Derrick B.

911 won't start mystery...
Took my one week old (to me) '89 Euro to dinner last night. Attempted to start car after dinner and it would crank (energetically), but not start. Tried several times. Car had 1/4 tank of gas, but was acting as if there was no spark/fuel. Took a look for loose leads, blown fuses (none) and walked home to get Honda to retrieve wife who was in a surprisingly good spirits about the whole affair. Grabbed gas can on the way as it is cheap and easy to try. I thought that perhaps the sender was out of calibration. Added 1 gal of gas, and the Carrera fired up instantly, as if nothing had happened.

So I was out of gas... or was I???

Stopped for gas at a nearby station and the car took only 14.9 gals. Tank is 21 gals, so I really had 1/4 tank remaining.

Wha happen?!? Any ideas?

DME relay ordered today, BTW.

ontario

Sounds to me like a balky fuel pump. It may have decided to work after you added the gas. The impeller can get stuck and a good thump with your fist can get them moving again. I used to do that with e30 BMW. The fuel pump was located under the rear seat so if the car refused to start, I would smash my fist on the seat cushion and the pump would get going again.

See here for location of your fuel pump:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti..._fuel_pump.htm

justinsrx7

Try the DME first. Mine was intermittent, but eventually I changed it and haven't had a problem since. As it only takes a minute to replace, have the tools at hand. Next time this happens, replace the DME. If it doesn't solve the problem, try the fuel pump.

Derrick B.

ontario, thanks for the link. I hadn't thought about the fuel pump as a possible culprit.

DME is definitely my first course of action. I'm also going to put a spare spark plug in the glovebox so I can check for spark. Hopefully the problem does not reoccur, but if it does, I will be better prepared.

Too wierd. I had explained to my wife that the chances were approximately zero that the car ran out of gas at exactly the same time as I shut it off. Then it started after I added gas. Karma?

rusnak

+1 on the DME. If you have a fuel pressure gauge, it would be easy to check the fuel pressure. If you have an extra hose, it could be easy to check fuel delivery too, just be sure to remove the dme relay before running the fuel pump.

I've noticed that quite a few fuel pumps have been failing lately. It must have something to do with mileage.

Ahh! Sorry, I had a brain fart. UberXy is right, I meant to say "DME Relay". There is a big difference.

ontario

I replaced my fuel pump a couple of summers ago. I got stranded on the side of the road when it failed and let me tell you, there is no one lonelier than a broken down Porsche owner. I struggled to push it out of the way and I had about 10 people walk by me on the sidewalk, snickering. Eventually, a kind gentleman in his 60s stopped to help me and the only reason he did so was because he was a fellow Porsche owner.

The fuel pump was really easy to replace, BTW.

UberXY

Recently had same symptoms and changed the DME relay (not the DME). Five minutes and $22. Problem solved.

andrew911

+1- happened to me last year in my 964, but same symptoms as 3.2 911s... Order 2- replace the one and keep a spare. One more thing- the company making some of these relays can be cheap- I put one in and it lasted about 1-2 years, then had to change again.