Car will not restart - Need help
 

I experienced a problem on my car a few weeks ago (should have considered this an omen) The car sat all day and when I came out after work, car turned turned over but never started. I sat around looked at the engine scratched my head a few times, went to get a flashlight from the maintenance group. by the time I returned, the car fired right up. I did notice that I sometimes hear the fuel pump whine and on this particular night it did not.

Drove the car off and on a few times since then with no problems.

This morning my 86 targa would not restart. My wife drove the car to work with no incidents. She arrived at work, parked and turned the car off. She decided to move the car to another spot and went to restart the car with no luck. The car turned over but never restarted. She finally gave up and called me.

I do not have much more to go on.... Where do I start?

DME Relay??

the DME relay is under the driver's seat, next to the computer. black plastic rectangle shaped with a metal tab holding it to the floor. they fail a lot. sometimes if you wack it with a screwdriver handle, it will work. that would be an easy diagnosis if it did.

I haven't seen the Porsche Technical Bulletin regarding the screwdriver handle whack.

That would be the Porsche TSBJWS - Tech. Service Bulletin John Walker Style - :)

Probably better than any TSB from Porsche anyway.

DME pins might be loose
 

I just recently had to repair a corroded solder joint within the DME that had been a problem for about two years. I got very good at leaning down and pushing against the DME wire harness to get the car started on cold mornings. It was like my own personal antitheft device, until one morning I couldnt steal my own car!!!! After some great advice from folks here, I took the DME apart and found the loose solder with a magnifying glass and repaired it.

Way better solution than $1100 new DME.

Good luck. I never used the screwdriver technique, but felt like it sometimes.

Thanks for everyones quick response. I drove over to my wive's work location and fiddled with the dme relay. Kinda of tapped on it as John Walker suggested. Of course it fired right up.

Question. Is the DME relay only used during auto startup or is it used the entire time the car is running?

All the time. Uncle's '85 had a loose DME that caused it to come ungrounded (found this out later). I picked up the car from work for him (switched cars) for a 40 minute trip home... on the freeway the car shut off repeatedly, and would restart if turned off, then back on again. Every time, like clockwork. I'd be going along, the car would bog, I'd turn the key off-on without lifting from the gas pedal, and continue, like it was perfectly normal to do so.

Doug

Last question, do I need to disconnect the battery to pull the DME relay

Always disconnect the battery when doing electrical work. Once the smoke escapes from those wires, bad things happen! :D

Also, if you're buying a DME relay, buy a spare and put in your glove box. Cheap insurance in case you ever get stranded.

Back on the road again. 1 DME relay, $44.00, and 15 minutes. Thanks for your help! After a BMW in the shop this morning, and a busted water heater.... it was nice to only have to spend $44.00