944 Dies Suddenly While Driving, Must Wait to Start Again

[gr8willi35]

Hello,

I have an 1988 944 Porsche and I am having an issue where the car dies. While I'm driving, after a random amount of time, the car will buck and then die. If I try to start the car right away it will turn over but the engine will not run. If I wait a little while the engine will catch and I'll be able to drive a little bit further and the problem will repeat. If I hold the clutch down and try to start the car the engine will turn over and run but when I let go of the key it will shut off. I don't have any other issues and I can't understand why it is doing this. I have replaced the DME relay and the fuel pump appears to be working fine. Two years ago I replaced the ECU with a rebuilt unit. Has anyone else seen this issue and how did you resolve it?

Thank you,

Thomas

[9FF]

Originally Posted by gr8willi35

... If I hold the clutch down and try to start the car the engine will turn over and run but when I let go of the key it will shut off....

If it acts like you say and the engine runs with the key held in the start position but stops when you release the key then it’s your ignition switch.