Well...my car just died

[charlie.tango]

So, I went off on a drive today and not 3 miles away from my home my car died at the light in the middle lane. The car wouldn't turn over at all.

Few guys were kind enough to help me push it to the nearest parking lot.

I'm currently waiting for a tow. In the meantime I've been googling to see what the possible issue could be. Thinking I should check the normal stuff like the fuel pump relay, fuel pump, and fuses? Any other ideas? Could it be time to replace the CDI?

Thanks!

[HarryD]

If it will not turn over, probably electrical. What year and model 911 do you have?

Battery charged? Do the idiot lights turn on? Does the interior light turn on? does the horn work?

[jess p]

When you say wouldnt turn over, we are assuming the starter does not engage. All power runs through the starter after you have started the car. Check your cables, ground but more importantly the pos cable that runs from the positive terminal to the starter. I would then look at the small wires that run to the starter solenoid.

[blucille]

‘Turn over’ means different things to different people.

To me, a car that doesn’t turn over has a bad battery or a bad starter motor. You turn the key and the starter motor doesn’t turn over the engine.

Others will say a car that doesn’t turn over actually isn’t firing up despite being cranked. That’s often a fuel pump or low on fuel. Or the relay (mine fell out once) or fuse for fuel pump. Or DME relay if it’s a later car. Or cdi box if an earlier car.

[charlie.tango]

Its a 1981. The starter does seem to try to crank over but it made this grinding sound so I decided not to continue trying. The horn does work.

Originally Posted by HarryD

If it will not turn over, probably electrical. What year and model 911 do you have?

Battery charged? Do the idiot lights turn on? Does the interior light turn on? does the horn work?

[HarryD]

Sounds like a weak battery or failed starter motor. If a jump gets you going, then you may have a charging problem.

[DonNewton]

Luckily, my '83 died in the garage. Had power, engine would turn over, had fuel, and the CDI box was singing. Car would not start. AAA'ed the car to the repair guys who were able to determine that the 40 year-old CDI box was defective/dead. Odd, but to be expected. Not the same as the OP but something to consider. Good luck on this one!

[proporsche]

all of the above are good suggestions...just try to push start it..once getting it home do all the checks necessary
Ivan

[Brtuffli]

When my 78 dies at a stop light, it would crank but not start. All the lights worked. Turned out to be a bad fuel pump fuse. Just was old and the fuse gave out. A new fuse installed and the car fired up and ran as it should

[redranger]

Does the car crank or do you get nothing when you turn the key? If it cranks but won’t start like it’s out of gas, I’d suspect Dme relay first.

[charlie.tango]

Once I get my car towed back home I'll give the fuses and relay a once over.

I did try to get the car started again but it made this grinding sound so I decided not to push my luck until I can get it on Jack stands.

Originally Posted by redranger

Does the car crank or do you get nothing when you turn the key? If it cranks but won’t start like it’s out of gas, I’d suspect Dme relay first.

[Rodney Nelson]

Switch the horn relay with the fuel pump relay!

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by redranger

Does the car crank or do you get nothing when you turn the key? If it cranks but won’t start like it’s out of gas, I’d suspect Dme relay first.

The car does not have a DME relay. It is an ‘81 CIS car.

Tony

[EC900]

Grinding…metal to metal sound?
Starter not engaging maybe due to low voltage and missing the teeth on flywheel?
Check battery first, how old is it anyway?

[charlie.tango]

Yup it had a grinding metal sound. The battery is the AGM type by Interstate perhaps no more than a 2 yrs old and usually on a battery tender. The relays looked good and didn't appear lose. None of the fuses burned out either.

I'm going to stop by walmart tomorrow morning because I forgot that I lent my multimeter to my dad few weeks back. I'll check my battery but I would think its at least pushing out 12v.

Originally Posted by EC900

Grinding…metal to metal sound?
Starter not engaging maybe due to low voltage and missing the teeth on flywheel?
Check battery first, how old is it anyway?

[jess p]

Charge it first. If after a few hours of slow charging you should be at least 12.3 volts. Once the car starts check batt volt while running, you should see 13.7-14.2 volts. That tells you your charging system is working. My guess is you need a new batt. Better yet if you don’t have a charger take the batt to autozone,they will check it for free. You still need a voltmeter to validate your charging system.

[targa80]

Previously, I had an issue where I could start the car in the garage after being on a battery tender and take it for a drive. Stopped at a store and tried to restart, starter was slow and would not start the car. Charged the battery, all looked good, the next day had same issue problem turned out to be the alternator was not putting out a significant amount of current to charge the battery while running. Repaired the alternator to solve issue.

[997at]

Agree with others that it is most likely an electrical issue. Grinding noise could be that there is not enough power to engage the starter motor gear sufficiently and it is grinding against the flywheel. If it was an issue with any part of the ignition system then you wouldn't have a problem with cranking.

[ericwitte]

Check your groundstraps for corrosion, connections to starter motor as well. Sounds like low voltage to starter…


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[JSV798]

Originally Posted by charlie.tango

So, I went off on a drive today and not 3 miles away from my home my car died at the light in the middle lane. The car wouldn't turn over at all.

No one has yet addressed the issue of the engine stopping; everyone is focused on the starter not turning the engine. Did it die because a low battery was not sufficient to keep the engine running?

Roy