Jason_E

I was driving my car and all the sudden it died . when I try to start it the starter sounds like its spinning. But I crawled underneath to touch the selenoid terminals together and it turns the starter but also looked up and saw the belts turning also up is this normal? if it were the starter it wouldn't turn the belts would it?

Jason_E

someone told me it could also be a broken timing chain??? help me I know nothing about cars I just bought this 944 friday.

Skip

*Wild shot in the dark, but sounds like you're in a pinch*

Try a new DME relay (part# 93.615.227.00)

Also, let us knwo what year/model and anything else peculiar about the problem. Have you tried starting it again? Sometimes these "sudden-stop" problems are heat or fuel pressure related... which eventually cures itself... until the next time that is.

Good Luck!

Jason_E

I think it is a bad fuel pump now. but all those who would like to donate to the poor mans 1985 porsche fund repair bill please contact me

Skip

Whoah! Why? Because you're not getting fuel to the rail or injectors?

Short lesson in 944 fuel&spark'ism:

- Fuel gets to the Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR) via fuel lines from the tank. It's pumped there by the Fuel Pump.
- The Fuel Pump Relay (often referred to as the DME relay - this has two relays in one case) controls the operation of the Fuel Pump.
- If there's no gas getting to the FPR, then it is most likely the DME relay (because Fuel Pumps rarely fail, but DME relays do on a daily basis). You can pull the cover from the pump area on the lower right side of the gas tank to take a reading... with the key turned to the ON position, you should have ~12VDC.
- an easy way to tell if you're DME relay (one-side-of-it) and Fuel pump are working is to pull the feed line to the FPR and crank the engine (BE CAREFUL HERE)

Okay, you have fuel or you don't.. now comes spark. Spark signal relies on a bunch of stuff... the most common failure items being:

- Other side of the DME relay is the DME/coil signal. Without this, you gets no sparks.
- Of course, the coil itself needs to work... this one's pretty easy... signal in, no signal out to plugs (tested by spark-plug out and grounded... DON'T DO THIS AROUND FUEL OR VAPOR)
- Another trickier one is the Flywheel sensors (hall sensor)... they tell the whole system when to fire based on TDC placement.

If you get this far in troubleshooting, best to write back to the list. Gets trickier.

Other stuff: Check the grounds... battery to chassis, battery to engine. Put the dizzy cap and check for wear/buildup. The alarm unit (for those equipped) can cause loss of signal from the DME (built-in security feature) The FPR can cause no start if it allows the rail pressure to build too high... shuts down the injector firing signal from the DME.

There's more too it... BUT, if your car just died, and you can't really explain it... best to try the DME relay first... if nothing else, you rule that out. Unless, of course you have the one-off problem of a bad battery cable that just plagued another lister... causing him to fry DME relays.

Man, these cars are just too much fun, eh?

Good Luck!

Jason_E

I had it towed to the shop tonight , but I think either the relay or the fuel pump, I am hoping anyway why else would it die . Everyone keep your fingers crossed.

3C

And so I was relaying Jason's saga to my wife in the other room. I finished by saying "It looks like he had it towed to the shop." She responded "What? he had a toad in his shocks? Why would that prevent it from starting?"

Hope the relay takes care of it and you get to enjoy the new car soon man.

Jason_E

well the worst has happened I am afraid. The timing belt broke , the mechanic thinks that since I was only going 35 mph that it may not have damaged the valves. Just to replace the timing belt and some sort of a balancer that has to be replaced is going to run me $420.00 so far.

any donations or loans are greatly appreciated ( I wish)

Skip

Make sure he does a compression test before you go running it again... valves bend pretty easily and silently. I would be surprised (not amazed) if there was not any damage to the head. Doesn't happen often unfortunately.

Good Luck!

Skip

Jason_E

took the head off and it also has four bent valves so the estimate now is $1200 why the hell does Porsche put on a rubber belt instead of a chain like normal cars they would last longer

Tabor

All the cars I have ever worked on had timing belts. This is because they are quiter.

Cars I have replaced timing belts on:
1987 Porsche 944
1984 Honda Accord
1993 Honda Accord

jim968

Jason.. Timing chains are, as Tabor noted, noiser. They also cost more at the manufacturing level (times 2-3 at the retail level, so it becomes a pricing issue). They last longer, but can 'stretch' almost as much a belt, due to wear at the link pins, so they require a tensioner too, in OHC applications. Read up on the problems Porsche had with chain-driven cams in the earlier 911 engines.

It's a maintenance thing; Porsche expects their owners to be a bit more involved in their car than somebody like a Toyota owner. Apparently your PO didn't have the right attitude about maintenance.

Sorry you had to learn the hard way about one of the first question to ask about a used 944/968.

Jim, "Now is the Windows of our discontent"
Richard 6.0

Jason_E

I got in contact with the previous owner and he won't help with any part of the bill he is being a real jerk. All I ask is he come up with half he said thats your problem. Now I can't come up with the $1200 repair bill maybe around half...does anyone know if these garages take payments. I spent all my available cash buying this car and moving from Kansas to Texas.

Jason_E

as I said in my last post I got a call and they have up the repair bill $1600-$1800 I sure wish that icon that shows the post on fire was my Porsche because I have not the cash to pay for the repairs

JayJ

You are know a porsche owner, so get used to the high repair bills. There is never a cheap fix when taking it in for service or repairs