ditto

Hi all. I am posting this question for my friend Steve who is a real car guy. He owns Jags (3), a Citroen DS and recently bought his second 944.

Its a series 1 944 and the problem is that with the engine off and the key out the starter circuit draws 3 Amps. He has installed a connector to one of the terminals that he uses if he leaves the car parked for more than 15 minutes. Grabbing the starter cable it does not feel hot.

We looked at the wiring diagram and it appears to us that the starter contains the starter relay. Steve and I are both engineers at an electronics systems firm and have never seen a relay fail at that level of partial short.

What is the next step? Pulling the starter?

marc abrams

The relay is actually called a solenoid. You can replace it separately if you can find one. You can also remove the bakelite solenoid end cap and clean it. In the end, best bet is to replace the starter.

konakat

That solenoid is designed for hundreds of amps. 3 amps is a weak short as far as it is concerned.

thomasmryan

test the battery and alternator harness(s). i would amp probe the exciter wire at the alt with the key out also.

GL924s1988

I have not looked at the wiring diagram , but shouldn't it have a starter relay that then send a small voltage to the solenoid that then signals it to engage and pull the amps to crank the engine? is the starter solenoid warm to the touch when the car has been sitting and has not been run or cranked? even with a constant 3amps that would be dissipated as heat right? Like I said I have not looked at the diagram I am just interested and speculating at this point.
best of luck

thomasmryan

the electrical component of the ignition switch has failed on a few cars in my lifetime...those other German makes.

GL924s1988

I had a problem like that where the plastic piece of crap behind the key cylinder on a 92 jetta had broken and it killed the battery all the time , so you could be on to something there.

Tiger03447

Even with a 3 amp draw..that will kill the battery given enough time..Keep it on a charger to offset the draw and prevent killing the battery. Car batteries don't like being drawn down to zero charge too many times. Marine batteries are different. I'm with Marc on this one..replace the starter..but check the cables too, for shorts or rubbing through the insulation. Sounds like a bad solenoid.