mattaebersold

Hello everyone! I was a member years ago when I had a 986, but I have unfortunately been out of the Porsche world since. I finally got back in when a friend of a friend had a lead on a 1980 931 in good condition, but not running. Everything is there, and it just needs 1) a very thorough cleaning, and 2) to diagnose why it won't start.


Here's what I've done so far:
- battery is for sure dead and needs replacing, it will not hold a charge, and was manufactured in 06
- when I had the battery on the tender at 100%, I tried turning it over. No clicking/sounds/nothing

That makes me think it's a ground, or the solenoid on the starter isn't actuating.

I know that's not a lot of information to go on, but I thought I would mention something. Also, the tabs are from 2012, so I'm also worried about:
- gas, whatever is in there will def need to be pumped out
- oil, needs draining and changing
- coolant? Looks ok (blue) but I don't know how that breaks down over time
- spark plugs will most likely need inspecting/changing

I did talk a little bit on Reddit and someone mentioned this:

"Most likely it will be flywheel sensors or fuel pump/DME relay. Pull a plug and check for spark. Nice project, it's good to see people keeping these thing alive."

Have any of you here dealt with a flywheel sensor and fuel pump relay? Would those things cause a non-start and non-crank issue?

EDIT: One more thing I wanted to mention. I wanted to pull a carfax to see some history on the car, but they wouldn't accept the VIN because it was shorter (10 digit) I believe. Question is has anyone with these 924s and 944s been able to get a vehicle history report? If so, how and where?

Thanks!
Matt

Dan Martinic

Cool car!

Unless I'm wrong, it looks like your dash lights up, so if it's not cranking or even clicking, best to pull the starter and test that first.

Solenoid should at least activate regardless of sensors

bureau13

Depending on what exactly has failed with your battery, putting it on a charger and trying to start may not do anything. I just replaced the battery in my 931 for this very reason. It would turn on dash lights, etc, but not so much as a click from the starter, with or without a battery tender.

Karl_W944

The tricky thing with your '80 931 like mine, is that 1980 was the last year before the standardization of VINs that we know today. So pulling a carfax or anything of the sort will be near impossible. Moving on to no-start issues, I highly recommend looking at these threads from 924.org and joining some of the 924 facebook groups (Porsche Club 924 - 944 - 968 - 928, ESPECIALLY). Great community and wealth of information there. Because it's a Series 1 car, you actually don't have a fuel pump DME relay like the Series 2 cars and 944s, nor a flywheel sensor. Definitely check for fuel and spark, and follow the diagnosis in those two threads below. If you've any questions, I'll do my best to help as I can.

Good luck!

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=22724
http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=28790