Steve 96C4S

Hi folks. Last year on the day of the Rennlist Meet and Drive my 993 wouldn't start. I was so upset. I had just cleaned it beautifully, and it had been sitting in the garage waiting to be driven, but when I went out to start it up, nothing. Same thing happened today. It had been a week since driving it, and the immobilizer makes the lock thing on the car door flash red, so I know that works. As I turn the key to start it, the lights on the dash all turn on as usual, the radio is lit like usual, the fan comes on, it makes the "car about to start sound" and then... dead air. Zippo. Zilch. Nada. No clicking noise, just nothingness and quiet.

I tried it about 10 times over 2 days... nothing. The last time this happened, 6 months ago, I was going to have the car towed a few days later after the Porsche drive (I ended up taking my BMW to the drive instead), when I tried it one last time and ... it started up no problem, and ran fine for the last 6 months. What the heck?!? Any ideas? As bad luck would have it, the next Rennlist Meet and Drive is next Sunday and my shop can't fit me in this week.

Looks like I'll miss another one in my 993 if I can't figure something out between now and next Sunday. I am not going up there in my BMW again! Keep in mind that I'm totally non mechanical and not DIY'er, so in a way, I'm not sure why I'm asking for help if I can't do much in the way of garage repairs. I'm still taking a shot at it if you have any simple ideas of what to check for. My indie said they really don't know till they see it, and I'm guessing you guys would tell me the same.

Regards,
Steve R

Murphy's laws
If anything can go wrong, it will
Corollary: It can
MacGillicuddy's Corollary: At the most inopportune time

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong
Extreme version:
If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the FIRST to go wrong

If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway
If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which something can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop
Corollary: It will be impossible to fix the fifth fault, without breaking the fix on one or more of the others

Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something
Nature always sides with the hidden flaw
Corollary: The hidden flaw never stays hidden for long.

Marlon

Have you tried swapping the DME relay with a known good one? Does the fuel pump run when you turn the ignition key to start?

AOW162435

Steve,
My guess would be the ground strap at the battery, or the connections at the starter.

The connections for both of these can deteriorate and corrode over time.


Andreas

Chuck W.

I too vote for the ground strap.

aam993

The battery might be dead - check the voltage under the load.

I had similar symptoms - turned out to be the battery.

RSRee

+1 But in my case the battery was just low. Not driving it enough. And after this I installed a trickle charger which gets hooked up if I think I will not be driving it for 3 or 4 days. No problems since.

Steve 96C4S

Thanks for the quick replies. If it's the battery, that would indeed be an easy fix. I just thought that if the battery had juice, it would at least make that noise that it's trying to turn the car over, and all the lights wouldn't have lit up so brightly as usual.

I don't know what a ground strap is but I will learn about it fast! As to the connections to the starter, that might as well be Russian to me, but at least I can let the indie know to check all this stuff first if I can't figure a way to get it running before I have it towed there in 2+ weeks, the first time they can see the car.

Drag... I was hoping to get to the Meet and Drive next Sunday on the 1st... Maybe between now and then I can figure something out though. Ground strap... is it something I can easily check (excuse my total lack of knowledge about my car)?

Steve R

Phil

did ya check the battery connections? they could be loose.......
so the car turns over, but will not fire?

shamrock

Could be the starter motor itself ..
Can you explain in detail what happens when you turn the key in terms of noises?
Does the motor turn over but not start up? (possible DME..)
Does it just give a click ?(maybe a bad battery , or ground strap issue)
Does it give a 'clunk' as if about to start turning the engine over but then nothing? ( Could be your starter motor has given up)

My starter motor went a few months ago .. Hence 'clunk' question!! . My mechanic has told me he's seeing a number of 993's suffering starter motor problems at this stage.
All in it'll cost about approx $5-600 to replace a bad starter..

So hopefuly it's a DME ... $30 ish, or the battery .. A little more $$..

Hope this helps.

Steve 96C4S

Thanks alot for the info so far. Ok, so I went back to the car today and tried it after jiggling the batter cables but nothing again. I hit the immobilizer button, turn the key, all the lights on the dash light up like normal, but there's no sounds at all. Dead silence. No engine trying to turn over, absolutely nothing when I turn the key and try to start it.

Should I call AAA about the battery or could it be something else? I don't know what a ground strap is. Do you happen to have a pic of what that is, what to look for? Is it easy to fix or "make right" without going out and buying anything? Like, maybe it's loose?

Steve

aam993

Any autostore(autozone,advanced auto parts) can check battery provided you remove it and bring it to them.
Alternatively, provided that you have jump cables and know how to use them you can hook up another car and try to jump-start your car.

Jack Ennuste

I had DME relay problem once...

JM993

Even though you are not mechanically adept, you can learn some of the basics. Go out to Radio Shack or Sears and buy a mulitmeter. With that, you can perform some basic checks on the battery and electric system (voltage check with or without load).

chris walrod

If you do get into the ground strap at the battery, be sure to check the connection at the body as well as the battery. Its a short and bare strap. Removing it and sanding all connection surfaces will eliminate this as the culprit.

to add: if your car was a 97 model ( and for other folks with 97's in the future), I would have you look at the clutch pedal microswitch.

Steve 96C4S

I will try some of the stuff you guys are mentioning. I'll report back when I get it running again.

I appreciate all your help. It's Murphy's Law that the prettiest 3 days of the whole year, the perfect Porsche days, would be Friday through Monday of this week and I'm off... Driving the bimmer just isn't the same at all.

Steve R