Name my 944 problem
 

I am literally about to sell this thing and get a 911! I'm that frustrated!

It's a 1984 944.

The problem is that when I turn the key it makes a clicking sound like a bad starter, even if I charge it over night. So I put a new starter in. Same thing. Also, when I bump start it it runs poorly, has very little power, and won't idle.

I think all of this might have something to do with the connector above the brake booster that has the starter and alternator wires. Nothing I do to it seems to make it work.

Any advice or insight into this would be greatly appreciated!

Jackson

Ha, it's the 911 guys that resort to a 944, not the other way around. Even a poor condition 911 will fetch 3 times what the average 944 will.

Anyway, sounds like you have a possible vacuum leak and/or idle control valve. Couldn't hurt to start there.

Its strange beacuse I just pulled the intake and did the AOS seals and the vac lines and that stuff. I think its an electrical problem, as rasta brought up it might be the exciter wire. also, the starter will not turn.

Running rough should have nothing to do with your starter but sure, an electrical problem could cause an issue. Best of luck.

Check engine grounds. May have floating ground issue(s).

Common on all the older German cars pre 2001

later.

Is the "exciter wire" one of the Ignition Switch wires?
Ignition Switch could be bad. Cheap fix.

GL
John

^+1

Also, how are your ground straps? It's worth it to put in new ones, and run one ground strap straight to the engine from the batt negative. It's truly amazing how many problems magically vanish when the grounds are good.

wait, can the engine turn over?

Thanks everyone!

The engine will run if I start it by popping the clutch but a fully charged battery will not turn it over.

try jumping ths starter motor. put it on a hoist or something, get jumperleads and connect pos to pos on the startermotor and neg to neg/ground and connect it to a battry and see if that will turn the engine on.

Check your ingition switch if it is cracked it will do this. Had same problem on an 84 also. hope that is it.

Thanks!
Was it the the plastic electrical connector part or the metal body?

Usually the plastic switch insert. I chased this in my 83 944 after the car decided it wouldn't start - at random. Embarrassing...

I had a similar problem and it was the earth cable on the battery (short one that goes from the earth battery pole to the body). It looked fine but once it was replaced - all OK.

So I pulled the ignition swithch and it has a tiny little crack forming. I don't knoe if this is enough to actully do anything. I'm going to replace it anyway.

The weird thing is is that when the alternator is taken out by either removing the belt or other ways it will run just fine.

i'm so confused

I've never heard of this with a 944 but I've seen it with a ATV, check your voltage with the car running, it may be overcharging. If the voltage is over around 14.5 volts it may be causing your ignition system to do wierd stuff...

The crack should be at the pin on the side , correct? It won't be much of a crack but will cause all kinds of headaches. Replace the switch. If that is not your problem it will soon be.

From Clark's Garage.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1294498063.jpg

Still seems strange that the alternator would make a difference in it running good or not. Might be worth checking your engine ground also. Put a digital volt meter set on dc volts across the ground post on the battery to the intake manifold and see if you get more than .2 volts.

its junk. Sell it ! think 951

From what you described, it sounds to me like you have a bad alternator/voltage regulator that has not been charging the battery. You here clicking when trying to crank the engine, classic for a marginal battery. You may have charged the battery overnight, but that won't matter if you have a bad or marginal battery. Not enough cranking amps to start the car, but enough to run the car while the alternator is disconnected. The alternator could be putting out an erratic voltage causing the car to run rough.
I would start by making sure the battery is good. Autozone will test it for free. Also measure the voltage across the battery while the car is running and make sure the voltage reading is solid and not fluctuating. Around 13.8vdc or so.

Had the same piece of (junk) an 83 that I love an took care of for 26 yrs, not once did the car left me stranded ,so why should he sell it to get another piece of junk .All of those cars 924 -944 NA -S -S2-951 & 968 are getting to be over 20 yrs old ,parts are getting old on them and tend to wear out witch is normal .Don't come & tell me that your 951 is perfect with not a single issue.So in a way your reply is kind of insulting to a lot of peoples out there.:(

trust me, u will have to love to work on 944, cause face it, its old its gonna need work mine only has 55k and i have a list that doesn't end, as long as i fix it myself its not bad some, parts are $$$ but at the end of the day I take it for a ride makes it all worth it!!

I got a new switch :)
I'm going to pop it in and then go from there.
Thanks everyone for your advice!

to my canadian brother:
my deepest apologies. but...let me be that guy...i'm just having fun SmileWavy , i love this forum and appreciate all yalls help. my 951 is still technically junk, on jack stands, and closing in on a 3 year rebuild. "project 951 the legend" continues ; my family just upgraded her condition from "if" she gets finished to "when"........... yeahhh! ...my car is made fun of on a regular basis ... lol, i try not to let it bother me (although sometimes it does). sometimes though, it is kinda funny:D , every forum needs the guy to make people laugh. so insure it, then drive it off a cliff. dont forget to jump out first :eek:

smith out !

I'm getting closer!

I replaced the ignition switch and ground strap today.

Fired right up and idled perfect. then the idle started to fluctuate by 25 rpms...then 50...then it was running really poorly as it warmed up.

It was honestly sounding like the starter was cought on the ring gear as well. I replaced that a few days ago.

The battery cable could be rotten. Not getting enough current. Can you measure the amps in the starter cable. I've come across this before with 25 year old wires.

If there are bad connections that prevent the battery from putting a charging load on the alternator, it can put out erratic or high voltage. Autozone and others will test alternators for free, too.

If you haven't yet, just pull the DME connector off and reinstall it. Sometimes there might be a bit of surface corrosion on the pins that will get broken up in the process. Try running with the o2 sensor unplugged and see if the problem goes away. Test the DME temp sensor. Sensors and Gauges - Information, Troubleshooting, and Testing

Okay, so I pulled the DME and opened it up. It doesn't look bad but you never know.
I hooked it up again and disconected the O2 sensor. It seems like the problem is still here.
It is 11 degrees out so I can't do too much to it now.

My car started running bad once and it was the trottle position sensor. Try unplugging ur tps and see if it acts different.

Thanks!
I'm going to try again tomarow morning so I will definitly try this.

Sounds like starter running on ring gear? It may be worth it to pull the starter and remove the solenoid. Give the piston a good polish, clean out the bore, apply a very, very thin sheen of white grease to the piston and reassemble. WYIT you can lube the drive gear on the starter itself, too.

All else, as above.

Have fun!

I disconected the O2 sensor and it is the same thing.

The starter is a Bosh reman unit that was just put on due to the starter dieing.
It must be at a slight angle or something like that and not on properly.
I'm going to unplug the TPS and see what happens.

Also, before this it had a coolant leak on the back of the head where the hose meets the head. Could the sensor in that area have anything to do with this?
I don't exactly know what that one does but I would guess it's a temp sensor.

Hmmm... Starts fine and begins to run rough as it warms up? Have you checked/replaced your AAV (auxiliary air valve)? It may be stuck partly open. What happens if you babysit the car as it warms up and adjust the idle bypass on the throttle body as the engine warms up? You'll have to keep track of your adjustments as you go so you can return the bypass screw to its original setting, but if the car's getting too much or too little air depending on engine temp, you'll find it with this method. You may also have a slew of vacuum leaks (I'll go back and read your initial post, as I can't remember your list of what was done).

Thanks again for your advice!
I have had vac leaks and this just doesn't seem like one. I think that I will start fiddling with the adjustments now. The most confusing par is that I took the alternator light bulb out and it ran great until it ran out of battery.

Do what Honda Duster says & clean those battery terminals

HAHAHAHA

I'm kind of an idiot.

I finally got it home and pulled the alternator and took it to napa and it's totally fried.

I have a spare 115A off my 951 parts car, can I use it to replace my 90A?

Well it looks like I will have to buy one. Oh well. At least the starter isn't catching on the ring gear anymore.

I put an almost new alternator that was tested to work fine in it and now im having more troubles. It starts then immediatly dies. I don't have any clue as to what the problem is now.
What a pain in the A$$.