Car whines but doesn't crank!

[IB RearWheelin]

Hey stunt, it's one of your ground wires trust me. I had the same issue, but as soon as I tracked down the engine ground wire...the car turned over and started. I had the same humming (whizzing noise). I thought it was my starter but my starter was good. My battery was good and so was my ignition switch.

[stuntman703]

Originally Posted by IB RearWheelin

Hey stunt, it's one of your ground wires trust me. I had the same issue, but as soon as I tracked down the engine ground wire...the car turned over and started. I had the same humming (whizzing noise). I thought it was my starter but my starter was good. My battery was good and so was my ignition switch.

I cleaned off all my grounds under my hood. I should take a look at the ones in the hatch. Which ground specifically make your car turn over?

[wild man]

The ones that go directly from the negative battery terminal to engine ground, and chassis ground. The starter is grounded through it's mounting bolts. Negatively speaking, those are the only things that would prevent enough juice from reaching the starter.

[stuntman703]

Originally Posted by wild man

The ones that go directly from the negative battery terminal to engine ground, and chassis ground. The starter is grounded through it's mounting bolts. Negatively speaking, those are the only things that would prevent enough juice from reaching the starter.

Well I spit shine those clean. Sparkling clean, especially the bellhousing ground. That ground looks brand new, spent time and detail on my grounds. Even clean the bolts with a bench grinder brush. So the problem is the starter not getting enough juice, so I'm going to to some test to see if there isn't a short in the wiring.

[wild man]

Originally Posted by stuntman703

Well I spit shine those clean. Sparkling clean, especially the bellhousing ground. That ground looks brand new, spent time and detail on my grounds. Even clean the bolts with a bench grinder brush. So the problem is the starter not getting enough juice, so I'm going to to some test to see if there isn't a short in the wiring.

Positively speaking, there ARE other things that could prevent it from getting enough juice. Things like wire/ lug connections, loose bolts/studs, etc, are always possibilities.

[stuntman703]

Originally Posted by wild man

Positively speaking, there ARE other things that could prevent it from getting enough juice. Things like wire/ lug connections, loose bolts/studs, etc, are always possibilities.

No doubt. I did take my "new" starter to autzone for a test because i tried to bench start it and only got a was a spark. Solenoid never worked. So I'm going to get a NAPA starter instead. See how that is in a few days.

[IB RearWheelin]

Hey stunt i'm almost positive it's in the wiring. My 944 sat for almost 2 weeks with me trying to figure out why wouldn't it start with a hot battery and fresh starter. It all came down to the big ground wire that runs from the negative terminal to engine ground. As soon as I replaced it with a fresh wire and cleaned off the surface of the engine ground spot, it turned over. No more whine, it turned over immediately.

Before the ground issue got fixed it would whine as soon as I turn the key. I thought it was the ignition switch, the starter solenoid, the relay...I couldn't figure it out. But my porsche tech told me it was the ground. AND IT WAS!

[stuntman703]

Originally Posted by IB RearWheelin

Hey stunt i'm almost positive it's in the wiring. My 944 sat for almost 2 weeks with me trying to figure out why wouldn't it start with a hot battery and fresh starter. It all came down to the big ground wire that runs from the negative terminal to engine ground. As soon as I replaced it with a fresh wire and cleaned off the surface of the engine ground spot, it turned over. No more whine, it turned over immediately.

Before the ground issue got fixed it would whine as soon as I turn the key. I thought it was the ignition switch, the starter solenoid, the relay...I couldn't figure it out. But my porsche tech told me it was the ground. AND IT WAS!

Yeah? Sounds promising, I clean my ground, but I'm always down to purchase a new one, especially while waiting a new a starter to come in. Where did you purchase yours?

[IB RearWheelin]

I had my OE starter rebuilt and it's running stronger than ever.

[stuntman703]

I don't think it's my grounds, nor my starter. I just installed a working one from NAPA, which they had a weird set up for theirs. Still a hum, a new hum though, not as loud, i'm guessing because it's a different starter. Time to test the harness for shorts.

[IB RearWheelin]

I wish I could help you "hands on" instead of diagnosing over the net. I'm pretty sure it's a wiring issue somewhere.

[stuntman703]

Originally Posted by IB RearWheelin

I wish I could help you "hands on" instead of diagnosing over the net. I'm pretty sure it's a wiring issue somewhere.

I agree, I've replaced battery, ignition switch and starter, the only thing in between those to create a crank is wiring. BTW your icon is great, Mark Hamill was great as the Joker.

[maso]

I had this problem a few years back and you would not believe on what the problem was. The rotor had actually snapped off and it was spinning around and around. How it happen I have no idea. After checking the starter on a bench, swapping the battery & coil, I went to change the distributor cap and found the problem. I think your car wont have this problem but you are surprised on what the solution maybe.

[stuntman703]

SUCCESS! Finally got it start it. I don't know exactly if it was the ignition switch or the 3rd starter but i changed a wiring on the NAPA starter (odd set up) and it fired right up. Thank you for ALL for helping me, now it's time for me to pass this newly found knowledge to the next no start victim. Thank you again.