Took the 911 out of town for a wedding, won't start. Awesome.

[ADDvanced]

So I had a wedding this last weekend, took the 911 (which has thus far been extremely reliable), hit up some back roads and got it pretty hot, but drove gently to let it cool down. Went to start it again, and nothing. Fuel pump turns on, but the starter won't engage at all. A couple times it would actually work and IF the starter works, it catches almost instantly and starts right up.

What am I looking for here? I'm thinking starter solenoid, but in my searching I haven't found photos or a good description anywhere on how to fix this situation.

[BK911]

Pop the clutch. I always park on a hill just in case!

[McLovin]

The first place to check is your battery connections and grounds.

When you check the connections at the battery, be sure to also check the connectors to be sure they aren't corroded. You can get corrosion in between the wires and the clamps.

[ADDvanced]

Originally Posted by BK911

Pop the clutch. I always park on a hill just in case!

That's what I did the rest of the weekend. It sucked.

Originally Posted by McLovin

The first place to check is your battery connections and grounds.

When you check the connections at the battery, be sure to also check the connectors to be sure they aren't corroded. You can get corrosion in between the wires and the clamps.

They are fine. Like I said, when the starter actually engages, it starts fine. It's some sort of problem that the starter doesn't even know it is supposed to be doing it's job; so I'm guessing either ignition switch (unlikely) or solenoid, but where is it?

[fitchn]

I've had that issue before when my starter was going bad. If the car/engine was warm enough, turning the key would do absolutely nothing. Occasional push-starts were required during my half-way-across the country trip. Thankfully the 911 is the easiest car to push start that I've ever owned, I've done it before from the driver's seat with one leg out the open door (on relatively flat ground) and the other on the clutch.

I put in a new starter and the problem hasn't returned 4 years on.

[Chuck.H]

You don't mention your year, but since the only real 911s wer made in 1989 I'll assume thats what you have.

This could be a few things, and you'll have to run some tests to track it down.

Before assuming starter or solenoid, I'd check the wires to the starter (big battery wire and small trigger wire) are connected well and working (use a test lamp, the bigger the lamp the better).

Check the condition of the braided engine ground strap that goes from the transmission to the car chassis. Also check the battery ground cable near the battery. These need to be solid because the starter not only needs voltage, it needs a lot of current to spin. For example you cannot 'bench test' a starter with small jumper wires, it will not spin - you need big jumper cables to carry the current, just like on the car.

HTH,
Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 362k miles

[notmytarga]

Your starter/solenoid combo is likely in need of replacement or simply refresh it - instructions here:

SOLENOID and STARTER rebuild......finally

Cleaning and lubing has helped my 37 yo unit start up much better and is more reliable.

[timmy2]

"Where is it?"
The solenoid for the starter is built onto the starter .
The starter is on the passenger side up past the cv axle mounted to the transmission where it mates to the engine.
There are numerous threads about hitting the starter with a dead blow hammer when it acts like yours is, prior to replacing it.
Also, you may want to wiggle out the 14 pin connector on the rear fuse panel under the cover, and check for corrosion on the contacts or pins. Pin 1 is the wire to the solenoid.
Good luck.

[OsoMoore]

Search for "heat soaked start". This is not uncommon, I had an issue with it last year.

[ADDvanced]

This isn't a heat soaked start though; the engine won't even turn over. If I pop start it and get it running, it will actually restart for about 1 minute or so.

[jpnovak]

The starter most likely needs a rebuild. This means taking it apart, cleaning out the old grease on the solenoid and throw-out mechanism. polishing the commutator, and lubricating the bearings. Usually takes me about 45 minutes.

the problem is the starter will act like heat soak. The aluminum housing on the bendix mechanism starts to wear. Particulate material from the wear builds up and causes the mechanism to stick ever so slightly. Then the solenoid can not actually pull in far enough to make contact to engage the motor on the starter. Its a very common problem.

Replace the starter or rebuild. Your reliability will be back at that point.

[Jascha]

Often the solenoid fails to engage (no ignition switch response or faint click with poor + contact when hot)...

If you decide to rebuild the starter / solenoid I may be willing to part with the NOS Bosch type--

(send me a PM)

[techweenie]

In emergency situations, I've had luck whacking the starter solenoid with the lug wrench. Not easy to get to it and you can't get much of a swing, but it has always worked until I could do a real repair.

[timmy2]

So, do you want to troubleshoot it?
1. Remove the 14 pin connector from the rear fuse panel.
2. Connect a voltmeter to the male pin #1 on the console and ground.
3. Turn the ignition to crank and look for 12 volts on the meter. Repeat a few times.
If 12 volts is there consistently every time you turn the key to start, the problem isn't your switch.
4. Check continuity from the female pin 1 of the 14 pin connector on the engine harness to the yellow wires connected to the solenoid on the starter.
If you have continuity the problem is with your solenoid.
Or the 14 pin connection is bad.

Make sense?

[kidrock]

That's a great guide, Timmy2. Thanks for posting.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by BK911

Pop the clutch. I always park on a hill just in case!

That is almost impossible in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas.

[Tippy]

I'd do 1 of 2 things:

1. Rebuild factory
2. Put a gear reduction starter and never worry about having the torque of a heat soaked starter again plus nice weight savings.

[ADDvanced]

Originally Posted by timmy2

So, do you want to troubleshoot it?
1. Remove the 14 pin connector from the rear fuse panel.
2. Connect a voltmeter to the male pin #1 on the console and ground.
3. Turn the ignition to crank and look for 12 volts on the meter. Repeat a few times.
If 12 volts is there consistently every time you turn the key to start, the problem isn't your switch.
4. Check continuity from the female pin 1 of the 14 pin connector on the engine harness to the yellow wires connected to the solenoid on the starter.
If you have continuity the problem is with your solenoid.
Or the 14 pin connection is bad.

Make sense?

What do you mean by "Male pin #1 on the console"? Do you mean the pin on the 14 pin connector? Console? Huh?

[ADDvanced]

Well, I cleaned the 14 pin connection to the rear fuse box, and viola! Car started instantly! Drove it around for a while, parked it, ran inside, and now no start again. Unplugged the connector another 3x and tried to start, no dice.

Soooo. Yeah. ?

[fasterlaster]

I had this problem on a recent PCA excursion to Houston. After 2 hours driving when we stopped at a gas station, it would not start again after about 15 minutes. First time this ever happened, but it was bloody hot. A quick push start and I was golden again. After I got home I checked the key pieces of the electrical ground system. You may need to work on the starter (i.e. rebuild/replace/partially bypass with relay), but my suggestion would be renew the grounds first:

• Disconnect the ground strap attached to the transaxle and clean both ends well. reattach.
• Disconnect the ground strip attached to the battery and clean both ends well. reattach.
• Disconnect the power wires to the starter, clean and reattach.

Then see how it behaves. If you still have the problem, it's time to investigate further, but clean and solid electric path is the most important aspect to start off with.