1981 911 sc front end accident

[ritter4242]

All mighty pelican parts gurus I am in your need, I have a 1981 911 sc that was in an accident and now I'm trying to get it back up and running so I can bring her to the shop to have some work done, the fuel pump works, the flap in the airbox, when raised engages a relay..somewhere, and the rev limiter, yes I even tried that, isn't the problem. I've hot-wired the relay socket and the pump works then, but alas the car wont start, any help? oh and this is my first post so.. HI

[timmy2]

Hi, and welcome.
More information needed to begin to address your no start. Pictures showing extent of damage, list of things you have done to try to repair or circumvent any damage, etc.
Is the fuel making it to the injectors? Do you have spark?
Spark, fuel and compression = running engine...

[ritter4242]

well being a 911, there isn't much mechanical damage, the damage is limited to the front right corner of the car, I do not know whether there is a spark or fuel, I am no mechanic, but I am an Engineer, is the process for taking the fuel/ spark plugs difficult? being a Porsche I could see how you'd have to almost drop the engine to get to them.
I do have the front end, fender, and hood off the car now that its in my shop, however I don't have any pics on my computer.
Thanks for the help! you guys are a life saver.

[Racerbvd]

Where are you located??

[pete3799]

Verify that all the fuses and relays didn't get jarred loose from the impact.

[porwolf]

What about the battery? It must be pretty shook up. Anything leaking? Are the battery connections still good to carry the high starter current?

[KNS]

Good luck and thank you for rescuing her and not sending her to the crap heap...

[ritter4242]

thank you all for all of your responses, I was not expecting this many responses this quickly...

Racerbvd:
I am in Iowa, unfortunately lol

Pete3799:
All but the last three are there, last three being the closest to the bumper, I read they were for lights so I haven't replaced them yet. The relays seem to all be working fine, but I'm no mechanic.

Porwolf:
It has a new battery didn't even try to use the old one, showed up with the keys on in the ignition, so I just chucked the battery and got a new one, the car turns over and she sounds great, just no start.

KNS:
no problem, shes too beautiful to just throw away.


Again thank you all for your help, it is much appreciated and I cannot wait to have her up and running again

[porwolf]

Just curious, in your picture I noticed grey duct tape along the passenger side of the windshield. Did it pop there? Has the body there been distorted?

[Dave L.]

I found that when my 911SC hit a deep pothole at speed in Massachusetts last year, that the fuel pump fuse blew due to the incredible jarring. After coasting to the side of the motorway- the car turned over fine, but no start-up. The fuel pump, fuse and relay must all be checked as OK. After replacing the fuse- it ran beautifully! R/Dave L.

[ritter4242]

Well ducttape was holding the windshield in, supposedly. When it showed up here it didnt have a windshield at all. The only distortion on the body Is a small bump along the bottom of the window well, it looks like the hood hit there, but its not a dent, but a bump... I'm going to have the body straightened and all that professionally, so it shouldnt be a problem. But to answer your question, I think the previous owner didn't have the right seal so he just taped the window in..

[ritter4242]

Dave L:
the fuse, I'm assuming, is good, I got the fuel pump to run by shorting the relay, but which fuse is which? Sorry if that sounds a little elementary, but I really have no clue.. I will be taking my relay into a store tomorrow to get it checked.

[Dave L.]

but I believe the fuse functions are indicated under the fuse cover (the black plastic cover that mounts over the fusebox) Otherwise, in the owner's manual I'd guess, or failing that in your Benton's Bible or shop manual! Someone else here will chime in with a more sensible answer than mine I am sure! Nice car though! R/Dave L.

[ritter4242]

Thanks Dave! Hopefully she'll run as good as she looks

[timmy2]

Take your time, buy Wayne's 101 projects for your Porsche book as well as the Bently service manual.
Type of engineer?
Read, read, read and then read some more so you have a good understanding of the systems you will be troubleshooting.
I'm a Power System Technician (Electrical & mechanical) so I've taught many an engineer how to actually do things Just kidding.
The systems are fairly simple once understood. Just don't get into them hap-hazardly.
Post everything you try, the results and ask questions.
Draw up your own flowcharts and you'll get to the solutions.

[timmy2]

Get a good multimeter for DC volts ohms and amps ($= About an hour of shop time for a decent one)and download the electrical drawing from here at Pelican, study it until you understand it and you'll be able to troubleshoot your own relays and systems.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/911_Parts/Electrical/911_electrical_78SC_USA.pdf

[porwolf]

Hi "ritter": To your earlier question whether you need to drop the engine to get it running. I seriously doubt that that needs to be done. So many things, including valve adjustments are done with the engine in place. If it was running before the accident it still should be running. Not much in the front that could be damaging the engine. I think it is not a big problem to get it purring again soon, even before any body work.

[ritter4242]

timmy:
I am an Aerospace engineer, skippy, lol I will look into the electrical charts if checking the relay turns up nothing a quick list of things done,
*new battery
*running fuel pump
*lifted the "bar" in the airbox and got some relay noise
*shorted the fuel pump at the relay and the fuel pump ran
hope this helps, oh and I have the haynes manual, parents got it as a car warming gift, more of a "here's the roseta stone, have fun" :P

Porwolf:
the engine drop comment was kinda in jest, but honestly wouldn't have surprised me, I've got a 944 parked next to the 911 and that was my real first car I worked on, and fell in love with for that matter.

[boyt911sc]

Ritter,

Search for 'ossiblue'. He has a good grasp about CIS troubleshooting and has posted excellent suggestions to find or fix similar problems. Or send him a PM about this post. Unless you have a big air leak in the system, it would be very simple to start your engine. But you need basic test procedures to evaluate the problem/s.

Does the starter crank the engine fast? I had posted numerous posts about this type of problem and how to solve it. Step by step procedures included. Keep us posted.

Tony

[Dan J]

Attach a timing light to a plug wire (and power and ground) and have someone crank it
see if it flashes