BADERTSCHER944

I took 2 years to complete an engine swap now car won't start. It's a 1984 944 2.5L Base. I just replaced the DME relay and put in a refurbished ECU. Still no start. There was no pulse to the injectors and no power to the coil. It has brand new plugs, wires, and distributor cap. Sounds healthy when it turns over. My next thought is to replace the wiring harness. Any other ideas?

tempest411

I wouldn't throw parts at it. Get a schematic and a meter, or at least a test light, and figure out what's going on.

odonnell

If there's no power to the coil (black wire on coil is switched 12v), that implies a bad ignition switch.

F18Rep

Um, yea... Magic does happen here but not near often enough... I wonder if maybe you have a quart of corn syrup in your gas tank, thats where I would start....Bruce

And welcome.

Tom M'Guinn

Right. I'd start with the basics. If there is no fuel or spark, then start by confirming you have power and ground at the DME. If that checks out, then look for speed and ref sensor pulses (tach bounce). And so forth...

Van

If it's helpful, watch this video:

BADERTSCHER944

Thank you all for the ideas, keep 'em coming! F18REP, when you say corn syrup, do you mean bad gas?
I am really hoping to get this beauty back on the road! I need all the help I can get!
Also, under the hood, pretty centered in the wiring harness, back against the fire wall, I have a male/female plug that has no mate. Any idea what this is and if it may be part of my problem? It is male on one half and female on the other. I believe it has a red and a black wire going to it, but as I am not looking at the car at the moment I can't be sure.

Van

That's the shape of the plug and how many pins?

BADERTSCHER944

It has one pin and one hole

Tom M'Guinn

Post a picture or two. Might be the O2 sensor plug, though there's a few other things that match that general description...

BADERTSCHER944

Okay, I w/o 't be able to get a picture of it till proba ly tomorrow because the car isn't at my house.

F18Rep

Yea. I'm not sure where you are but if its parked outside, here in the midwest - there's so much temperature change and condensation that it gets to be a problem pretty fast. I had one sitting and when I drained it I had a fair amount of dark syrup. It might be from the corn additives, not sure. Bruce

BADERTSCHER944

Hmm, I'm in western Washington, I checked the fuel about a year ago and it seemed okay, but it is possible that it has gone bad. The car does sit outside. Would that actually stop it from starting?

F18Rep

If you can get it to even fire on 2 year old gas you'll be lucky. When I drained mine, the syrup came out first, then some stinky liquid that was similar but darker than regular gasoline. With the 944, you can pull off the tank-to-pump hose and it will drain really fast - be ready with something to catch it. Of course you can just put your thumb over the hose and maybe jam a big bolt or something in to stop the flow but its a potential mess. Many have been through this so search can maybe answer a lot of questions....Bruce

BADERTSCHER944

Thanks! The gas has been in it since 2014, so...I guess I should probably drain it.