mj1pate

My son's and my journey home with his '88 911 has hit a snag. He intended to drive his 911 from the purchase location (in Houston) to my house in Maryland while he is on leave.

The Carrera died and failed to start in a parking lot while we were running pre-trip errands. We had just come through some rising water, after a sudden, violent thunder storm. The water wasn't high enough to affect the brakes, but after the car stalled, I feared that the distributor cap may have been dampened, by splashing water under the chassis.

The car had to be towed home. A subsequent check revealed no moisture inside the distributor cap. I have now begun to suspect that splashing water may not be related. Here is what I presently know:
o The oil temperature gauge hovers around the the first bar above the baseline
o oil pressure ranges between half way and maximum, as RPMs vary
o The oil level gauge generally shows nil to quite low.
o I am with relatives and do not yet know if I have spark. I will know more about this after I obtain a few tools tomorrow.
o The car has a decal that states that it has a Porsche alarm, and there is s a key receptacle in the drivers door jamb, but the ignition key does not seem to fit the receptacle. It seems that the car may have an alarm, and that I have no key for it.

Is there any common vulnerability of the 911s to splashing water under the chassis? Is there an oil level lock-out? I understand that the oil level should be checked with the motor running. If I cannot start the motor, is there a way to statically check the oil level? Are there any other lockouts that may be a factor?
We are currently in the Pearland area in south Texas. Thanks for any advise...

Antony.

I won't be of much help here but in my '86 nil to quite low on the oil gauge means I'm one quart low on oil. Adding a quart takes it up to halfway or a little above so you were probably ok on the oil level. I'm not aware of any lockouts for low oil.

In my 4wheeling days I'd routinely get water in the disti cap so that's where I would have looked as well. I can't think of much that hangs down below the brakes that would foul with water. And'd you need to be in three feet deep water to suck anything into to the motor.

That key in the door is for an alarm. I don't have the details on how they function but it would seem that if you don't have the key to activate that it shouldn't be giving you grief now unless something in there got wet.

All the best and I hope it's something easily fixed like a loose ground connection on the battery or something but I assume it's cranking and not starting instead of no power.

WitchDoctor

Michael,

I can't address all your points, but since I'm just sitting here reading, I'll take a crack at a few of 'em.

First, I'm really sorry for the trip home that wasn't to be. Sounded like a wonderful time to be had. Next one, then, you'll have time to look forward to.

Oil temperature sounds right to me. Mine sits right on that bar, when the car is warm. On a hot day, stop and go driving, it goes a little higher.

Oil pressure, does vary, and when I have the right amount of oil, the number on the pressure meter is more or less equal to my RPM/1000.

Oil level. Here's the wild card. Wait til the engine is really warm and, that said, it still waves around, as I recall, on mine anyway. I can't remember if you're supposed to read it with the car moving, or sitting at idle. In any case, my manual says don't let the needle go into the red. Well, it did, and when I checked the oil dip stick (engine well warmed, sitting at idle for a moment or two, and with the engine still running), my oil level was down to the lower mark on the stick. Added a quart and a half (ok, I added a "Canadian quart", ie, litre), and all was well. Up on the dipstick, and needle on the gage happily out of the red.

Alarm, hey? I've got a sticker, but no key hole for it that I can find. I saw one of these on a 944, and it was a different, smaller key that activated the alarm. I'm suspecting a similar deal with the 911.

Sorry again about your son's 911, and I look forward to the follow story of the father and son road trip to come.

Cheers,

Brent

WitchDoctor

Hey, Bullit,

Great picture in your avatar. I'm stealing your technique, to try to get one like that myself. I won't put it in my avatar, though.

;-)

Antony.

I only get a good reading from mine with the motor warmed up, idling and sitting level, the rest of the time it's well down in the red.

Antony.

Oh thanks! It's up on my favorite road in the hills above San Jose. That's a hold the camera out the sunroof shot :-)

Antony.

In the Bentley manual the alarm system key in located in the end of the door. When activated it interrupts power to the fuel pump. Even with the alarm off a faulty control unit may interrupt power to the fuel pump.

The alarm control unit is in the luggage compartment in front of the dash behind the fresh air hose. You could try disconnecting it in the absence of other advice from the pros here.

Mike Murphy

+1! I would do the following to try to get your car running again:

1.) Check for spark. If you have spark, proceed to step 2
2.) Get a multi-meter. Check the fuel pump electrical connection for 12V while cranking the car. This will tell you if you have fuel pressure.
3.) Check the fuel pump relay under your seat. It can and does go bad frequently on these cars.
3.) There are at least 2 reference sensors on the engine that tell the DME computer under your seat how and when to fire the fuel injectors. These could have gotten wet and/or contaminated with debris. Do a search on this.

JV911

dont use the guage...its as useless as **** on a bull


use the dipstick with the car on a level surface and up to operating temp

Chuck Jones

MJ: First of all...those oil level indicators are not very accurate. I replaced mine some time ago thinking it was faulty...it wasn't...neither is very accurate so I have a nice extra one on the shelf. I only use it as a preliminary check to see if it's bouncing off the bottom hashmark...then I go to the dip stick and make sure that the oil level is between the bottom and top marks....about halfway.

The oil level sensor bounces around as you drive...it can only give you a reading as the car is stationary for a minute and the tank fills...it drops the minute you take off. Your oil pressure sounds ok...sometimes the sending units can make the needles sit at different levels on the gauge. I take it you didn't do a leakdown test?

Your description of what happened makes me think that it could be fuel related if the distributor wasn't wet or damp, but the coincidence of it stopping after you ran thru water gives me pause about a potential electrical issue...and if you check out the suggestions made by Murphy and get a good spark....I'd bet you'll be good to go. You could very well still be making that trip...but you'll be less confident because of the unfortunate trouble before you even started out. I recall when I first got my 87, it stranded me twice and it was some time before my confidence level built back up to the point I didn't think of a AAA flatbed when I drove it.

The alarm keyway in the door is the same as mine...it turned out to be a source of battery draw down and was disconnected by the PO. I don't have a key for mine either...never have tried to have it activated.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

The very first thing I'd do is pop a new DME relay in there (under the seat). This powers the fuel pump & DME (ignition) and is well known fopr such problems.

Anyone with Motronic Engine Management on their cars should always carry a spare.

KC911

theiceman

wow i was amazed it took till the 11th post before someone mentioned that .... I have an SC and felt like I would have been talking out of my *** .. so i stayed shut up .. not that ownig an SC has anything to do with me talkin out of my ***.....

old man neri

Well I was about to but I was busy sleeping.......I have a busy day.

But yes, always suspect the DME relay. It is such a simple cheap fix.

Mike Murphy

Technically, I mentioned it on post #8, but I'm glad Steve W dedicated an entire post about it.