Not starting unless I use starting fluid

[Sovuf]

Hello, I have a 1984 944 and today when I went to drive to lunch during work, my car would not start. It has been starting reliably for the last 2 weeks I have been driving it.

This is the twist, the car will not start UNLESS I spray starting fluid in the intake. Once it starts, it runs perfectly fine. As soon as I shut it back off it will not start again.

-I am holding around 40 lbs of fuel pressure.
-The flter is new.
-I tested the DME relay theory (jumping the terminals) and no change whatsoever.
-I also have tried manually priming the fuel pump before I attempt to start the car and nothing.
-There IS 12v at the coil and 12v at the injectors, though I could not tell if the coil was pulsing when attempting to start the car.

Ay ideas? I hate starting a car with starting fluid, sometiems you can hear it detonate

[Joakim]

is the DME relay same as fuel pump relay?

have you tryed to switch on the ignition key and wait for fuel pressure, like 10seconds?
and after that cranking it?

when cranking for a while can you smell the gas not burning?

[Sovuf]

Originally Posted by Joakim

is the DME relay same as fuel pump relay?

have you tryed to switch on the ignition key and wait for fuel pressure, like 10seconds?
and after that cranking it?

when cranking for a while can you smell the gas not burning?

I assume the DME relay is the same as the fuel pump relay, I don't know for sure. This is my first 944.

The fuel rail is holding pressure just fine, and pump is priming perfectly. When cranking I slightly smell gas, but this car still has a converter on it so it may not be coming through the exhaust.

Could the reference sensors not be reading below say 800rpm? causing it not to start?

[ernie9944]

[QUOTE=Sovuf;6270855]I assume the DME relay is the same as the fuel pump relay, I don't know for sure. This is my first 944.
Yes it is on an early model,get to know your car better by using Clark's Garage Home Page for trouble shooting & maintenance. # II

[Sovuf]

With that being the case, it has already been eliminated as a possibility. The dme/fuel relay functions properly.

Clark's garage is a great site, I've checked it out some already. My next step is to check reference senders.

Any ideas?

[Sovuf]

Solved the problem!

the bolt holding in the 2 reference sensors had worked its way loose. Tightened it down and she fires right up.... BUT.

Theres always a but

There is a whistling noise coming from where the sensors are. Im going to pull the sensors out themselves and see whats going on