Help!!!911 2.4 not starting...
 

Hi all,
I just got a 912 that has been converted to RSR with a 2.4. The seller mentioned the car last ran 3 wks ago, but on the day of pickup from a trucking company, the car wouldn't start. They thought it was a combination of the cold weather and drained battery. So when I got the car yesterday, I put a new battery in it, and all I heard was the starter doing half a crank. I was able to turn the engine manually with a wrench from the lower pulley. The fuel pump does vibrate and rumble. I am thinking of getting a new starter. Just want to get some opinions before I do so.
Thanks.
Peter

put it in neutral, use a good battery to jump the starter directly, if engine turns over, turn ignition on , do again. if engine starts, starter or related wiring is bad. NOTE; be VERY careful when starting a car by jumping the starter, it puts you in close proximity to dangerous moving things, and in trans in NEUTRAL.

Failure of cars to start can only be related to 4 things: air, compression, spark, and fuel.

Before you start testing, put your battery on a charger and be sure it has a full charge.

Once the battery is charged, try cranking the car.

If the car is turning over, you have air going into and out of the engine. You can verify by putting your hand over the intake and feel the suction or over the exhaust and feel the exhaust flowing when you are cranking the car.

You need to check for spark. The easiest way is to pull one of your spark plug wires, attahc it to a spark plug, ground the electrode and crank the engine. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU SMELL FUEL IN THE AREA WHERE YOU ARE DOING THE TEST. If you see a spark from the plug, then your ignition is working.

You did not say of you have carbs or fuel injection. In any case, if the car is not running and you have compression, you may smell unburned fuel in the exhaust pipe. If you do not, you need to check the fuel system to be sure fuel is flowing and getting into the engine. Once you tell us if you have fuel injection or carbs, we can tell you how to check.

You can check compression with a compression tester but this is most likely not your problem.

Please report your findings.

HarryD,
My apologies, the car has carbs.
Thanks.
Peter

Peter,

New batteries need to be charged overnight before use. They are supposed to be charged before at the shop, but yours wasn't or was defective. I wouldn't be concerned about the starter based on the scenario you described.

Does the CDI unit whine when the ignition is on?

What the fuel pump should sound like depends on brand and model ...

No problem. Please let us know when you have charged the battery, verified that the starter will turn the engine over and if you have spark when cranking.

BTW-Listen to Warren, he has most likely forgotten more than I will ever know.

Peter,

With the battery fully charged, the engine should crank fine. If it doesn't, the next places to look are the electrical connections at the battery, ground connection from battery to chassis, starter and transmission ground strap. The latter is a comonally ignored problem.

Best,
Grady

Here is a terrific article that should help.

Starting and Charging System Troubleshooting

I just want to thank everyone for their input. I finally got it started with a new hi-torque starter.