914 NO Start

[ASHSEIDL]

Hello Fellow Pelicans,

Hoping to find some help on getting my 74 914 2.0 to start. It slowly went out over a few weeks. Most times Turning the key wouldn't engage the starter, but then it would (After i hit it with rubber mallet). Right now i can get it to start by rolling and poping Clutch..so my D-Jetronic, fuel and Spark systems seem to be fine.

Before i get a whole bunch of suggestions that fit in the Duh category i have listed everything i have replace and checked:

New Starter
Cables to starter have been checked
(Two hot lines 1 from Battery, 1 to Computer in engine Bay)
Little yellow Wire plugged into the left most terminal on Starter (Though i have tried both terminals)

New Battery (with new Ground, chassis was cleaned around the nut)

New Ignition switch ( inside the steering colum, old one was cracked and prongs broken)
Ground on Transmission has been removed and Cleaned and replaced

Seat belt relay has been bypassed (long ago)

Is there anything else to check short of tracing each wire that comes from the Ignition Switch?? Like a hidden fuse, or relay that i can't seem to find in the books??

All help is greatly appreciated!

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

There should only be the one relay under the passenger's seat--the Dreaded Seatbelt Interlock Relay. How confident are you that the fix for that has held up? Water and dirt can mess up connections, so it may be a good idea to take the fix apart and clean it all up. Some of that depends on what the fix was, of course. If the fix was just a jumper wire, very definitely clean it all up again! If the fix was to solder and shrink-wrap the joint with multiple layers of shrink-tubing, then it shouldn't need cleaning.

What sort of voltage do you get at the yellow wire on the starter when the key is telling the starter to crank over? If it's below about 9V, you have some sort of problem with the wires and connections from the battery to the end of the wire.

Have you made sure the battery posts and clamps are clean and tight? And the fat cable from the battery to the starter is in good shape and not corroded?

Have you made sure that the complete ground path for the starter is good? It grounds through its case, to the transmission case, to the transmission ground strap, to the chassis to the battery ground strap, to the battery ground post. All of those connections need to be good and tight. You can bypass some of that by putting a ground cable (a large one like the battery ground strap, or a cable the size of the + cable from the battery to the starter) from a starter mounting bolt to the battery ground post directly, but I don't think that's a good permanent solution in that case.

--DD

[ASHSEIDL]

As far as i can tell the ground path seems ok. all connections are tight an clean. just put on new positive clamp that goes to starter from battery. i have two connections on positive of solenoid big black to bat medium red to alternator?. the yellow connection is a female end that i connect to which of the two prongs? Both don't seem to work.

seatbelt thing hasnt been an issue in the past i bought it bypassed. a week or so ago it did rain and. it did get wet in there. (Gotta love tx) not sure what to look for under the seat to see if anything has been shorted.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The two flag connections on the starter are electrically the same, so the yellow wire can go on either one of them.

The main connections (red to alternator, thick cable to battery) are right.

Look under the passenger's seat for a thick (-ish) yellow/red wire spliced to a thick-ish yellow wire. Or for a jumper wire in the plastic connector that all those wires run to.

The yellow wire goes from there, into the main wiring harness, to the T-14 connector (the 14-pin connector) at the front of the relay board. It goes through the relay board to the T-12 connector at the right-rear of the board, then from there to the starter.

The connections at the plugs can have problems sometimes. Check and clean those as well.

--DD

[ASHSEIDL]

Still no luck replaced lead positive wire from starter to batt and cleaned all connections on relay board (even ground under relay board.

Took a pic of board and under passenger seat. Two yellow wires are connected to each other via the red splice. Any thing look not in place?? Running out of things to check...



Again car will run after push start but when key turned nothing. Gauge read 10v and 8v while key is turned...

New bat
New starter
New connections all around
New ignition switch
Clean grounds and connections

Anything??
As always all help appreciated!!

[TheCabinetmaker]

10 or 8 volts is very low, where do di you read thee two values?

if the starter works when you hit it with a rubber mallet, then that would be the place to look, now if the voltae is marginal like * volts, then there may not be enough magnetic force generated to pull the soliniod into action, rapping the starter with a mallet may unstick the soliniod so that even the low voltage will be able to move the soliniod.

when water gets intot eh soliniod, it rusts things like the shaft that is supposed to move in and out, so maybe the soliniod is rusty or gunked up inside. I have seen many rebuilt starters when the rebuilder failed to water proof the soliniod, with chaulking or water proof tape. the area to be water proofed is the seam that parts the solinoid. the starter itself should also be sealed at the seams where it comes apart

however if you only got 10 or 8 volts there, that would be the probelm. find the voltage drops and repair, or install a starter relay as a bandaid.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

What on earth is that bunch of erector set pieces next to the seatbelt relay socket?

Check the voltage at every point along the path while trying to start the car. Large voltage drops are bad. Check for a drop from the battery to the ignition switch (if you can get at a connector there), for one at each end of that red jumper, for a drop at the front plug of the relay board (you can pop the back of the plug off), for a drop at the right-rear corner, for a drop at the connector on the starter.

Clean and tighten any connection you find with a larger voltage drop, and see if that helps.

Have you tried running a thick ground cable (as thick as the battery to starter cable!) from the case of the starter to the battery ground post?

--DD

[ASHSEIDL]

Thanks Dave!

I checked voltages all around and got 11-12v even on the yellow wire hooked to terminal on starter. This led me to believe that the 100% tested guaranteed starter I purchased was a dud. Sure enough it failed test at the store( where it pass the first time) I ordered another one but had a hunch that my old starter would work now that I have replaced pert near every wire and ignition component..

Before I put it on I cleaned it a little more, and re-greased it. Sat in the cab turned key and Varoom!!!! she fired right up!

I have come to believe that my issues were all of the above... replacing ignition switch, cables, and cleaning the grounds delivered more power to the back. Which was all my Bosch starter needed.

Oh the erector set thing is apparently a custom setup for some speakers by the previous owner. Will be removing next I only need the soundtrack of my 2.0l behind me!!

Thanks

Ash