Banana

Hi! First off this car is my second car ever (up until recently, I lived in downtown Chicago and owning a car seemed insanely stupid) and I had to had to *had to* <stomping feet> have this car in this color (Tahoe Blue) to the point that I drove my new husband absolutely insane (he's a Vette guy so he didn't get the whole Porsche thing in the first place, forget the obsessive love of an obscure color). Yes I got a PPI, the PPI seems to have been worthless as there are a cacophony of issues that should have been caught in a basic inspection. I am 6 months in and feel that I am way far in over my head and every time I speak to a mechanic they treat me like a moron. So much so that I started doing the work on the car myself and that has seriously cut down on the frustration. The battery drain was easy, the widows that wouldn't close was easy, the exhaust that is not fully connected easy to fix, the tail that doesn't always come down I am close to sorted out, the doors that don't lock I think I may have cornered as well, and the oil leak I am in denial over because if its more than basic oil leakage I am in a serious cylinder issue ... that said I have a dead 911 now and I have zero trust in the new mechanic and I have no clue how to even begin to decide to trust him or not as it is most certainly out of my newbie league. So the issue I need some guidance on ...

My car won't start, not a noise, not a crank not even a click click. If I leave and come back in 30 minutes sometimes 4 hours, lo and behold she starts as if by magic. I thought at first that I was too stupid to turn on my own car because it was starting for my husband when he came back from work. After 3 months of this I am feeling less insane and far more certain that its the car and not me. At first we thought it was the starter and my husband thought jiggling the keys helped. When that didn't help any longer he thought it was the trans switch and when it wouldn't start I could just pop the gears between N and P and eventually it would start with enough popping back and forth. Now she has not started in 3-4 days and I would very much like to fix the issue. The mechanic said that trans switches NEVER break and says its the starter, but to repair the starter he needs to take out much of the car to get to the starter (main point that it will be exceptionally expensive) but I have a sneaky suspicion that it is not the starter, I thought dead starters made crk crk crk noises for a bit before they died. This girl makes nary a noise, the electronics go on but anything related to the engine or starter is absolutely silent. It seems in the heat of the day there is NO chance she will start as it gets cooler in the day, I have a far higher probability of her starting up.

Some background she is a Tiptronic (sorry guys, it was ALL about the color) 1990 911 she has about 90k on her and I would bet she is due for a tune up. We live in Orange County CA and while money was not tight at all when I bought her, money is tighter now so popping over to the mechanic and dropping money for no head ache not an option this month. Any thoughts or ways to troubleshoot you can suggest i would greatly appreciate!

NaroEscape

First of all - very sorry to hear your PPI did not pick up the issues. Have you talked to the company that did it and demanded something back? Like for them to fix some of the issues you've found???

It's probably not the starter. We had the same problem with a 1990 tip too, and it was a switch in the shifting console, something to do with not letting is start when the car thinks its in drive. We got it fixed, not very expensive.

It could also be a ground problem, which is WAY more difficult to find. I'll ask my mechanic tomorrow what he did to fix it with the one we had....

Ed Hughes

I too would say it's related to the trans switch.

Also, note that there is a 964 section to the forums here, where these types of questions would get more viewers with 964's. This one is geared to pre-'89 911's.

rusnak

First of all, welcome to Rennlist.

Second, are you sure you're a newbie? You sound like you know a lot more than you let on about cars, including great appreciation for the "right" kind.

Third, are you sure you're a girl? I have had a helluva time getting any girl I've met to appreciate the Porsche. They all hate my dog, but only most hate my Porsche.

I also think there must be some sort of safety switch that has gone bad relating to the tranny. Sorry, I know nothing about Tip. And the last automatic I even looked at was the work truck, a Ford F150. I did end up changing the "park" switch in it as well as a starter relay and the ignition switch. Hey, does the 964 have a starter relay? Oh well, guess we'll never know 'cause you'll head off to the 964 forum.

Good luck, I enjoyed reading your post.

MUSSBERGER

Why do you call yourself Banana?

Banana

LOL thanks. I am newbie enough to post in the 911 section and not even consider the 964 section. I know literally nothing about cars but if something breaks, you fix it. If someone lesser than you tries to make you feel stupid and takes advantage, generally its a sign that you can fix it easier than you ever realised and this chump in front of you can go jump in a lake. They see the blonde hair and think immediately that I am an idiot. Now the starter or tranny switch IS above my head by a lot and I don't think a handy internet print out and a good attitude is gonna console me when I have parts for my car strewn all over my driveway and I am crying. And appreciation? I believe the Porsche has fewer moving parts than a Glock, achem, which is rather cool. An ex-bf in college taught me to drive on his 911, Sportomatic trans (needless to say I was forever confused by both standard and automatic transmissions from that day on), the guy was a controlling butt, however I kept the appreciation for the simplicity of the car.

Oh yes I am most certainly a girl. If a man sat down and cried as much as I did over their car, it would be the end of the world as we all know it.

My dog sits in the "back seat", though I don't think anyone would dare say they didn't like one of the dogs, German Shepherds can be a bit temperamental when they are insulted like that. Its a bit too cozy with 2 dogs in back and a human passenger, thankfully we don't do that often.

I don't know on the starter relay, I seem to recall mucking with that on the Excursion.

And as to my banana-ness. My name is Shawna and when my husband met me, every time someone would say Shawna he would hear the song Ma-na-na-na-na from the Muppet Show in his head until one day out of the blue he started calling me Banana (because it all rhymed I guess, and its fun to say). So now since we moved EVERYONE knows me as Banana or Nana (let me tell you I feel old when people call me Nana and don't realise that it has nothing to do with nana-ness as I have no kids let alone grandkids ewww)

gerlando

If you're going to be working on your car, first step is to buy a Bentley manual, don't get discouraged, and take your time. You'll be fine ;-)

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/porsche/911-carrera-2

rusnak

Ok that's it. I'm calling my girlfriend "tomato" and then I'll tell her that I think of tomatoes when someone says Darah.

Banana

Bought the Bentley books thanks!

Queueing a list of possible issues and working down them starting Friday, got a gas leak now too (discovered that last night on an errand) and the pups left a gift for me that we found when I had it detailed last night so hmmm getting liver stench out of the floorboards is going to be new and fun but thankfully the fumes of gas make you so high that you don't think of the rotted liver smell so much. I guess that means I don't need to fix the locking issue either as NO one would steal the car once they smelled it. When life is too hard, just add puppies and they will make you wish you were happier when you had the chance. Still not sure how or when they snuck liver into my car, but I know who did it and no more rides for them!

Shawna Banana at least sounds like a fun thing to say, Darah Tomato??? May I suggest Pear? Though let me tell you being called banana does not make a girl feel warm and fuzzy inside.

RollingArt

You should take a drive out to see Laura at Hergesheimer Motorsports. They are in Lake Forrest. Her and hubby (Mike?) are the owners. I've never been to their shop but talked to Laura once on the phone about possibly doing a pre purchase inspection for me. She was unbelievably friendly, helpful, and educated about these cars. They have lots of customers here @ Rennlist. I believe you are not too far from them. Just call or drive and meet them. I'm sure you'll find a new Porsche friend or two over there!

http://www.hergesheimer.com/
949-458-7223

Phil

rusnak

call me an optimist, but I think Nanna is down for the wrenching. She will be able to fix the 964 with the help of Bentley and Rennlist. And I'll even withold a lemon joke that just popped into my head just now.

WPOZZZ

Did you ever change your DME relay? The gas leak/smell is detailed in the tech areas.

dshepp806

Be wary and careful of gas smells........we don't need any roasted bananas (serious business....)


Best,

Doyle

Ed Hughes

Actually, also being serious, but I gotta say it: Bananas Flambe...

Banana

WPOZZZ, I changed out the DME just now, such an easy thing to do! The car is working at the moment so I'll drive it a bit and go from there. It sounds like that might fix the fuel issue, I cannot say that I believe that it would be so easy.

Phil, My husband put out a call to Laura, I don't know what the status was of that but he was leery of letting me do the starter myself if that's the way it's going. And after that call he was adamant that I swap out the DME immediately. With the car currently working, no point in looking for an issue so I am waiting to see what is still broken and go from there. I am looking at the ACU shortly because it sounded like that could fix 2-3 issues at once