I just bought an 88 944 N/A for a steal. The vehicle is not running but after speaking with the previous owner, he told me that prior to getting rid of the car, he had just changed the fuel pump, ignition coil and fuel injectors.

After bringing the car home I checked to see if the car is getting fuel, and it is. I then changed the plug wires and plugs for good measure. I realized the distributor rotor had a crack in it so I replaced it as well. The car turns over fine but does not even attempt to start.

I am to the point of fairly expensive electronic component replacement. I was hoping to get some guidance before randomly buying a DME or various sensors. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sabastian!

 

Replacing the DME is probably just good insurance against a later problem. Have you checked the speed and reference sensors. If either is unplugged or not making good contact at the connectors, the engine will turn but not fire.

 

pull the number one plug wire and stick a plug on it. hold the bottom of the electrode to the cam cover using pliers with a plastic coating on the handles. and have some one turn it over and see if there is a spark between the electrodes on the plug. Before doing this pull the fuel pump fuse and turn it over several times to make sure that there is no fuel delivery. that would be dangerous. The spark should be blueish
EDIT yellow is a bad spark, bad coil, also make sure that the rotor on the cam is not loose there is a set screw. HTH.

 

Update-
I had my mechanic's assistant (wife) turn the car over with plug #1 out and resting on the cam cover. There was no spark... both ref sensors are plugged in but I am not sure if they are good. Aside from the two ref sensors and the DME, is there anything else that I have not changed that would cause no spark?

 

Sabastian- Try changing the coil.

 

here's a simple and cost effective solution. try the DME relay. $20 and the best insurance around. i'll laugh my butt off if it fixes the car.

-Michael

 

It seems obvious but many people connect the spark plug wires in the wrong order after removing them thus disabling the car. Do you have a factory alarm module that has gone bad(I don't have the factory alarm so I don't know if it keeps the starter from spinning or if it keeps the plugs from sparking)?

 

1-3-4-2 starting at the bottom right.

 

Bad coil

Bad, misplaced refrence sensors

Is the coil getting voltage

DME relay

Did you replace the rotor?

Spark plug wires

Alarm system faulty?

 

Sounds too familiar- huh Sid...

 

Update:
I bought a new relay this morning. I will replace it when I get home and see what happens. I also took the DME out and will have a shop take a look at it to see if it is ok...

thanks for all the help...

Sabastian

 

Sabastian- If you are somewhat experienced at PC boards, you can visually check the DME itself- comes apart easily. look for burned components and cold solder joints.

really. try a new coil.

 

Sebastian ;I believe billy has this one nailed . car ran fine ,changed plugs ,wires, rotor . Opinion ,check to see that the new rotor (screw may be loose) is on correctly also( right position ) ,check to see that cap is all the way on .

 

Well I have been working on this problem for two weeks now. I have replace the plugs, plug wires, distributor rotor, distributor cap, DME relay. I had just about given up when I checked the speed sensor. The end has been completely worn off! You can see the coils inside the thing. I am getting a new one in two days. Hope that fixes the problem once and for all!

Sabastian

 

The toughest one I encountered had a broken copper inside the wire supplying power to the dme that is not visible from the outside. Check for spark out of the coil instead of at #1 to see if there is anything at all. Also, check injector pulse with the noid light. If both are not there, check the reference sensor (see if someone has a used one you can try) before you move to the dme. If you can borrow one it would be great. I keep spare dmes just for this purpose.