2 problems with my 944 need help ASAP pleaseee!

1Alpine944 · 11-26-2008, 01:49 PM

Hey guys I'm new and i need your help, 1st i have a 1983 auto n/a 944 and the problem that I'm dealing with is the car starts good w/o any problems then once it warms up the car starts to idle up and down when i drive the car the car drives fine when i come to a stop the car's idle goes up and down then it goes away as long as I'm on drive even stopped on drive the idle is fine on park the idle jumps. the second problem is the fans are not coming on the car over heats when its stopped when the car is moving the car temp gauge is in the middle there are no leaks and there is coolant in the car. can you all help me please.

thank you

Carnage · Carnage's Garage

your idle problem may be the same as mine, check the vacuum lines

I think she's sick :(

in terms of the fans... I'm not really sure.. I'm no expert but i would check the electrical connections to them.

Mask of Destiny · 11-26-2008, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Alpine944

the second problem is the fans are not coming on the car over heats when its stopped when the car is moving the car temp gauge is in the middle there are no leaks and there is coolant in the car. can you all help me please.

Clark's Garage has a nice guide for diagnosing fan problems ("Fan Operation and Troubleshooting" in the Cooling System section of teh garage shop manual). Given your symptoms, I'd say it's either the fuse (I think it's #3 on the auxilliary fuse panel), the thermofan switch (located near the top of the radiator on the driver's side) or the fan motor itself. Try pulling the wires that connect to the thermofan switch and jumpering them with the car off. If the driver's side fan starts to spin slowly, the fuse and fan motor are good and the thermofan switch is suspect.

1Alpine944 · 11-26-2008, 07:30 PM

hey thanks a lot for all the information. i bought a hynes manual but im still having problems with the idle.

HondaDustR · 11-27-2008, 10:17 AM

Search to kill for ANY vacuum leaks. There's the plastic hard lines that can crack, the rubber joints that connect them can deteriorate, they could just have come loose from fittings, the large rubber hoses for the Idle stabilizer, etc under the intake manifold could be deteriorated, the J-boot between the throttle body and air flow meter could be cracked, throttle body seals could be leaking, intake manifold gaskets could be bad, fuel injector seals could be shrunken, oil cap seal could be bad,... the list can go on.
Poke around with a piece of hose like a stethescope to listen for hissing. Or spray carb cleaner where you think there might be leaking. If the idle smoothes out, then you found the problem.

Once you're sure there's no significant vacuum leaks causing the idle condition, adjust the throttle body so that the idle stabilizer isn't working against a misadjusted idle bypass. http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/fuel-08.htm

Slam · 11-27-2008, 10:25 AM

Car's an 83 so no ISV. I'd replace the AAV (auxiliary air valve) located under the intake manifold. It's probably stuck partly open. Then you can adjust your idle after it's stopped hunting. And HondaDustR is right about vac leaks - find and kill before playing with the idle.

bland vanilla · 11-27-2008, 12:26 PM

Agreed on the vac leaks. My 84 had identical problems when I bought it. I replaced all the lines including the J-boot then went after other issues. My car had sat unstarted for 5 years so thye fuel pressure regulator and pump were also bad. The most common cause of idle hunt is the vacuum system.

On the fans it is pretty easy to diagnose.
(1) Check the fuse first. Kind of roll it around in the holder in case there is just general corosion on the terminals.
(2) Take the two spade lugs off the temp sensor on the upper part of the radiator. Short them together and see if the fans come on. It does not matter if the key is on, this circuit should be hot. The sensor is a simple switch to ground that is made when the temperature reaches a certain point. The power is run directly to the fans and controled by the relay under the dash which is triggered by the temp. switch.
(3) If it is not the sensor next go for the relay. They are not that expensive and after 25 years tend to go bad.
(4) Finally check the fans themself. This is least likely but is in the realm of possibility. Basicly you need a 12 volt test light (looks like an electric toothpick). See if it lights up when the above are correct. This same test light works great to check for voltage on the fuse terminals. They are really cheap and available at any auto parts / wal mart / etc.

Steve

1Alpine944 · 11-27-2008, 02:48 PM

thank you well today i cleaned the car woohooo she looks NICE then i messed with the "j" boot and the lower plug is broken i tried to glue it but no luck the poxy didnt work i guess ill be shopping for a new one. i replaced the cap and rotor wow they were OEM...lol i also noticed a small water leak comming from the ypper goose neck and i replaced the gasket on that too ill takle the fans tomorow by the way Autozone had all the parts i needed...

unclemikeys2001 · 11-29-2008, 11:35 AM

My fans didnt work for a while either. Keep it moving & she aircools pretty well as you know. But my problem was the relay. That relay can be a pain to remove if its been in there for a while. I had to drop the whole fusebox down to get it out. But if your fans worked in the past & its not the fuse, you can bet its the relay.