WONT START!!! Please Help!

[Jbagel2]

ok, this has been bugging me pretty bad lately. I had been driving this 74' 914 2.0 as my daily driver for several years, zero problems. Stock FI, I had done a tranny swap on this as my old one was having problems, just before i put it in the garage about 2 years ago. I also had been working on getting the proper resistor on the head temp sensor to get it to run better and had finally got it so it would start right up. I have a shared hobby garage with a few friends. Well one of my friends decided that he wanted extra room and started my car and moved to our other shop and pulled it into there. He said it was running well and had been pulling it in and out as needed from that shop. well, now it wont start at all, well i have to pump the throttle like crazy and keep pumping it to keep it running, but as soon a i stop pumping (weather it be to hold the throttle down or take my foot off the throttle) it dies immediately . I really want to get this car back up and driving, but i'm having a ard time deciding were to start. ( get spark, smell gas, it was basically on an empty tank so i put in a fresh 2 gal, hoping it was just bad gas keeping it from starting) HELP PLEASE!!

[URY914]

Do you hear the fuel pump running?

[Jbagel2]

yes, it does its normal run for a few sec when you turn the key. and it will start if i pump the gas like crazy.. but i just have to keep pumping to keep it running.

[jess p]

I believe that 74 2.0 was L-jetronic and correct me if I am wrong. It sounds as if
your throttle position sensor is bad. They are adjustable! Those cylinder head
temperature sensors are a pain in the a$$. One minute they work the next they
keep your car from running. Clean up the two fuses on the relay board. If you can
get another cylinder head temp sensor. Finally, the 914 brain boxes had two modes built in. If the main board died it had what was called a limp home mode
that didn't allow the car to go much over 20mph.
Additionally, the air flow meters were known to crap out frequently. Remove the air filter and have an assistant hold the air flap open while you start the car. If it
starts then you know the culprit. Finally, another trick is to spray some starting
fluid directly into the air flow meter,careful not too much. If the car starts and runs you know you have a fuel delivery problem.
From my experience it sounds like something is partially inhibiting the brain box
from operating. The FI on these cars were also prone to have corroded connections. Try to clean up all those,especially the trans ground strap.
Another reason why I went to carbs!

Good luck


70 914
76 911S
81 911sc
66 912 v8

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

No air flow meter; all of the 2.0 914s used D-jet EFI. The 912E did use L-jet and had pretty much the same motor, perhaps that's what you were thinking of?

The rest of your advice is spot-on, though.

It sounds like you have spark, but not enough fuel. Check the wires, particularly the one going to the head temp sensor near the #3 spark plug. If it shorts to ground, this is the sort of symptom you get.

Also look for any wires or hoses that may have gotten unplugged. Sudden changes are often due to that.

--DD