Thaddeus

OK. Many of you have been following the saga of the 951 that wouldn't start. No spark. So I replaced:
(1) the coil
(2) the distributor cap
(3) the rotor
(4) checked all the wiring
(5) charged the battery
(6) the speed reference sensors
(7) the DME/Fuel pump relay
(8) Any fuse that could have anything to do with the problem replaced, using dilectric grease

Today was my 3rd day working on the reference sensors (2 hours/day). The rear one was really stubborn and the plastic was getting scored up and I was afraid it would crumble. I was ready for this possibility, however, inasmuch as I had recieved an Oring set for the fuel injectors and new gaskets for the intake manifold. If the sensor had crumbled, I would have pulled the intake manifold for better access and kept going. Finally after liberal dousings with WD40 and bolt loosener solutions, combined with a couple of days of soaking, I was finally able to pull out the second reference sensor and replace it.

I went to start the car. No start.

Finally, I was truly fed up. The battery was fully charged and all accessories worked. A friend of mine at work (former diesel mechanic) had suggested I unhook the battery and reinstall it to, in essence, reboot the computer. I removed both cables, cleaned the posts, and all connections to the cables-- all the supplementary lines that attach there for all the extra stuff... like the alarm.

The car started.

Now, I don't know if the computer reset did it, or if the alarm had an ignition cutout circuit that was reset by the power cycling, or if the dirty cables had anything to do with it. I don't know. All I know is that all the other stuff I did was probably unnecessary, though certainly not a waste of time. After all, I have what amounts to a new ignition system in a 15 year old car.

I am happy the car started. I am mad about the cause. I am all mixed up.

And one other thing I noticed: you know that 924 vented nose panel I installed on my car? I swear now, it makes it look as though the car is smiling.

A very -malicious- smile.



Thaddeus

icat

Great story - glad your back up and running! <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

951and944S

Thad, those kind of fixes scare the crap out of me, makes you woder if you can trust the car, while approaching it in a parking lot late at night.....

But, some consistantcy will rebuild your faith in it and make you forget this incident soon enough.

Tested a DME that I have, in preparation to make it available to you for cheap, but I'm glad you don't need it.....

Cheers Thad,

Oh, BTW, don't mention this to the better 1/2, she thinks you're a genius now, and made the correct diagnosis, and you can tell her that
all the time you spend on the list
paid off "big time".........
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

keith

Thad - was your boost gauge (factory one ) reading anything when the ignition was turned to ON, when the non-start condition was present?

Bri Bro

Keith, were are you going with this? Interested.

keith

I chased a mystery that left my car un-startable, intermittently, for almost a year. The ONLY thing out of the ordinary that occurred (besides the no-start) was that the needle on the dash boost gauge, which normally swings up to ambient, or about 1 bar when the key is turned, would not respond at all, and remained at zero. If the needle didn't move when the key was turned, the car would not fire. I replaced all sorts of stuff on various recomendations. (all of which was fine and dandy, but had nothing to do with the problem

As it turned out, I discovered it was a faulty KLR. hard to diagnose, as it was intermittent, and the KLR really shouldn't affect startup. Since my ordeal, another lister has experienced the same problem. I gave him the answer, but am pretty sure my advice went unheeded (guess I'm not charismatic enough to leave an impression on some folks)...

Anyhoo, I didn't get the whole story on Thad's problem, but since I've seen the problem occur on 2 different '86 951's, I thought I'd throw that in there.

My fear is that Thaddeus has an intermittent problem, which hasn't been fixed at all...

Thaddeus

Keith,

You've got MY attention. I can't say what the boost guage was doing, I was watching the tach, oil pressure guage, and ammeter when trying to start..

What is the KLR?

thanks

Thaddeus

EDIT: Oh, the OTHER brain box. Well, if it re-occurs (knock wood) I'll watch the boost guage.

OC Porsche

congrats, another gremlin squashed.

Robby

Hey guy's-
on the occasions when those gremlins get the better of your car and prevent it from starting- can you roll-start the car?

Mine will do the same thing, intermittently, and I've changed everything but the car equivalent of the kitchen sink, but everytime, I CAN roll-start it. Needless to say, I ALWAYS try to park on hills <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

My mechanic was saying it was the flywheel sensor- we replaced it, the car did fine for awhile, and now, he says it's the flywheel itself- most on this list have said that sounded ridiculous, but several others have said there really could be something to it(?).

One thing I've noticed though: the first time, I thought it was the battery- I disconnected it, cleaned everything, re-connected it- the car started. It happened again, I bought a new battery and connected it- it started. Several times later the flywheel sensor was adjusted- it started. Then we installed a new flywheel sensor- it started... The point? Sometimes it seems like the car just wants to be fu**ed with every now & then- everytime the slightest thing is done, it starts, and works for a month or two. Most of the time when I roll it off, it will start the next few times at least- it's VERY finicky and REALLY ANNOYING. I guess the KLR could be the next thing to check(?) I'm replacing the flywheel when I do the engine (rebuild) but that might be awhile....

jim968

Thaddeus, your problem is obvious. You had an electrical gremlin. When you disconnected the battery, it died of starvation ...

More seriously, almost every one of us who works on our own cars has a similar tale or two of chasing a problem, investing hours & $$, and finally fixing it thru some simple, oft-not-understood method. If you're lucky, this'll be yopur only one, or at least your biggest one...

Now I think I'll go out to the garage & try (again) to locate the intermittent mystery noise in the 968...

Jim, a beleiver in working in the cool of the AM this time of year...

Robby

[quote]Originally posted by jim968:
<strong>Jim, a beleiver in working in the cool of the AM this time of year...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Amen!

Tabor

That's the way it goes some times. Glad it started!

Thaddeus

Car is running great today. Better than before. All the ignition work improved things... so all's well that ends well.

cheers

Thaddeus

K27

Glad you got the car going, However, one thing worries me, I hope your liberal amounts of WD40 did not contaminate the clutch.
Just a thought and a heads up for anyone else thinking of doing this.
Again, happy you are on the road again.

Thaddeus

I kept it away from the access hole. I was worried about that too. When I work on this turd, I work like a surgeon. Which is why it takes me 17 times longer to do anything than Danno, for example.

Thaddeus