. Shop still in business 5 years later.

So yeah, this could definitely turn into a way to make a living!
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By XR4Tim
#263112
New project was dropped off today.
IMG_20240410_203451141_HDR.jpg
This 900 Turbo suffered from a fractured transmission case. The owner at that time pulled the engine & transmission out and left it like that for the last 13 years. I've sourced a replacement low-mile transmission and will be going through the motor before putting them back in. I'm not looking forward to trying to figure out what fasteners go where, and how many are missing.
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By XR4Tim
#264864
This M6 is another one of my tailor's cars.
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He drove it to work one day and it wouldn't start when he tried to leave. I confirmed that it had good battery voltage, and that full battery power was making it to the engine bay, but it would just click when the Start button was pressed, so he had it towed to me.

The starter is located under the intake, like on a V8 Cayenne, only BMW decided that it should be bolted in from the back for some reason. The official procedure is to remove the exhaust & driveshaft, and lower the transmission to access the starter bolts on top. I opted to leave the starter nose attached to the bellhousing, and remove & replace the gears, motor, and solenoid from up top.
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Unfortunately, after doing that, the car still wouldn't start. I measured everything I could think of, but concluded that the replacement starter was bad. A bench test after pulling it back out confirmed it, so we ordered another starter.

I bench tested the second replacement starter when it arrived, and it would engage the bendix, and the starter motor would spin, but it wouldn't turn the pinion gear. For the third starter, we went for a different brand.

The OE starter is made by Valeo, and is backordered through them and through BMW (plus it's $1,200 from BMW even if they could get it). I found a Remy remanufactured starter for about $200, and have had good luck with that brand before, so ordered it. I installed it today, and it worked flawlessly. What a pain, but now I can replace these starters pretty quickly!

During the process, I also noticed a pretty big oil leak from one of the electric oil pumps. It just took a $14 seal (and $150+ of oil) to fix.
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By fpena944
#264889
XR4Tim wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 7:40 pm This M6 is another one of my tailor's cars.
Image
He drove it to work one day and it wouldn't start when he tried to leave. I confirmed that it had good battery voltage, and that full battery power was making it to the engine bay, but it would just click when the Start button was pressed, so he had it towed to me.

The starter is located under the intake, like on a V8 Cayenne, only BMW decided that it should be bolted in from the back for some reason. The official procedure is to remove the exhaust & driveshaft, and lower the transmission to access the starter bolts on top. I opted to leave the starter nose attached to the bellhousing, and remove & replace the gears, motor, and solenoid from up top.
Image

Unfortunately, after doing that, the car still wouldn't start. I measured everything I could think of, but concluded that the replacement starter was bad. A bench test after pulling it back out confirmed it, so we ordered another starter.

I bench tested the second replacement starter when it arrived, and it would engage the bendix, and the starter motor would spin, but it wouldn't turn the pinion gear. For the third starter, we went for a different brand.

The OE starter is made by Valeo, and is backordered through them and through BMW (plus it's $1,200 from BMW even if they could get it). I found a Remy remanufactured starter for about $200, and have had good luck with that brand before, so ordered it. I installed it today, and it worked flawlessly. What a pain, but now I can replace these starters pretty quickly!

During the process, I also noticed a pretty big oil leak from one of the electric oil pumps. It just took a $14 seal (and $150+ of oil) to fix.
Image
Every time my father and I work on one of my vehicles, he always asks why the Germans make it so difficult for mechanics to do maintenance. Who puts these bolts in?!?

We had to change out one of the upper control arms on the Cayenne and had the same issue with bolts pointing in the wrong direction. Thankfully we found a workaround but a challenge for no reason.

We've done the starter on the Cayenne also and it was unnecessarily complicated. I can swap out the one in my 996 in no time but with the Cayenne it requires disassembling the entire upper half of the engine!

Nice car that M6 is, I'm sure the owner is happy to see it back on the road!
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By XR4Tim
#265098
Interesting twist: He texted me saying that the M6 wouldn't start and is back to just a single click when the Start button was pressed. He lives in an apartment in downtown Cleveland and the car was in the building's parking garage.

I put together all of the tools needed to get to the starter and went out there to figure it out. Everything looked correct, nothing was loose. My wife suggested checking the positive cable, and I had already verified that there were 12.6 volts present at the starter, but when I checked resistance, there were almost 2 ohms between the jump terminal in the engine bay and the starter, meaning the starter was only getting about 6 amps. I checked the cable from the jump terminal to the engine harness, and it was good. There is a terminal where that cable attaches to the engine harness, and almost all of the resistance was isolated to that piece. I pulled it out and bolted the jump terminal cable directly to the positive cable within the engine harness, and the starter cranked over just fine.

Here is the offending piece:
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How this piece can fail is beyond me. Especially since I checked resistance when I first replaced the starter. It looks like just a stud that goes right through a plastic housing.

BMW's diagrams do not show this part. There is a BMW part number on it but if you Google the part number, there are zero results. Apparently it's only sold as part of the $1,400 engine harness. I told the customer that I could make something that would work, or buy a used engine harness, and he opted for getting a used harness and just swapping the part out.
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By XR4Tim
#266864
Doing a ton of work on this E92 M3. All of the suspension bushings, new control arms & links, differential bushings, exhaust, and a rear main seal replacement.
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By XR4Tim
#267588
I took a break from the M3 today to do a house call. This Gallardo had bricked itself in the owner's garage.
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The battery went dead, and the aftermarket air suspension had left the car too low to tow. To make things worse, the compressors, controller, and lines for the air suspension were all installed right in front of the battery compartment.
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I had to disassemble most of it to remove the frunk compartment and access the battery.
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Once the new battery was in and everything was assembled, I was able to select a normal ride height.
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By fpena944
#267612
XR4Tim wrote: Thu May 30, 2024 11:26 pm I took a break from the M3 today to do a house call. This Gallardo had bricked itself in the owner's garage.
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The battery went dead, and the aftermarket air suspension had left the car too low to tow. To make things worse, the compressors, controller, and lines for the air suspension were all installed right in front of the battery compartment.
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I had to disassemble most of it to remove the frunk compartment and access the battery.
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Once the new battery was in and everything was assembled, I was able to select a normal ride height.
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Wow so a dead battery did all of that?!?

Nice looking car, I'm sure he is eternally grateful you stopped by to help!
By XR4Tim
#267618
fpena944 wrote: Fri May 31, 2024 7:57 am Wow so a dead battery did all of that?!?

Nice looking car, I'm sure he is eternally grateful you stopped by to help!
There was probably a leak in the air suspension setup that caused it to drop that low, but there was no way to raise the car without getting power to the air compressors, and there was not enough room to safely get jumper cables to the battery. At least now he can drive it to me if he wants the air suspension inspected :biggrin:
By NSXguy
#268053
It seems like some easily-accessed remote battery terminals would be a nice thing to install as well :thumbup:
By JRMaroon
#270672
What is Tim working on this month?
By XR4Tim
#270729
JRMaroon wrote: Tue Jul 02, 2024 2:55 pm What is Tim working on this month?
Currently a 2008 BMW 750Li with a laundry list of problems:
  • Leaks from the power steering pump, engine oil pan gasket, transmission pan, and left valve cover gasket.
  • Broken parking brake actuator gear.
  • Broken door lock button.
  • Broken passenger window motor.
Plus he wanted the chrome grille switched out for a gloss black grille, and a few other things checked.
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Once that is done (hopefully tomorrow), I have a big list of stuff to fix on a 1999 Land Cruiser, a window regulator on a Maserati Quattroporte, and an alternator on the S600 that I did the oil cooler on earlier in the thread.
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By XR4Tim
#270730
Also today I took a field trip to inspect a '98 Corvette Pace Car for a friend who's wanted one since he got Need For Speed 3.
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It's a little rough for 38k miles, but he factored that into his offer and I hope they accept it!
By fpena944
#270768
XR4Tim wrote: Tue Jul 02, 2024 11:50 pm Also today I took a field trip to inspect a '98 Corvette Pace Car for a friend who's wanted one since he got Need For Speed 3.
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It's a little rough for 38k miles, but he factored that into his offer and I hope they accept it!
Wow that thing can moonlight as an LA Lakers promo vehicle!

Interesting color scheme for sure!
By Crisis
#270769
XR4Tim wrote: Tue Jul 02, 2024 11:50 pm Also today I took a field trip to inspect a '98 Corvette Pace Car for a friend who's wanted one since he got Need For Speed 3.
Image
It's a little rough for 38k miles, but he factored that into his offer and I hope they accept it!
Not exactly the most subtle ride. Then again, subtlety isn't a typical Corvette attribute. I actually like both Vettes and vibrant colours on car. The base colour is great, but that look with the decals and the yellow seats & wheels is just a bit much.
By XR4Tim
#270770
Crisis wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 10:30 am Not exactly the most subtle ride. Then again, subtlety isn't a typical Corvette attribute. I actually like both Vettes and vibrant colours on car. The base colour is great, but that look with the decals and the yellow seats & wheels is just a bit much.
I fully agree. There is one in the area with chromed wheels and the decals removed, and it looks better for sure. Interestingly, the "Pace Car Purple" colour has the same paint code as Radar Blue on my Typhoon. If he gets the car, I'll have to get pics of them together.
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By Crisis
#270800
Also very similar to the Laser Blue that I had on my 2007 Impala SS. The kids called it "blurple".
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By XR4Tim
#271069
Got the 750IL out today and got the Quattroporte in.
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Here's the state of the window regulator:
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It took quite a bit longer than expected because the window was stuck in a position that made access to the bolts very difficult. Still an inexpensive repair since the parts to rebuild the regulator are only about $50.
By fpena944
#271110
@XR4Tim - remember the static cornering light you helped me fix at Amelia Island 3+ years ago? Well it went bad again and this time I was able to replace it in minutes thanks to your expertise. :bigok:
By XR4Tim
#271156
fpena944 wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2024 5:54 pm @XR4Tim - remember the static cornering light you helped me fix at Amelia Island 3+ years ago? Well it went bad again and this time I was able to replace it in minutes thanks to your expertise. :bigok:
Sweet! Knowing what bulb to get was half the battle!
By XR4Tim
#275492
560 SEL came back in for a leak at the transmission pan. It also had a harsh shift, so I recommended doing the K1 accumulator spring at the same time. The K1 spring cured my old 190E, and hopefully it will on this car as well. Is that a thing on 928s too?

Whoever serviced the transmission fluid last left the drain plug in questionable shape and since there was some rust on the pan as well, I decided to order a new pan. My concerns about the drain plug were dead on.
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Coming up next is some maintenance on a triple-white VW Cabriolet.
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By TheDeckMan
#276072
Clean MK2 Cabby!
Last edited by TheDeckMan on Mon Aug 12, 2024 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By XR4Tim
#276105
TheDeckMan wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2024 11:08 am Clean MK1 Cabby!
It's actually a Mk2, and the first thing I was told to do was convert it back to a quad-light front end. There was so much sketchy wiring in the car (and I'm still working on some of the interior wiring), but I was able to get the headlight harness back to stock.
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I also found that the nut to hold the throttle cable onto the throttle body was not attached, but was lying on the throttle body. The customer drove it to me from New York so it's kind of interesting that it made it all the way!
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By TheDeckMan
#276112
Sketchy wiring on a VW.... :eyepop:

Quads do look so much better on them, also way better light output.
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By XR4Tim
#277141
Among the sketchy things found on the Cabriolet: Lots of electrical connectors behind the dash disconnected (the radio, HVAC, cigarette lighter, hazard switch, and all of the gauges in the center console were not working); the power steering belt and reservoir were missing (but the pump and hoses were there); the car is wired for cruise control, but the cables and module are missing; and one of the exhaust downpipe clamps was missing, but the prior owner apparently used vise grips in its place:
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By XR4Tim
#277143
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I was recruited to finish a cam belt job on this Ferrari 456 GT. It's had a very shady past, with lots of stuff not working, loose bolts, a really low-quality paint job, and 970k miles showing on the odometer. The title says "not actual mileage", so it's likely that the odometer was rolled forward but nobody knows why. Based on the way the numbers look on the odometer, my guess is that someone screwed up when rolling the odometer back, but decided not to fix it.
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I don't love finishing jobs that someone else started, but this one sounded fun.
By ranger22
#277144
XR4Tim wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2024 7:31 pm Among the sketchy things found on the Cabriolet: Lots of electrical connectors behind the dash disconnected (the radio, HVAC, cigarette lighter, hazard switch, and all of the gauges in the center console were not working); the power steering belt and reservoir were missing (but the pump and hoses were there); the car is wired for cruise control, but the cables and module are missing; and one of the exhaust downpipe clamps was missing, but the prior owner apparently used vise grips in its place:
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Reminds me of this gem:

By XR4Tim
#277151
ranger22 wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2024 7:54 pm Reminds me of this gem:

:roflmao: The owner of the white Cabriolet just bought another one, so I sent him that video and told him that I got some new ideas from it.
By XR4Tim
#278332
Back to work on the 456 GT today, and got asked to do a couple of things on this Diablo. I adjusted the alternator belt tension because it was squealing on startup, and bled the clutch.
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By XR4Tim
#280087
I replaced the top on this Miata last week.
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And now I'm working on a very neglected 968.
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Front lip held together with electrical tape:
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I think I got all the bits of balance shaft belt out.
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I didn't notice the right front jack point was tearing away from the body until after I had it in the air. Prior owner definitely drove over something.
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By XR4Tim
#282497
Today I did some electrical diagnosis on a 1994 Rolls Royce Silver Spur III. It's the only Rolls I've ever seen with a Nine Inch Nails sticker on it.
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I really like this warning label:
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By NSXguy
#282533
I'll be curious to hear your impressions on how much fun tracking down and fixing the electrics is on this behemoth :rockon:
By XR4Tim
#282571
Not super fun initially, especially since I was unable to replicate the intermittent shut-down complaint. I did find this electrical connector that carries power from the alternator circuit was loose and could have been the culprit:
Image

Now, I was able to acquire the wiring diagrams, so chasing future electrical gremlins will be much easier.
By XR4Tim
#282810
NSXguy wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:41 pm Is it pre-OBD1?

Any blink codes/etc. to help locate the problem areas?
It's OBDI. There's a "Mastercheck" system tester that I don't have which can read Motronic faults, but the workshop manual does have workarounds for testing individual modules without the scan tool. Airbag codes can be read through the instrument cluster with a simple jumper device plugged into a pin on the scan tool port.
By XR4Tim
#284235
The E92 M3 came back in with some track mods. The battery had leaked, so I cleaned, primed, and painted the battery compartment, and performed some coding because the backup camera stopped working.
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Up next is the high-pressure fuel pump on this Cayenne Diesel.
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