pedro951

sometimes i feel like my car just doesnt like me. the problem started yesterday and happened again today. while leaving the parking lot yesterday the car died while idling. it would try to crank just fine & all the elictrical stuff seemed to be working but it wouldnt turn over. after about five minutes it decided to work & i came home. today in the same parking lot it wouldnt start at all. battery was fine & the starter motor was working but it just wouldnt fire up.
i went to a friends place on campus & called my mechanic. i thought i was going to have it towed, but i decided to try again first. this time it started just fine. i took it home because the local porsche guy doesnt work on friday. i guess i wont make it to the auto-x this weekend.
i know this kind of intermitant problem is sometimes hard to diagnose in a shop let alone over the internet but any suggestions as to what might be causing this would be greatly appreciated.

jim968

'way too many possibilities here too list them all. Maybe failing DME relay, dirty fuel filter, speed or reference sensors, bad distributor cap & rotor, weak coil, loose or corroded wiring plug almost anywhere in the engine control harness, poor solder joints in the DME or KLR, dying fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator failing, etc, etc...

I'd start with replacing the DME relay (in the fuse box, less than $30, IIRC), and inspecting the cap & rotor. If you don't know how old the fuel filter is, replace it on general principles; likewise maybe plugs & plug wires.

Open up the pasenger's footwell toeboard & remove the big plug from the DME and reintall it to break any corrosion, same for KLR (even tho' a low probability, it's free).

Next time you have this problem, pull a plug & check for spark.

This list could go on & on....

Good luck.

Jim, gotta go to work, and then pay the gas company a visit & raise hell...