Clint's 944

This is not the best picture as it is the result of an accident but it will get you in the right direction. Check the wires that plug together in the circled area behind the intake manifold.

sethclayton

Update here...I checked for a spark at the first plug (closest to the front of the car). Definite spark there. Still assuming that since the fuel rail is still pressurized that the fuel pump is still good. I guess that leaves the reference sensor. Any help at how to get at it would be great! Thanks!

KuHL 951

The reference and speed sensors mount to the engine/bellhousing on the top drivers side close to the firewall next to the TDC inspection window. You can follow the two wires up to a bracket at the rear of the intake manifold. There should be two connectors joined at this bracket. I can't say which one will be on the top or the bottom but both sensors have a hard rubber male plug that connects to the female side held by the bracket. The rubber on the male side gets brittle and the wire blades can get very loose. Pull one plug at a time and inspect the connectors. I had to use Ty-Raps to temporarily pull them together until I repaired mine. Sometimes they are just loose and all you need to do is push them back together. My early car use to die coming off the freeway or when it would hit a bump until I realized what was happening. The only other thing I can think of is a coil wire failing, a DME relay is hot, or the solder traces on your DME computer are going bad. The sensor connectors are famous for falling apart so I picked that one first. I hope you find it's something simple like that.

Supachink

^ +1 on the reference sensor, to test it out when you crank does the tach bounce or just sit there? If it bounces then the reference sensor is okay. Never heard of one failing while driving but Im sure anything could happen with these cars.

sethclayton

I checked the connections and they look good on both the speed and the reference sensor cables. Thanks for the help tracking them down. I feel foolish about how obvious they are. I checked the resistance on the plug terminals as intructed in Clark's Garage, and got satisfactory results for the left two prongs on each plug, but I'm not getting a reading when I check left and right (8-23 and 25-78)...1M means 1 million right? So i set my multimeter to 2000k ohm range to check the outside prongs. No change in the screen from normal at either the speed or reference plug.

If a coil wire was failing, would there still be spark at a plug? DME relay is now cold and still no start. I guess I should check my DME relay. Can I use one of those jumper boxes as my 12V power supply?

xsboost90

try wiggling the ref sensor wires abit- sometimes the connections become corroded and itll keep them from receiving signal. If you tach is bouncing and your getting spark though, it should be working. Usually they will fail after a drive, then no start. You can also check at the rear of the car and see if the fuel pump is getting power. If it is and its not pumping while cranking, then its locked up.

sethclayton

Ok...next update...I made the three wire "jumper" as directed on Clark's Garage for bypassing the DME relay, and when I plug the 3rd connector into the fuse panel, i hear the fuel pump go. It still will not start with the jumper cable plugged in. When you crank the engine it'll turn over normally for a few cranks and then it's like it hits some resistance and the tone changes for one crank and then back to normal. Please tell me this isn't TB failing.

sethclayton

Last check that I can think of...DME tested well to the resistance checks. Felt it click when I hooked up 12V power.

Dan Shea

Deffinately not the ref sensor if you're getting spark.

redmund

In response to the timing belt suggestion earlier, I know it's not the same type of car, but my Clio had the timing belt snap about 12k miles ago. Just driving along, on my way to the ferry port. Out of nowhere, about 2 hours from home, the engine just lost power and then died out. Coasted to the side of the road. When I tried to start it back up, all I could hear was the starter motor, no compression at all. This was confirmed later when the car was trailered back to the garage and they had to replace 6 valves, machine the head, and replace 3 pistons.

Anyway, I definitely second checking that belt. Since it takes no more than 5 minutes to take off the cover and have a look, it's worth your time. It will at least rule out a costly repair, if nothing else. Sounds like your car did exactly what mine did when the belt died. I just hope that's not what happened.

Excuse my rambling, by the way. It's almost 4am on a Sunday morning, and I'm a bit drunk. Night!

jyoon

if you're getting spark, it might be fuel. if not fuel, timing belt. belt should be easy enough to check.

early85944

I am guessing DME relay or the DME itself. Hope you get it fixed

sethclayton

Is there any way to test the DME itself?

sethclayton

bump

Dan Shea

dunno, try a friends dme is all i could think of. does your car have an alarm?