Well I have owned the car for almost a year and this is the first problem I have had. Here is what I have done so far. Any other suggestions on why it won't start?

Battery is fine, the starter turns the engine just fine.

Took off the cap and cleaned it and the rotor - it wasn't too dirty. The connections had hardly any corrosion. Cleaned them completely

Checked fuse and relay to the fuel pump. They are fine. I also check the fuel flow by taking the cap off the fuel rail, the fuel pump is working fine.

I want to take a spark plug out to check the spark. What size socket do I need? Maybe my mechanic just put in weird plugs but a 19mm deep well socket wouldn't fit around it??

Any other suggestions? I really don't want to take it to the mechanic. I want to fix it myself.

Danke

 

Michael,
I am not certain but this sounds like it could be the DME relay. The symptoms you describe are the reason I think that. I am surprised other people have not replied to your post. Many others on this board know much more about this topic than I. Hopefully, my reply will encourage theirs.

Regards,
Max

 

Ok, I went and bought the appropriate socket for the spark plugs and I am not getting a spark. So that lead me to believe it is the ignition coil or the DME. So.....

1. How can I test the ignition coil to see if it is pumping any juice out?

2. Max, Where is the DME relay located? In my owners manual it is not shown?

I appreciate your reply

My car is broken <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />

 

It is also not the Fuel Pressure Regulator, I unpluged one of the injectors and it still would not start. I will pick up a new DME Relay tommorow.

Keep your fingers crossed! <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />

 

Might want to check the Oxygen sensor and crank reference sensor plugs at the rear of the engine. If these are loose the car will not start. On my '83 944 the plastic housing was broken (from age I guess) and they would periodically work loose. The plugs are located in a bracket, near the firewall, on top of the engine. If ya can wiggle 'em, they're probably not gona let ya fire.
<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

 

There's a great procedure here somewhere in the archives ( I think it's from around December if that helps) on how to test the coil....and to test for signal to the coil from the DME...try a search....

Just my 2 cents...before I'd pull a plug I'd test the coil with the aforementioned procedure...unless all the plugs went bad at the same time ( or became fouled by something like oil at the same time) the plugs would not be the problem.....a bad plug would still allow starting....maybe only on 3 cylinders..but you get the idea!

Just had a VERY similar problem and after testing the coil...and replacing the DME relay it turned out to be a fried fuel pump!

good luck!

 

I'm not sure how the early 944 is setup, BUT...

get a user manual or a HAYNES manual and find out the location of the DME relay. the plastic cover over the relay comes off. open it up and check for burnt solder connections and SMELL it to see if it smells burnt.. if so, then u need a new relay.. this is a common culprit.


SHAUN

 

I changed out the DME relay for a new one...no luck. I am going to grab a multimeter from work and test the coil when I get home. I really hope the DME hasn't crapped out on me. I will learn how to solder.

The Haynes manual says

"To check the primary resistance connect the ohmmeter between terminals 1 and 15. Set the ohmmeter selector switch to the low scale. Compare readings to the specs."

What are the Specs?

Also how should I test the input from the DME? I believe it is the green wire connecting to the coil.

 

The specs, are usually listed in a table within the chapter.. not neccesarily on the same page. there should be a table reference number after the word specs.. such as 3-1 meaning this is chaper 3 no.1 table.

 

My bad

I didn't even notice it on the 1st page of the chapter.

So can anyone help me with testing the output from the DME to the coil? How would I go about that?

 

I would check two things:

Reference Sensors (Speed Sensors). In my situation, the connectors were brittle and with the vibration the broke and came off. Solved with a new sensor. Second time I forgot to put the spacer in place, when I did the clutch job, and the sensor touched the flywheel, <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />

The other thing is the distributor rotor. Check that it has the bolt in place. If the bolt is missing it will not spin and cause this type of problems. Ask me how I know...

 

Well that was it Jaime, the crank reference sensor. Visually it looked fine. My friend towed me to my mechanic, my mechanic slapped a new one in and it fired right up.

Thanks for all the help guys. I really learned a lot about all the steps in the ignition process.

Woohoo my car runs! <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />