..Won't Start.....HELP!!!

[jsb944]

Help!

Drove my car this morning.....parked it and went out for the day with my wife's car....came back this evening and jumped in for a ride...

Started the car and began to back out of the driveway when it stalled and the lights dimmed ( battery is about 11mo old)...I tried to start it but not enough juice to turn over so I got out the jumper cables and I will turn over just fine but will not light off!

It was about 30 degrees at the time...not sure If I have a frozen fuel line...or some other problem ( besides an electrical one, as there is no good reason for the battery to all of the sudden be flat!)......also noticed a little frozen water around the base of the battery......Any ideas????????

PS - 1984 944 NA with no mods....last at mechanic about 5K ago for timing belt, waterpump, and general tune-up + new battery

Thank you!

[ae1969]

I drive mine to about -15 celcius (5 degrees farenheit), at that point my 944 does not like it one bit.

You probably do not have a frozen fuel line........but it could still be a fuel problem.

Since you mention it was running and just stalled, and boosting it did not allow it to start (but was turning over)...

0. Check if your batterys is ok (boosting the car would of still allow it to turn over in most cases)
1. Check if you have spark (but you mention Tune up, did they change the distributor and rotor?)
2. Check if you are getting fuel. Fuel pump could be giving you trouble, (fuel filter could be incredibly clogged, probably changed at tune up) etc....

Good luck

Tell us what you find...

Alex

[jsb944]

Thanks Alex....I'm going to let the sun hit it for a while and then I'll go outside and see what I can find....keeping my fingers crossed!

I'll let you know...

regards,

Joe

[JonA]

Water runs off the windshield into the battery compartment and then out thru a drain. So don't worry about the water at the base of the battery, its probably left over from the last rain.
Get the battery back up to a full charge and then try again.
Good luck.
Jon

[jsb944]

Well I was outside for about an hour this morning to see what I could find....

The battery ( an AC Delco 5Yr battery with about a year on it) is dead...this morning it turned the car over a few times and then ...flat.

If I put cables from my Truck to the 944 I can get it to turn over just fine....but will not start.

Pulled the top off of the coil.....dumb question....across the two small leads (primary side?) of the coil...shouldn't I get DC there when the key is on? I get nothing!

Starting to think about what might have made the battery go dead ( in a few hours ) and might also be preventing the car from starting....could a relay have gotten stuck in the closed position....draining the battery and now also preventing the car from starting?

If YES then which relay?

Any help appreciated!!!!!!!!!

[brett25]

Hi Joe
it could possibly be that infamous fan switch/relay. someone else just posted this problem very recently. what happens is that your fan will go on at night (of course after you have gone into the house) and will then proceed to drain your battery. batteries draining completely ( usually after sitting for several hours are very indicitive of this problem
Brett

[ae1969]

Causing the quick drain could be anything....

Headlight motor, power antenna motor, aftermarket crap... you name it.....

Easiest way I have found to track electrical problems is the following..........

(as long as the battery is in tip top shape)

1. Attach a volt meter too it .....run the car so it is nicely charged up....
2. SHut the car off...
3. If you have a major drain on the battery..... it will begin to drop right away...................
4. Look at the meter as you systematically pull out one fuse at a time.............
5. It will then just stop once you hit the affected circuit....

With the 944 series it is so nice to have the fuse box right across from the battery....... you can get this test done in 15 minutes.....

Good luck

[ae1969]

I just re-read your post......

The car doesn't start at all still??? bummer

Start simple work your way up.

Check battery first. If it holds a charge and it is at a good voltage.... it should turn the car over and start.... (if you have a bad cell, it may keep the car from turning over at all **had an old plymouth that had a bad cell, and the battery could only muster about 10 volts.... even while trying to boost....it would turn over some what...but no start)....

Let us know if battery is ok...... and then we will move on to checking for spark.....and then fuel....etc...............

[jsb944]

Thanks for the input! I am still looking for my VO meter ( in my house 2 years and never unpacked my electrical stuff...must be getting old!)...mean time I did look at the battery....and cleaned the terminals...the "eye" on the battery is dark....instead of charging it up I think I am going to go and get a good new one.....then if it still won't start I'll check coil etc ( I would think that even with a dead battery it would start while jumper cabled though!)

I am also going to look into the factory alarm....I read a similar post where it was sugested that the alarm actually interupts the coil ....looked in my shop manuals and infact.....it does have the ability to interupt the green wire on the coil!

I will also check the fan switch.....is the fan not supposed to run after the car is shut off? Mine often does/did but I thought it was normal!

This will probably be my New Years day project...until then HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SAFE NEW YEAR!

regards,

[brett25]

Hi joe. the fan is suppossed to run for a little after you turn of the ignition (depending on enginr temp) this is normal, but the fan should go off after a minute or so. what is not normal is sometimes the fan will come on (at anytime during the nigh) and run untill the battery is dead (not normal). this is cased by a sticking switch or a bad relay
Brett

[T86951]

hold on now. battery dead, put booster cables on from other car motor cranks. it should start. If your battery is dead and you boost it, it should start.

[Cebu]

A Battery with a shorted cell may not allow enough AMPS to start the vehicle, even with jumper cables, even though host battery has good voltage.

[kukunaokala]

Connect the positive to positive the negative TO THE ENGINE. Class is dismissed. j/k

Hauoli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year) everyone!, Neal

[drew1]

jsb,

No voltage to ter 15 or + side of coil with switch on & cranking could be a bad ignition switch. Seen a couple.


drew1

[jsb944]

On my way outside now ( burr!)....to do more investigating.

last nite I noticed that the alarm switch ( which I never use but know worked) was difficult to turn .....although the battery is very low...enough to lite the interior lites and play the radio...maybe turn over the car once or twice....if I put the alarm on and open the door nothing happens.....used to set off the horn...etc

I am going to check the coil (green wire) as a start and see if I get juice at all ( even with a low battery, if I get something I know it's not the alarm relay)! ...then I'll go from there.

If it does turn out to be the alarm, can it be jumped out for now ( until I get a new relay)?

thanks

[divezic]

Also check the alternator . If it was weak (not charging the battery properly) the battery would eventually die.

[jsb944]

Ok...some progress but still won't start

Battery is actually just in need of a charge and may have been worn down by my having had both doors and radio on for several hours while installing new seats as well as the cold temps and the fact that I do not drive it very often.....In any case, I checked the coil and I believe I have ruled out both the alarm relay and a bad coil....have juice where I should and it appears that the DME is working to signal the coil ( saw the test procedure on a rennlist post)....also have good spark from the coil.

Now I am going to check spark at the plugs ( although unless the rotor failed I think it would still run...just poorly) as well as fuel.....further I go the more I think its the fuel pump relay ( pump itself is less than 12mos old)...

Keep you all posted!

[Ehab]

I would second that ... Fuel Pump relay gave me grief for a couple of days before I could figure it out ... That should be why it is not firing up with a booster ... As for the dead battery, it could be all the things mentioned above, in addition to bad voltage regulator on the alternator.

Good luck,
FPR is around $20 from dealer ... solved all my problems.
E

[jsb944]

Thanks for all the advice! As soon as my (pelican ordered) relay gets here I'll throw it in and see....hope this solves my problem ( with the car anyway!)