The Official 356Talk Forum

I’m installing Joe’s starter relay in my 64C. Pretty straight forward with one small exception. Can anyone help me with removing the 2 small screws on the starter “bell” which seem to be torqued more tha an axle nut! Thanks. Steve

Hey Steve. Those are the long thin straight-blade screws, right? I had a devil of a time getting them off too. What finally worked was a little straight-blade screwdriver "head" I found in my stash that was made for a drill or maybe for one of those screwdrivers with multiple heads in the handle. Anyway, the hex base of it fit perfectly in a very small socket I have. The socket attached to its very small extension and then to the matching mini-socket wrench. With that setup, I was able to put the screwdriver bit in place and use the wrench to loosen the screws. I'm sure others have much more elegant suggestions for you, but that's what worked for me. Good luck. That whole job is a pain, but once it's done, the resulting starting is wonderful.
-Greg

Why put it at the starter motor where it is so difficult to access? Remember it is a Switch Saver Relay and as such is designed primarily to take the load off the ignition switch contacts and secondarily to remove the volts drop associated with the ignition switch. I put all my SSR relays under the dash and so far have no issues with them working as designed.

Joe put it there to reduce the resistance in the wiring to the actuating side of the solenoid. Not saying it HAS to be there, but that's why he did it that way.

Tapping on the end of those screws a bit might help loosen them.

As a last resort, removing the starter means you CAN get those suckers loose.

I just installed a starter relay provided by Tony Euganeo. It is attached to the ignition switch and was very easy to install. He is on our vendor list.

Thanks everyone, I’ll let you know how it goes! Steve

I took the point about having the relay near the starter to reduce any resistance in longer wires, but fitted it 'near' the starter as in Larry's image viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37379&start=0

I made my own relay from the diagram that was available without problems.

Ok, those 2 screws put up one heck of a fight, so I just removed the starter. Only took about 10 minutes. Even then the screws were a pain, but I did get them off and the relay is installed. Still have to reinstall the starter. Thanks for the help!

Steve

The relay kit that I used I got from a guy on the Samba who makes them for VW Type II's, etc.
I mounted it in the right lower corner of the firewall and fished the wires thru the hole where the other harness leads route thru. It also uses an inline blade type fuse. It seems to be a well made kit.
He also supplied the components for my headlight relay kit. He does quality work...no disappointments.

Post the guys contact details for everybody - Please Jack

Why did Porsche not install relays in the 356? Lights and Starter. Excuse my lack of knowledge, but were they not invented back in the day?
Also , when Joe retired, who handled his products? and who took on the job of Electrical Guru for the Registry? A hard act to follow!
Regards Jay

John Clarke wrote:Why did Porsche not install relays in the 356? Lights and Starter. Excuse my lack of knowledge, but were they not invented back in the day?

Jay, the first time I had a problem (burned contacts on the ign. switch), my car was ~30 years old. Given what they were selling for new, I don't think the factory wanted to add any cost for something of value that far down the road.
In fact, the factory probably would have preferred the entire thing had turned to powdered FeO2 by then and that you'd bought a new one.

John Clarke wrote:Why did Porsche not install relays in the 356? Lights and Starter. Excuse my lack of knowledge, but were they not invented back in the day?
Also , when Joe retired, who handled his products? and who took on the job of Electrical Guru for the Registry? A hard act to follow!
Regards Jay

Wolfsburgwest sells those relays for a reasonableness price. You don't have to screw anything to the starter. Basically you take the solenoid lead and connect it to the relay wiring, ground it, connect one relay wire to the hot post and your done. Easy peasy and it works. Have them on all my aircooled vehicles. They sell6 and 12'volt versions.

I installed it under dash near ign switch. IMO a better option then under car. Either way, it is a good way to redu e current through the ign switch, the sol can have like 30a inrush and create a pretty big arc across the contacts.
The resistance over the 10a wire is negligible, I'd rather be able to quickly access it in the event of welded contacts, and keep it out of the heat/weather.

Greetings from ECH!