engine won't turn over

[kabmedic]

Hey guys,

I just bought a 914 this past Friday. The car would turn over, but would not start. Now when I try to start it, I get nothing. as far as I can tell, all wiring Is hooked up just like before. All of the lights work, but when I turn the key to the start position, ther's a click under the dashboard and the lights go dim (very dim). Is this suppose to happen? Could it just be a bad solenoid or starter. I also tried charging the battery. brand new battery.

[skline]

Sounds like you may have a dead short somewhere. I would trace the click and determine where it is coming from before I went much further. I dont remember a relay for the starter under the dash in any of my cars.

[lmcchesney]

Oh the wonderous secrets of the 914. Crawl under the car. Car in neutral, emergency brake on, flat surface. Turn the key to the on position but not start. Cross connect the seinoid to the 12V supply. That should make the starter turn over and eliminate the starter from the equation. Next, replace the grounding strap on the transmission and clean, I mean really clean, the negative pole and wire at the battery. Also, in between, park on a hill.
L. McC

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I know you said the battery is new, but.... Is it holding a charge? What kind of voltage do you get across the battery posts? (Use a real voltmeter, connected to the posts themselves--not that cheesy thing in the center console [if any]!) 12.65V is a fully-charged battery, 12.0V or less is a discharged one. More than that means you just charged the thing and the "surface charge" hasn't bled off yet.

--DD

[kabmedic]

Well, it' not the starter. I was able to get it to turn over by using the bridge. Ithink it may be the ignition switch. Any thoughts?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Very possible. Are you getting +12V on the yellow wire that hooks to the starter when you turn the key? Or anything close to +12V?

--DD

[kabmedic]

I think I figured it out!!!!!!! The key feels bad. I think the key isn't able to turn to the start position. Just to the on position. Once I get the key on, I can turn it backwards for almost a quarter turn before it turns back off.

[Tidybuoy]

Another Thought:

I'm not sure what year you have (I think 1976). But, on some cars, the factory installed a very hoaky starter lockout system that prevented the car from starting with out the seatbelts fastened.

Eventually, the factory issued a recall for this set-up that involved splicing two of the wires under the passenger seat.

Take a look under the Passenter seat. I would recommend removing the seat completely to make this easier. Then, look at the group of wires under the seat. There is supposed to be a connector that bridges the two largest wires under there (I think yellow & red). You might just want to make sure everything is tight.

If the car started before, then I suspect that something has come loose.

Vern