944 ignition problems, Help?!

[Aston944]

I woke up this morning, ready to go to school, and my bloody car won't start. Damnit! Anywho, when i got home later on that day i checked the fuel pump. Its getting power. As is the coil. However, im getting no spark through the plug wires. Apparently, the ignition coil is getting the spark but not letting it go, thus, my car won't start. The engine is peachy, good compression and oil pressure. And the tranny is brand new. Plus, here in a few days hitching a ride in my sister's Honda is going to get really old. So, in recapitulation, my coil is getting power (voltage), but is not recieveing the signal to send the power to the distributor. What could cause this and how could i fix it? BTW, the car is a 2.5L SOHV 8V 1984 Porsche 944.
Thanks for any response!
-Aston

[emilysgranny]

Remove the distributor cap and check to see if the rotor is loose on the cam . The screw that holds the rotor tight on the shaft sometimes gets loose or comes out or the rotor itself needs replacing . While you are there check the cap out also. HTH - Good luck.

[Aston944]

Nope, i already popped off the dist and checked the rotor. Its solid as a rock. Any more suggestions?
-Aston

[OlGoat]

Have you checked the crank trigers on the bellhousing for loose connection? 84 has the hall effect sensors..?


yea it does....


I think..

[Aston944]

Crank triggers? I suppose that is what would be sending the message to the coil to send the voltage to the distributor. Anywho, i'll check that out. To find these elusive things, i'm guessing i could simply follow the wires coming off of the coil to where they hook up.... Please let me know.
-Aston

[OlGoat]

Sorry my bad! Turbo has crank triger... Yours uses a pickup in th dist.

So Im no more help than a haynes. You might want to do a search on not starting there were a few of these recently and tricks to check em out.

I'll shut up now....

[drew1]

I think it has 2 sensors on the flywheel. There are two connectors held in a bracket at the rear of the motor. These are where the sensors are connected to the Motronic DME Computer.

You can unplug them & ohm them out. Be careful & don't mix them up. One picks up a setscrew in the flywheel & the other gear theeth.

Do a search on speed & reference sensors.


drew1

[Lawrence Coppari]

The clutch housing sensors have joints in the leads. They are plug in variety. Mine got oxidized several years ago and engine would not start. Try cleaning where the wires go together - male, female thing several inches away from sensor but on top of engine near firewall.

[Aston944]

I checked those plugs, and they seem to be in order. Yesterday i popped in a new ECU and that made no differance. Today i popped in a new fuel pump relay, and a new ignition coil. No results. I also checked the fuel pressure after snapping that relay in. It's fine. Could the plug where they go into the clutch housing be buggered up? Is there even a plug, or does it just dissapear into hard-to-reach depths of the engine? What prompted me to change the coil was when i ohmed out the original coil, it wasn't matching the spec in my Haynes Manual (Worthless, IMO). Anywho, if anyone has any more suggestions about where those plugs lead to in the clutch housing, or anything else, please post. Also, if i towed my car to the local euro shop and had them diagnose my problem, any idea what they would charge me? Also, does anyone know any good places that work on Porsche's here in Colorado Springs? I appreciate all help! Thanks!
-Aston <--- Has headache