jeeper31

The engine seems to crank for a long time before it starts on my '87 944s. Any ideas why and what I can do?

Thanks

Dave951M

First off, check your DME, then look at your fuel pressure.

jeeper31

How would i check the DME and fuel pressure?

Dave951M

DME relay is located in the fuse box under the hood. If it gets flakey, difficulty starting could result and is usually the culprit of most starting problems. I'd try to get a known good one and swap it out first. If that doesn't cure it, you could have a fuel pressure problem. Have you changed the fuel filter? If so the next thing that could cause the problem is the fpr. But before getting that deeply into it, check the DME relay first.

jeeper31

I bought a new DME relay for my '84 944, is it the same for my '87 944s? When the car cranks it still seems powerful i just think it cranks lionger than normal.

Dave951M

I'm not sure if it's the same PN, but engine cranking "power" isn't affected by the DME, which could also be loosely termed a fuel pump relay. I would rule this out before going further.

phil0618

Dan,

I've also had some questions and been doing some research here and elsewhere about staring issues and three things come up consistently.

1 DME Relay located in the fuse box which in my 968 is under the hood just in front of the driver $20 - $40. I think these are the same from year to year, model to model but I would not take my word for it.
2 Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR) - located at back/top of motor near fire wall. Look for something brass with both vacuum and fuel going to it. $60 - $80
3. Ref Sensors - located in back of motor by firewall/bell housing. Some people swear by jiggling the wires. Some have said that when they went to jiggle the wires the sensor simply broke or upon closer inspection the plug was very frail/beat up. I think these cost $130 or so bucks. Older cars have two types of sensors while newer cars have 1.

The above are by far the most common. However, other research turns up

4. Engine Management issues. A key engine management component is located under a piece of wood in passenger foot well area. Some people swear they can kick this or hit it and the car will start.
5. Fuel pump back valve (I'm saying this wrong, but it is a valve which I think stops fuel from flowing backwards in the system and it can get stuck apparently.
6. Fuel pump or filter
7. Sparking issues - coil, plug, rotor, cap etc although if the car runs good when its started then these are less likely
8. Dirty ground connections. There are apparently 5 - 10 grounds under the hood and in the interior (and probably around the fuel pump too) Apparently if these are dirty you don't get good currently flow to somem key electrical bits and this can cause starting or other problems.
9. Alarm cut out. This is more obscure but apparently the alarm system has the ability to cut out the electricity in a way that prevents the car from starting. One person said a leaky windshield allowed water to flow into the area and cause problems. Again I think this is under the passenger footwell area.

Good luck,

Phil

jenket944

Oh, heck...I'll jump into this with the rest of you.

The '89 NA is acting up. I've got 2 symptoms which may or may not be related.
1) Same starting problem as above, only it WON'T start...no matter how long I let it crank. It's done this several times over the past few weeks. I just waited a few minutes, tried again and eventually it came to life.
2) Sometimes the engine won't hold idle. It won't die instantly, just slowly loses RPM until it shakes and stumbles and by that point I've tapped the gas to bring RPM's up. I just have to hold down the throttle slightly to keep idle. Plus, it runs fine in gear while moving. It's not a tranny/clutch issue...I always put the shifter in neutral when stopped.

Any ideas?

Dave951M

Brian, first check the DME relay, that is THE main cause for most hard starts. Second, if the speed/ref sensors have a sketchy connection, you will get similar syptoms. Engine idle problems are usually leaking vacuum lines.