md993a

Happy New Year to all! My 87 has been sitting for about 3 weeks. Went to try and start it today, she cranks fine but will not fire. When I turn the key on, I can hear the fuel pumps activate. I tried switching around the relays to no avail. I also can smell fuel in the cabin while cranking but no indication of fuel leaks anywhere. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Handy930

Not sure about your system, but on my 79 you would not hear the fuel pumps activate with the key on. I had a problem like this and jumped the fuel pumps(you need to do both)and car started. Check the fuse for sure. Not sure why you smell fuel so you should be very careful. Let us know what you discover.

md993a

Thanks Handy. It's my understanding that once you turn the key to the first position, you will hear the fuel pumps activate for a second or two which indicates they are working. I will check to make sure both are working properly. Yeah, not sure why the gas smell. I took the air cleaner off to make sure the flapper(probably not the correct terminology) was not stuck, no issues there. Tried to start it again, cranks, but will not fire. Still smell fuel so I assume it's fuel going into the system and I possibly have an issue with no spark??

Handy930

The cold start valve is probably working and spraying fuel with the cranking. I would check for spark.

md993a

What is the best way to check for spark?

MUSSBERGER

Lots of good info here

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/911-9...snt-start.html

Kind of a pain with Porsche wires. If you have an extra spark plug you can pull one of your wires and put it in. If not you can pull one of your plugs, and with the wire on it crank it and see if you get spark. Careful you may get a zap.



Smelling fuel.....If the metering plate gets stick open you can get too much fuel and it won't start.

md993a

Thanks Mussberger. I checked the metering plate and it seemed to move freely but did make a squeaking noise when I pushed it down. Should it be lubricated and if so how? I will try and get an extra plug and check for a spark. If no spark, is the first suspect the coil?

MUSSBERGER

It should move freely up and down. Push down on it and it should pop back up closed after releasing it. Not sure about the squeak or lubing it.

Use the thread on pelican. Go through the steps that are there. Lots of smart guys put that together.

Check the yellow relay contacts. Its under the cover on the left side of the engine compartment.

Mark Houghton

Seems your issue almost has to be ignition related...you're smelling gas, which means you're getting fuel.
That squeakie sound when you pushed down on the control arm: Was that with the pumps running? The injectors won't inject fuel until the arm has been depressed a little bit, to open up the delivery slots in the fuel head. The squeak may have been fuel spraying through the injectors. Just saying.....

md993a

Thanks for all the advice. I checked the CDI, which is working fine. I pulled the IC to get at the coil wire going into the distributor cap, got a great spark. Put everything back together and she fired right up. I assume I have/had a loose connection on the coil wire. Will continue to monitor but so far so good.

Mark Houghton

Great news (but if you're like me, you won't feel comfortable or confident until you know exactly what caused the problem in the first place). Another possibility could be the trigger wire for the CDI going to the distributor. But since all you played around with was the coil, then apparently the poor connection originates there.

Good luck!

Arnie1

I had a loose relay connection in the engine compartment. On the left side is a relay which was loose. When I wiggled it the car started right up.

Mark Houghton

That particular relay, in the drivers side relay tray (depending on year, usually yellow in color) functions mysteriously with other circuits to shut off fuel (called the overboost relay but has more functions than that). It's a common cause of not starting, but in this instance md993A's problem wasn't fuel, it was ignition.

Handy930

Did you check the 12volt connections on the coil? I had a problem that I could not find until I removed the plastic cover on top of the coil and found a loose connection on one wire and the metal end had been burned away and it was just hanging there next to the terminal. Maybe you just jiggled it when you were pulling the high tension coil wire. Worth a check if you haven't removed the coil cover.

md993a

Handy, I will certainly check that. Since the only thing I really did was take the coil wire off to check for spark, I would assume that it was either not seated properly or as you state, there is a loose wire. Thanks again for all your help. This is an awesome forum.