'86 3.2 carrera stranded.. need help~!

StayGold808 · 06-22-2008, 11:11 PM

Hi guys,

As the title states, the car is an 86 3.2 carrera. Apart from this, the car runs superb. Always starts, first crank every time, warm, cold etc.

I've had problems with the car starting when it has been left in the rain for a few days. I assumed water was getting into the distributor, as it seemed to be an ignition problem. Nonetheless, a roll start always worked, even though the car ran like crap until it warmed up (i assume, until the water evaporated). So I usually put a towel over the engine when it is going to be left in the rain, but forgot to do so this time.

The car was indeed in the rain for 2 days or so. It just cranks over and over, occasionally spluttering a little and then dieing. A roll start hasn't worked this time.

There is a smell of fuel in the exhaust after trying to crank it for a while, so it's not fuel related.

I swapped DME relays with another car, but that made no difference.

I opened up the distributor cap, and it was dry in there. However, this was a day after the problems started, so maybe most of the water has dried up.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

CharlesJones · 06-23-2008, 03:15 AM

Hi Adam,

Maybe it's time to do a general ignition tune-up? I don't know if this would fix your problem or not, but if its time for one anyway it might be worth doing now in case it is the cause of your problem. I had trouble starting my car after laying it up for the winter and the underside dizzy cap looked dry too, but after renewing the cap, rotor, ignition and coil leads, and coil it started and ran like a dream. Might be worth a try.

tonythetarga · 06-23-2008, 03:54 AM

You might want to pull a plug and look at it for wear and gap. Also try your 'cranking over' at night. My guess is you'll see some sparkplug wire leakage and see a minor lightning show under the hood. Your distributor is not a points system and it sounds more like bad wires anyway.

cdrik915 · cdrik915's Garage

I think to pmh sensor , may be ....

Wavey · 06-23-2008, 05:23 AM

If your plug wires are original, they may be the problem. Crank it in the dark with the decklid up, and I'll bet you see fireworks.

rick-l · 06-23-2008, 06:28 AM

Do you have spark? Hold a plug wire against the engine?
Do you have fuel? Try some starting fluid.

DonMo · DonMo's Garage

You also might be chasing the ever so popular Motronic problem of cold solder joints. Try swaping a motronic with someone and see if your car starts. I chased my problem by swapping parts until I found the real issue.

rusnak · 06-23-2008, 09:52 AM

it is sometime possible to have enough voltage to turn the starter, but not run the Motronic. On the 3.2s there is a problem with corrosion buildup on the positive side battery clamp that also causes starting trouble. If you haven't done so, check the battery level, insure a full charge, and clean the battery clamps and the motronic ground points in the front trunk and on the intake manifold with a small brass brush. I would also take the distributor cap off, and clean it and the rotor with an electronic parts cleaner spray even though you have already checked them.

KFC911 · 06-23-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonMo

You also might be chasing the ever so popular Motronic problem of cold solder joints. Try swaping a motronic with someone and see if your car starts. I chased my problem by swapping parts until I found the real issue.

As others have cautioned, that's probably not a good idea. If your DME has failed due to a problem with your car, one could potentially "fry" the good one that you swap in for the test. A "safer" approach would be to swap your "potentially suspect" DME into a "good" car and see if the problem follows the DME.

jcsjcs · jcsjcs's Garage

I recently had the same problem - would not start at an autox. Ended up replacing the crankshaft sensors, DME (though not the problem), and cylinder head temp sensor. All were original in my car. I think the crankshaft reference sensor was the ultimate problem.

See the following post for a 944 that sounds similar.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Porsche-Repair-829/1987-Porsche-944-Died.htm

dshepp806 · dshepp806's Garage

measure the sensor outputs to verify their functionality....look at those plugs/wires (as someone suggested)....helped me one time.....

battery connections/grounds..

best,

Doyle

StayGold808 · 06-26-2008, 07:33 AM

thanks for all the replies...

Wasn't getting a spark. Replaced the distributor cap (which was heavily worn), along with plugs and wires. Runs nicely now.. =D

rusnak · 06-26-2008, 01:12 PM

Hey I'm glad you got it running!

This would be a good time to check your distributor shaft bearings for wear. If you take the cap off again, and see how much radial play there is in the rotor, then you'll have a sense of how much wear there is.

This has been an issue recently on 3.2 911s. If there is much play at all, then the distributor should be rebuilt very soon. Once the rotor begins to contact the cap, it'll hog out a furrow, and your rotor will shatter. There is not much room under the cap for the rotor to flop around, as I'm sure you can appreciate.