'86 944 No Start-Auuuggghhh!

[luck-man]

Hey gang,
After driving my recently purchased 1986 944 about 40 miles home last month it has sat in our driveway ever since suffering from a starting problem. I thought I had solved this after advice from the board helped me isolate a bad wire from the ignition coil and it fired right up. I've had it running a couple of times but mostly it will not start no matter what I've done to it. I've replaced the ignition coil, wires, sparg plugs, distributor cap, rotor, fuel filter, fuel pump, and DME relay all in order to make sure the usual suspects are taken care of. I'm getting spark from the coil, and I pulled the #1 plug to verify that it was receiving fuel and everything checked out. I pulled the relays and fuses and checked them all but they looked O.K. as well. I even tried jumping the factory alarm thinking that it might be part of the problem but that did nothing as well. I thought it was a fuel issue but after replacing the filter and pump I think I can rule that out. I checked the two sensors at the back of the engine but they seem fine as well-no corrosion at all on them. Man am I stumped! To make matters worse, I cannot locate the source of my reoccuring battery drain either, so after just one day sitting I have to recharge my brand new battery. I thought that problem was the fans running after the ignition was cut off, but after replacing the fan switch the fans no longer keep running yet the battery still dies. I was supposed to have it in the shop last week for paint but I'm beginning to fear that I might not be able to get it running again!
Yikes! Does anyone have some suggestions of other things to look for before I go bonkers?
Mike

[SoCal Driver]

Need to change your user name to "No-Luck-Man".

[luck-man]

For real-my luck has run out!
M.L.

[SoCal Driver]

Go to www.carks-garage.com and make the Y jumper for the DME relay. Try it.

Also read what the site has to say about the sensors.

[luck-man]

I appreciate the tip-I'll give it a try and see what happens!
M.L.

[tnporsche]

Have you checked fuel pres at the rail?

[SoCal Driver]

Has to have the Y jumper to do that.

[luck-man]

I tried the Y-jumper and the pump started whirring and was making a sound near the fuel rail(normal operation I assume?) but still no go when turning the key in the ignition. I can get a gauge and measure the fuel pressure at the rail, but it does seem like the new pump is doing its' job. If I'm getting good spark and fuel delivery it should start-wouldn't you think?
My last car was a DeLorean so I'm used to these no start issues!
M.L.

[SoCal Driver]

Put the Y jumper back in and see if you have battery voltage at the small black wire at the coil and at any one of the injector connectors.

The third component for running is compression.

[luck-man]

O.K.-here's where I display my complete lack of knowledge with electricity. I have a digital multimeter and hooked the Y jumper back up, but I'm not sure what I'm doing after that. I set the multimeter to DC Voltage and tried the ranges from 1000 to 200m but I never got a reading other than 0. I tried all sorts of combinations of the testing connectors to the coil wires but with no readings. Does that mean ther's no voltage at the coil? The bottom line is that I don't know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to electricity. SoCal, can you offer some advice here?
Ben Franklin I am most certainly not!
Mike

[SoCal Driver]

Set the voltage to 20 VDC. Negative of meter to chassis ground -- battery ground if close. Positive to the terminal of the coil that the small black wire connects to. Make sure the digital voltmeter has a fresh battery -- the screen should display when turned on.

Same for the connector to one of the injectors. Pull the connector off of the injector. You may need to use a small screwdriver to open the "bail" retainer rather than break the plastic housings. One of the two pins will have the same voltage as the battery.

Using the Y connector after the DME relay is removed; don't force the socket prongs open any more than you need to make a good contact.

Try the voltage measurements with the DME relay in first and the ignition key on.

[luck-man]

After taking your instructions SoCal, I tested the coil and using the battery ground and the black wire on the coil I received a reading of 11.65. Next I tried the #2 injector after carefully prying off the connector and received the same reading of 11.65. This was all with the DME relay in and the ignition switch on. Just for kicks I tried starting it again and it fired right up. What the heck is going on? I tried starting it several times since and it's started every time but I'm not sure I have gotten to the bottom of the problem since I haven't done anything yet! Any advice on what to look at that I might have overlooked? A bad ground on the frame or perhaps a loose connection someplace?
At least it's good to hear it running again,
Mike

[SoCal Driver]

My impression that there was a problem with the pins and base for the DME relay. This has happened before with the later model fuse/relay boxes. Could be a problem with the wires to the coil too.

[luck-man]

Well I'm back where I started! After running a few times it's doing the same thing again-cranking but won't start. One time it was running but suddenly died making me think that it was a fuel issue. I checked the electronics again and the voltage readings at the coil are still good, and I also tried to check my battery ground and connectors to make sure they were not corroded but everything I looked at seemed fine. Man am I stumped! SoCal do you have any more advice?
M.L.

[SoCal Driver]

Try the jumper and see if it runs. If so them the relay base is suspect. Note that the power pin is directly from the battery. You need to use pin #86 rather than #30 to check that current is getting through the ignition switch (which can also cause this problem).

[luck-man]

I tried the jumper again with the 86 slot used instead of the 30 but with the same result. When the ignition key is turned you can hear the fuel pump in the back, and when I put my hand on the fuel rail I can feel it slightly vibrating which I assume means that fuel is getting to the injectors. The thing I don't understand is how it can run as of yesterday but nada all day today. SoCal you are the man in this forum-perhaps I am missing something else that may be obvious that you can offer advice on?
M.L.

[SoCal Driver]

Don't know if I'm "the man". I am quite persistent where the purloined party is cooperative.

If the fuel pump is running with the jumper in pin #86 with the key on does the car start? If it does then it's either the base or the DME relay -- or both. Some have had the base sockets spread apart where they don't make decent contact with the pins on the relay but will on the thicker "pins" used to make a jumper (or the raw wire core). Could put a layer of solder on the relay pins and see what happens.

[luck-man]

SoCal,
With the jumper in the 86 pin it still cranks but won't start-my instincts tell me that I'm not getting any spark but the electronics seem to check out. It has to be something I'm missing since it wil run from time to time but nothing at all today.
Longing to take it out for a drive,
M.L.

[SoCal Driver]

Do the spark plug thing. Pull #1, put a spare plug in it, lay it on the intake to ground it then crank. See if there is spark. If there is put the plug wire back on the #1 plug, pull one of the injector connectors and see if the car will start. This could be a bad fuel pressure regulator that is over pressurizing the rail.

[luck-man]

I tried the spark plug test and sure enough-I'm not getting any spark. I had also tried pulling one of the fuel injector connectors previously to see if it would start and that didn't work, leading me back to the spark plug test. With a new coil, wires, and correct readings from the coil with the ignition switch on I'm not sure where to look next. I browsed around Clark's Garage and started looking more closely at the info on the speed and reference sensors. After testing them with the multimeter set for a 2000 ohm resistance I seem to be getting little or no reading at all. I received a reading from the reference sensor of 655 ohms with one test, but nothing at all with the speed sensor. I switched to several different functions to make sure I was testing it correctly but all with the same result. Could this be a part of, or perhaps the source of the problem with the no spark condition? I'm still not sure why the car would run before but not consistently. Any thoughts on this SoCal?
Still frustrated but perhaps making progress,
Mike