83 SC will not start
 

Started my 83 this morning to get some coffee; started right up.

let it idle for about a minutes as I coasted out of the garage. threw it in first gave a little gas. Went a little ways when the car seem to hesitate a bit (i.e. foot on the gas but no acceleration), a mild burp, then it stopped running.

Went to turn it over, no start. it turns over fine but will not start.

coast back to front of the house, take another car for coffee. after an hour, attempt to restart. it turns over fine, but does not want to start.

when I turn the key in short bursts, it seems that it is going to start but does not. if I turn the key in longer burst, it seems like it is going to start but does not and then turns over at a quick pace.

No fluids on the ground, no fuse blown. I am in SoCal so it not cold.

I attempted to search this site for similar issues, but no luck which may be to the search terms that I am using.

???

Check to see if your fuel pump relay is fully in the socket. If so, switch it with another one to see if that is the problem.

The relays are interchangable?

Have you checked your pop-off valve?

The fuses are interchangeable for testing, but you should eventuallyt go back to using a known good red one for the fuel pump, as it has extra circuit elements in it to prevent burning out.

Are your rotor, cap, plugs and wires all OK?

Check to see there are no vacuum leaks.

Make sure you have a good spark.

W/ someone turning the key, raise the sensor plate. Does the engine start?

Check your control pressures w/ a pressure gauge.

Yup, sounds like the same prob. I had. Was the fuel pump relay, P/N 911-615-108-01-M58. Good luck.

Air, Fuel, Spark......check for spark by pulling plug lead and having someone crank it over unless you have a remote starter....ground the lead while holding it insulated pliers.

Check the fuel pump.....if you are getting fuel it could be low pressure which needs gauges to check.

Air.....check as noted earlier on your pop off valve......did you have a large back fire recently?

no large back fire

I am looking the bentley manual but not finding the pop off valve--is there a more official name

never mind the pop off valve question, i found the tech article on this site

I switched relays with no success. switched them back with no success.

With the tree guy trimming the tree, we pushed the car into the garage. After I caught my breath, I attempted to start it and it started.

I let it run until warm, shut it off, waited about 10 minutes and started it again.

So now I have a rubber crutch as it is only a matter of time before this happens again.

I will check into the the pop-off value, but I do not have gauges as mentioned above to test other items so it is off to the porsche garage.

The funny part is that this car is suppose to the "take you mind off work" car.

Thanks everyone for the timely responses as there is nothing cooler than to receive help with you need it the most.

Think of it as a challenge. When you figure it out, you'll feel an enormous amount of achievement and be able to diagnose future problems more easily.

Let us know what the problem was, will you? That way people searching for similar issues can get some probable solutions.

Good luck on this, hopefully this is the end of it. Did you check the fuel pump fuse? I had similar issue and the fuse was loose.
On the other hand, just recovered from a more extended outage that started the same way.

Jay

It might have gotten flooded with gasoline and after evaporation period, when you and the tree trimming guy pushed her back to level ground, it worked. Or, a temporary vapor lock type situation, hopefully?

And, for the record, inside the air box to the left you should see the pop-up valve. I believe most 83 SC's had them installed from factory.