85 911 won't crank

my 85 911 won't start and I am 200 miles from home. The car started fine an i drove it to the swap meet in Hershey. It started fine again and I drove it 20 min. to a gas statinon, again it started fine. Stoped for lunch 1mi. down the road and afterwards it would not even crank. The battery appears fine i think I can hear the fuel pump run. but it does not crank at all. I push started it and drove to Philly and again it won't start. I would appreciate any suggestions to get it started and get home.

jlauver, if it started fine all day with no problems, then all of a sudden "wont even crank over"; sounds like the starter is shot too me. If push starting helped you get there, and it runs fine while driving, I cant see how it could be the alternator, regulator, battery or anything else? I dunno... Your just going to have to push start it again to get back home. Best of luck

It still would not start at 8pm but it turned right over at 10pm after sitting for 4hrs. Is this a solenoid problem?

Originally posted by jlauver:
my 85 911 won't start and I am 200 miles from home. The car started fine an i drove it to the swap meet in Hershey. It started fine again and I drove it 20 min. to a gas statinon, again it started fine. Stoped for lunch 1mi. down the road and afterwards it would not even crank. The battery appears fine i think I can hear the fuel pump run. but it does not crank at all. I push started it and drove to Philly and again it won't start. I would appreciate any suggestions to get it started and get home.

I had an 82 that had that same problem, A new starter fixed it right up.I remember the day I bought the car, I was driving home and stopped at a light, when I went to take off I stalled it(still getting use to the clutch), it was in rush hour traffic. This sucked ass, I recieved a lot of comments as people drove by. finnaly got someone to help push start me.Got the starter the following day and never looked back.

My 86 had the same problem which turned out to be the starter solenoid.

Cheers,

Joe Garcia
86 Carrera

I have a sticking starter solenoid.
It shows the same symptoms.

Get underneath the car & give the solenoid a light rap with a plastic faced mallet or similar.

The procedure in the Haynes to check the solenoid will tell you if the starter motor is OK (if the knock doesn't free the starter solenoid plunger that is).

Has anyone cleaned & lubed their starter solenoid (Warren?), or will it have to replaced?

Jon
'76 2.7S Targa

Another interesting thing I just noticed is if I remove the key after running the car I am still able to operate the windows for a short period however they will not operate normaly with the key removed. Is this related? ingnition switch problem

Originally posted by Jon Green:
I have a sticking starter solenoid.
It shows the same symptoms.

Get underneath the car & give the solenoid a light rap with a plastic faced mallet or similar.

The procedure in the Haynes to check the solenoid will tell you if the starter motor is OK (if the knock doesn't free the starter solenoid plunger that is).

Has anyone cleaned & lubed their starter solenoid (Warren?), or will it have to replaced?

Jon
'76 2.7S Targa

I believe the there is a window switch delay so you have time to put the windows up without the need for putting the key back in the ignition. This should only last a few moments though, so if you can operate the windows indefinately with the key out, then there is a problem.

-EJ

it is getting stranger by the day. I have been trying to start the car every so often in the driveway and some times it starts and other it doesn't. Their does not seem to be any pattern. i tried to start it today to put it in a better postion to work on it but it would not crank. i pushed it about two feet and jacked it up to get at the starter. i had already checked the battery. i first checked at the large terminal on the solanoid and had 12.6V which is very close to what i had at the battery terminals. i went to check at the small terminal ( ignition switch) and asked my wife to turn the key to the start position and the car decided to start. i am not sure what to check next. Do starters act like this? Ignition switches? Any ideas before I pay for all of the above and probably then some. I think another Oban is in order.

nt

[This message has been edited by Jim T (edited 05-05-2001).]

If it was me I would take the starter down to a shop that deals with starters and have it checked out but It sounds like the solanoid is on the way out.Its not that big of deal to pull the starter and have it checked.Just remember that I have had more than one starter taken to a shop only to be told its fine and my starting problems are some where else, later when the starter finally quit working they decided it was the starter after all and just changed the brushes and solanoid and everything was fine after that.Intrmitent starter problems are hard to diagnose and sometimes its easier to change the starter or rebuild it for peace of mind

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Grant 75 911s targa

You could also make sure that the safety mechanism that prevents the starter from being activated a second time after starting once is not broken (in the contact mechanism/steering lock). It happened in my '83 3.3 and it showed the same symptoms. The fuel pump would work, but the starter would not engage, in a impredictible fashion. It was a 50 cents spring that got weak, and could not bring back the starter contact in the ready position after I removed the key.
GeorgeK

Now that I have it jacked up it starts every time. How do I get the load from the starter ( cranking the starter) without it starting? What should I disconect? I want to check the voltage drop as suggested in the tech article.

check for corrosion on the 14 pin connector in the engine compartment, and make sure the pin/socket connection is tight. it's the big yellow wire. it's typical for the starter to work intermittently when it's old. typical to not work when it's hot. typical to work when you cross the terminals on the starter, because you're giving it more voltage than it would get thru the switch circuitry. you should either just replace it, because your chances are probably 95% that it's the problem, or install a relay next to the starter to delay the inevitable. is there an alarm system that interrupts the starter function?

[This message has been edited by john walker's workshop (edited 05-06-2001).]

I checked the voltage at the starter as described in the tech article. i have 12.4 at the large terminal and 9.9 at the small when the key is turned to the start position. What is this telling me? The solanoid is shot? Should I be getting more back form the switch circuit? I am about to order a starter and hope that does it, but I will be really bummed when I put a new one in and it does the same thing.

There are a couple of things you can check. You didn't say how old your battery was, so turn your headlights on and turn your ignition switch on to start the car. If the lights go dim with the starter load on it, then the battery could be your problem.

If the starter is acting erratic, check the terminals to both the motor and selenoid. Make sure they are making good contact.

The only other possibility is if when you turn on the key to start the engine, and you hear a click without the starter engaging, then you have a bad starter motor. On the other hand, if you turn the key on with the lights on and the lights don't dim, but you don't hear any click from the selenoid, then in all probability it is the selenoid.

Best thing to do, is pull the starter and take it to a alternator/starter rebuild shop and have them go over it. It will cost a lot less than buying a new one.

Steve