rebuild complete - won't start ???

chancecasey · 06-04-2006, 08:20 PM

What am i missing? I disconnected the fuel pump fuse, tried turning it over, and hear the starter solenoid click, but no crank.

The engine will turn by hand - I suspect the battery is so out of juice - but I have a BIG charger hooked up to it charging at max capacity - maybe the low battery is draining too much juice for the starter to turn the engine over?

dean · 06-05-2006, 04:06 AM

I could be a dead battery or bad connections. Check and clean all your connections. Even the ground one on the tranny.

sand_man · 06-05-2006, 05:21 AM

Do you have your starter wired correctly?
Starter Solenoid Wiring Help

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Not sure what sort of engine this is, but it's common to reverse the selnoid trigger and the cold start...

er, wait, you said you heard the selenoid...

Did you remember to hook up the transmission ground strap? If not you might not flow enough juice through the starter to crank it.

chancecasey · 06-05-2006, 07:39 AM

Yep - it's either very low battery or bad connection cleanliness - everything is on correctely, just won't turn over. Can turn it by hand. I'll try trading out the battery with a working car next. Then re-check the cleanliness of the connections -though I was pretty anal about everything except the ground strap - hooked it to the TOP starter stud instead of the BOTTOM - don't think that should make a diff but may change that if nothing else works.

johnnyo · 06-05-2006, 09:03 AM

Try roll starting the car for now and pop clutch in gear just to get it running, I previously had week battery issues thatyielded the same issues you state, put in new battery soved problem, Good Luck!!

sand_man · 06-05-2006, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chancecasey
-though I was pretty anal about everything except the ground strap - hooked it to the TOP starter stud instead of the BOTTOM - don't think that should make a diff but may change that if nothing else works.

Not sure I follow you about the studs?? If you're talking about the yellow wire and the yellow wire with a blue stripe, it DOES make a difference where you put them.

chancecasey · 06-05-2006, 09:29 AM

re - the studs, I mean the ones that mount the starter, not the terminals. You put the body ground strap on one of those - they are identical so I've concluded it doesn't matter but - now I know why they say put it on the bottom because now that I have my engine completely in getting to that top one is very difficult.

I'm leaning toward bad battery again - unfortunately I can't get another car in my garage to try to jump it. I could roll the porsche out but because of the driveway slope I wouldn't be able to get it back in if it doesn't start.

Going to take the battery to SEars or somewhere and get it checked, have it replaced if bad. It just kind of blows me away that it's bad because I disconnected it and left it in the tray for - about 8 months - and it worked great before that.

Although it stole my thunder yesterday - would be great news if that's all this is. I can't think of anything else it could possibly be.

sand_man · 06-05-2006, 09:55 AM

Okay...on my car the main ground strap is on the nose of the tranny where the shift rod goes into the tranny tunnel.

Then there's another series of grounds that attached to the coil mount on the fan housing.

I think you might be right about not having enough juice to get it going.

chancecasey · 06-05-2006, 01:21 PM

OK - do I feel dumb! The positive cable "got lucky" and "latched" onto the correct terminal of the starter, snugly against the top of the nut. In my haste, my double-check of the connections did not reveal this. I took a long lunch today and noticed it - undid the nut, fastened the cable down, VOILA - engine turns over like a charm!

Getting spark but no fuel. This a 1990 964 - fuel pump fuse is ok - dme relay clicks, dme fuse ok.

I got the flywheel sensor exactly 1mm from the teeth - but - and this is the part that scares me - I didn't think to check the "front-to-back" alignment - and I replaced the the Freudenberg DMF with a LUK DMF. Looked "ok" but I didn't measure it or anything.

Not sure why else I wouldn't get fuel. Maybe I didn't crank it enough. about 10 cranks at 6 or 7 seconds per crank.