new owner of 944 s, greeted by starting issues
09-07-2016, 10:32 PM
#1
3rd Gear
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
new owner of 944 s, greeted by starting issues
hello everyone. I have recently joined the group of people who are 50/50 proud/frustrated with their lovely new vehicle. I have a 1988 944s with about 130k miles. It has been through an engine fire.
a brief history of my experience with it:
the first time I drove it, we had to jump it to get it running off the lot. I noticed a random power loss a few different times, where the acceleration would stop, and then resume a second or so later. This happened both while going a constant speed and also when trying to accelerate. I stopped at a gas station to fill the tank after about 15 minutes, and the car wouldn't restart. Got another jump to get me the rest of the way home, placed the battery on a charger for the night. The next morning, started without incident, and drive from Spokane WA to Port Orchard WA (about 5 hrs drive). The only thing of note was that the random power loss continued, and happened once as I was stopping at an intersection and caused the engine to die. Restarted immediately just fine. Upon reaching my destination, car would not start once I stopped it. I disconnected the battery and put a car cover on and left for a 5 month military deployment.
came back from deployment to begin fighting against my new no-start issue. After reconnecting the battery and making sure it was fully charged, attempted to start the engine, it rolls over but not start. I was able to push start it to get it from my friend's house to the new place where I'm currently staying. Since then I have replaced the fuel filter, bypassed the factory alarm (it would honk every time I open or shut a door - a problem for another time). I sprayed starting fluid into the intake manifold and my "crank, no start" turned into "combustion, no start". After that, I realized I could not hear the fuel pump buzz when I turn the key, so I learned about the DME relay bypass trick. With the DME relay bypassed, I was able to get an instant and BEAUTIFUL sounding start. I drove it around the block once, it was the best it had ever sounded. Also, there was no random power loss, although I may have just not driven it long enough to occur. The next morning, I plug in my jumpered relay, heard the fuel pump kick on, and listened to my favorite hit single, "crank - no start". I didn't have time to mess with it, so I just got my girlfriend to take me to work. Later in the day, I receive a new DME relay from local auto part store and plugged it in with the same effect: no fuel pump buzz when I turn the key, and a "crank - no start".
I was already confused at the best of times, but after such a brief victory and lapsing back into defeat, I'm really just 100% lost. If anyone has ideas of what I can check, test, or try, it would be a godsend. Of course, if I missed anything big, please just ask and I'll provide any information that I can, or pictures, or whatever. Thanks in advance for the help.
-TheAgemaWay
a brief history of my experience with it:
the first time I drove it, we had to jump it to get it running off the lot. I noticed a random power loss a few different times, where the acceleration would stop, and then resume a second or so later. This happened both while going a constant speed and also when trying to accelerate. I stopped at a gas station to fill the tank after about 15 minutes, and the car wouldn't restart. Got another jump to get me the rest of the way home, placed the battery on a charger for the night. The next morning, started without incident, and drive from Spokane WA to Port Orchard WA (about 5 hrs drive). The only thing of note was that the random power loss continued, and happened once as I was stopping at an intersection and caused the engine to die. Restarted immediately just fine. Upon reaching my destination, car would not start once I stopped it. I disconnected the battery and put a car cover on and left for a 5 month military deployment.
came back from deployment to begin fighting against my new no-start issue. After reconnecting the battery and making sure it was fully charged, attempted to start the engine, it rolls over but not start. I was able to push start it to get it from my friend's house to the new place where I'm currently staying. Since then I have replaced the fuel filter, bypassed the factory alarm (it would honk every time I open or shut a door - a problem for another time). I sprayed starting fluid into the intake manifold and my "crank, no start" turned into "combustion, no start". After that, I realized I could not hear the fuel pump buzz when I turn the key, so I learned about the DME relay bypass trick. With the DME relay bypassed, I was able to get an instant and BEAUTIFUL sounding start. I drove it around the block once, it was the best it had ever sounded. Also, there was no random power loss, although I may have just not driven it long enough to occur. The next morning, I plug in my jumpered relay, heard the fuel pump kick on, and listened to my favorite hit single, "crank - no start". I didn't have time to mess with it, so I just got my girlfriend to take me to work. Later in the day, I receive a new DME relay from local auto part store and plugged it in with the same effect: no fuel pump buzz when I turn the key, and a "crank - no start".
I was already confused at the best of times, but after such a brief victory and lapsing back into defeat, I'm really just 100% lost. If anyone has ideas of what I can check, test, or try, it would be a godsend. Of course, if I missed anything big, please just ask and I'll provide any information that I can, or pictures, or whatever. Thanks in advance for the help.
-TheAgemaWay
09-08-2016, 09:16 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Look for 12v at the pump on the power wire with the ignition ON. While down there, clean the power/ground connections. Make a note of cleaning ALL of the chassis ground connections, ASAP. Then, check the integrity of the fuel pump fuse on the central electric board under the hood.
It also sounds like your battery is past its useful life. How old is it? When cells degrade internally, there is nothing that can be done. The battery in my car registers between 12.6v and 12.8v at rest. With the engine running, that jumps up to around 13.8v. Depending on the car/starter, a battery down to just 11.6v/11.8v may not be able to supply enough current to operate the starter.
10-12-2016, 02:03 AM
#3
3rd Gear
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry for being super-late with the reply, but I must say thank you for your help. I tried all of the things you mentioned, and a few extras besides, but I ended up having it towed to a specialty shop. They were able to fix my no-start issue by replacing my flywheel sensor, fuel pressure regulator, and fixing my alarm bypass that I had set up. Altogether it was a job that was way over my head, and I'm glad I got professional help, even if it cost an arm and a leg.
Good news is that it runs like a champ, and I get to start working on its myriad OTHER problems this weekend! Next on the list is fixing the brakes. One of the brakes (I think back-left) squeals even when I'm not pushing on the brake pedal, so I'm going to take it apart and possibly flush the brake lines and see where that gets me. I'll post updates soon!
Good news is that it runs like a champ, and I get to start working on its myriad OTHER problems this weekend! Next on the list is fixing the brakes. One of the brakes (I think back-left) squeals even when I'm not pushing on the brake pedal, so I'm going to take it apart and possibly flush the brake lines and see where that gets me. I'll post updates soon!
10-12-2016, 05:10 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Re: speed/reference sensors...yes, either can present a no-start condition.
Re: brakes...flushing the fluid can never hurt. If you pull the left rear wheel off, take a look at the pads...new, each should have ~10mm of material before the backing plate. Then again, you could simply have a rock/object stuck somewhere.
Re: brakes...flushing the fluid can never hurt. If you pull the left rear wheel off, take a look at the pads...new, each should have ~10mm of material before the backing plate. Then again, you could simply have a rock/object stuck somewhere.
