The dreaded click

[Jd21476]

My car has been running fine and I have not had an issue driving it for the last month hut I took it for a drive and stopped to talk to a friend (from a safe distance)

I got back in turned the key and just got a click. Thankfully I was on a hill so I jumped it and got it home. Once safely in the garage I tried it again and still just a click. Battery voltage is 12.5V so its not low. Any ideas?

‘83 Porsche 911 Cab with 3.2 bored to 3.4

[porsche930dude]

check starter connections and engine ground under there

[Jd21476]

Where is the engine ground located?

[356911930]

Pull the cables off of the battery. Clean the battery posts and the ID of the cables with a wire brush. Re-install and should be good to go.

Rahl

[pmax]

If cleaning doesn't work, charge it up or replace the battery.

[kium]

To me that click is typical of the starter relay.
Somtimes you can get them to work again just by giving it a tap

[Quicksilver]

Most likely Kium is right. The most common wear item that gives a click in the back is the starter solenoid. Sadly the Porsche solenoid isn't serviceable. (A lot of other solenoids can be serviced by turning the internal contacts 180° or with a file.) It could be the starter brushes but that is less likely.

You can check the battery connections as it is free to check. Easy check is take a volt meter and have someone try and crank the motor and and check if there is detectable voltage between the battery post and the connector on that post. If there is high resistance on that connection you will detect voltage (You are measuring the voltage drop.)

[T77911S]

actually the solenoid is.
you have to de-solder the 2 wires to pull the end off, then you can clean and rotate the contacts inside.

clean up the connections as stated, take the battery to advance and have the battery tested.
in fact, they can actually test the starter on the car now. don't know how it works but they can do it.

[sugarwood]

Dumb question, but can you jump start a car in reverse, if you're facing uphill ?

[GH85Carrera]

A common problem with the Bosch starter is heat soak. If it spins just fine when cold, that is your issue. Usually the dreaded click is low voltage from the yellow wire or a poor quality ground. Jack it up, and get it on jack stands, and look at the front of the transmission. You will see a wide flat ground strap. They are fairly inexpensive. Get a new one, and replace it. And be 100% sure the new connections are clean and make a sold ground. Thy old straps do get corroded, and don't make for a good ground.

[Jd21476]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Dumb question, but can you jump start a car in reverse, if you're facing uphill ?

I actually did jump it in reverse because I was facing uphill, so yes, you can.

[GH85Carrera]

Just be 100% sure it is in reverse if you do that. You do not want to rotate the engine backwards.

[jlex]

Do the braided ground strap and clean the battery connections before fooling with the starter.... simplest first may solve your problem. Starters draw a great deal of power.

[Jd21476]

So I went and looked this morning and I noticed that the positive battery wire had popped out of the cable connector. I cleaned both positive and negative, reattached the positive wire to the connector and used a lock washer to make sure it doesnt come loose again. Now she fires right up

I love simple fixes

[theiceman]

Originally Posted by 356911930

Pull the cables off of the battery. Clean the battery posts and the ID of the cables with a wire brush. Re-install and should be good to go.

Rahl

this is the one that gets me time to time ... sometimes the nut is tight and the connector still just slides off the post .. i have to get round to doing something about that eventually

[sugarwood]

Can you post a photo of your cable repair?