Edward1

Hi

I called Pelican as suggested and talked to Glen, he was of no help. He then refered me to John, ditto. I decided to order the entire switch ($536.00 give or take a few buck. The part arrived a week later damaged, finally after almost a month the part was replaced. Must admit Pelican is the worst Porsche parts house I have ever ordered from. I will have to be in a bind to order from them again.

Installed the switch this afternoon, worked like a charm. Tried it a couple of times and decided to take it on the road after all was finished. Same problem as before. All lights light up the dash as normal, but it will not start. Had the battery tested which test alright. It appears that power is not reaching the starter.

Anyone have any ideas why the switch will work for a couple of times and quit working. The engine works perfect. It has 68000 miles on the odometer.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Edward

psychoideas

G'day Edward,

Have you got the 'spring action' with the new unit?
So what's it doing? You turn to "ignition on" and the dash lights up and then when you turn against the spring resistance to "start" nothing happens? Starter does not turn?

If so, I'd be making sure the starter solenoid is good.
If you can have a friend help, get under the car to see the starter motor. It should have two wires attached to it. The big thick one should have 12V power all the time. (check with a test light)
The small wire trips the solenoid and should get 12V power when your friend turns the key to "start" .

If you have power here on both occasions and it still doesn't turn, then the starter is shot.

P.S. Make sure the earth straps b/w the gearbox and chassis are good. Could be and earth problem.

Please stay safe. Good quality car stands are a minimum. Make sure you friend has the car in neutral before he tries to start it.

I hope this helps, and good luck.

Edward1

Hi

Actually there is not much of a spring action when the ignition is turned, it is more of that it gets to a point that once the engine starts it breaks the start contact. The engine started right away when I first installed the new part and did so several times after almost back to back. Put up my tools and decided to give it a road test and at that point it was right back to what it was doing before the new part being put in. I thought of the starter and will check it out as soon as I get the time to do so, but it seems like if it were the starter it would always have the problem starting. When it does start the starter sounds normal. Maybe the ground could be loose. Even thought it may have been the battery ground wire loose, but all lights work.

Frank, Thanks for the help.

Edward

psychoideas

Edward,

My Honda had starting problems like what you are experiencing. I used to have to get out and 'tap' the solenoid with a hammer to get it to work. This happened on and off for 6 months and I carried a spare starter in the boot for that time it just **** it's self completely. However it never did! It just got better by it's self and I haven't had any trouble with it for over a year. Cars are crazy things!

Please check your earths, apparently the majority of calls to our Automobile Clubs down here for cars not starting, end up to be an earth contact problem. Either at the battery or the strap to the engine/gearbox.

good luck with it.

Edward1

Hi

Well the ignition switch did the trick, but not for long. The engine started several times and worked just fine. Now when I try to state the engine it won't even engage the starter. I checked for voltage at the starter and have over 12 volts, that is at the the large wires at the starter, one is red and the other black hooked together and then there is a small yellow wire going I think to the solinoid. Voltage is on at all times even when the ignition switch is off at the black and red wires. Is this normal? Is the yellow wire what engages the solnoid when the ignitions switch is turned on?

Edward

theiceman

yes voltage at all times is normal, the wire will come straight from the battery, the yellow wire will engage the solenoid and fire the starter. Sounds like you have starter/ solenoid issues.

psychoideas

Ice,
What the hell happened to your avatar??

Edward,
check the voltage to the yellow one when someone tries to start it for you. If you get 12V then, you have an earth problem. You need the earth (-) to complete the circuit.

theiceman

Frank , either that or a starter problem No ?

Oh as to my avatar .. My car is away for the season along with My Avatar.... So I thought I would post a picture of myself in the meantime... www.simpsonizeme.com

psychoideas

Ice,
you are right about the starter. If I got 12v at the yellow one I would run a temporary earth to see if the starter tripped. If it did not, then I'd be looking at a new starter.

Cool avatar! make sure the real one comes back in the spring!

Edward1

HI

Guys, thanks so much for the help!! I checked this afternoon and felt pretty sure that this was the problem, and how to check it out but wanted to get a second opinion.


Thanks again.

Edward

Edward1

Hi Guys

Although I must admit I have not had too much time to test the 911 starting problems. I have taken the starter off of the car and tested the solnoid, when I apply 12 volts to the small yellow wire the solnoid engages as it should. Is there a way to apply voltage to the starter to see if it spins?

Thanks


Edward

84_Carrera

I have the EXACT same problem on my '84. Starting was getting flukey, and then just stopped one day. I have replaced the electrical side of the ignition switch with a new one, no start still - not a click at the solenoid either. Per Pelican's forum, I've pulled the 14 pin connector in the engine bay & cleaned the contacts there, still nothing. Diving in to the grounds next, then test for V at the starter after. Will be back at you guys later.

Edward1

I apparantly have a short of some kind. A new ignition switch, complete with housing. Removed the starter and bench tested the solnoid and starter. Works OK on the work bench. Still not voltage at the solnoid when ignition switch is turned on, with a voltage meter there is a little less than one volt of power. where is the 14 pin connector located in the engine compartment? I downloaded the wiring schematics form Pelican, but not very helpful. Would anyone have a diagnostic for the starting system they not mind sharing? Would like to be able to test and at least isolate the problem down to a general area. Any ideas of what to look for or information for testing would be greatly appreciated. We have no Porsche dealer or anyone that I would trust my car with for them to work on.

Thanks

Edward

84_Carrera

I rec'd my new starter this afternoon, and will be going under tomorrow (finally).

The connector was under the black plastic cover on the driver's side quarter panel in the engine bay. Once you remove that cover, there's a small (3 in my case) fuse panel, and a large silver relay-looking thing. It's under the forward-facing part of that covered area. BE CAREFUL as the connector isn't a traditional late-model type of connector - it's individual pins soldered to the end of the wire, held together in the 2 halves of the connector by outer "retainers". If you pull it all apart quickly, you may have the pins pull out of the connector & then you won't know which goes where.

Mine had minor oxidation on them, and although I took the time to clean it all up, I do not think it's the source of my issues.

84_Carrera

Not the starter, either. New one went in tonight, no click.

So, after reading about the solenoid wire I'll make a check there next before bringing her off to the local guy. Unfortunately, I'm pretty much out of time on this one as my 2nd / winter car's down also (and I may part her out rather than replace the clutch at this point).

Interesting thought, after reading on Pelican about the yellow wire being part of the AC system I began to wonder if there's something messed in that segment, as the AC system was removed this summer. Wonder if there's a short there somewhere.

Battery ground was fine, trans ground strap seemed very "flexible / flimsy", but was intact. Not sure how rigid it's supposed to be. Ends were clean.

WHAT A PITA those barrel / 10mm hex nuts are. The top one was ok I guess, but the bottom one wanted to roll the allen out - the stud encroached on the hex relief of the nut. Vise-Grips to the rescue, time to order 2 new nuts.