No crank - no nuthin

[RickS]

Halp! Drove the car all over Seattle last Saturday and stopped and started it about 4 times. The last start was a little weird because of a high pitched whirring noise I had not heard before. After replacing a burnt out brake light, I tried to start it (pretty stock 2.4 with MFI) and all I got was a 'clunk'. The batteries are fine and there is one big hint: About 9 months ago I rigged an illuminated cold start switch to the fuel pump pre-pump thingy, to cut if off after starting since It would just keep going and foul the plugs. Now I see no power when the switch is activated. Would the fuel pump lose complete power like that? Could it be a relay (and where would it be?) or.... All the fuses are fine.

Thanks Much,

Rick
'73 911S Coupe
'72 911T Targa (deceased)

[tryan]

check the other harness feeds off the battery. do you have a meter?

[roblav]

Check all the ground straps - especially the one that is underneath the car which connects the transaxle to the chassis. Those corrode and flex over time. Was a problem on one of my '67s years ago.

[RickS]

Checked and tightened all the grounds and still nothing happening. Found out the batteries were a little low, so topped them off with a trickle charger. The car now cranks like crazy, but doesn't fire. Even after trying about 3 times (with cooling time for the starter) it never smelled flooded. Again, the lighted switch to the fuel pump pre-pump still does not illuminate. In the 'true confessions' dept. before this occurred, I wired in a discreet LED third brake light. I tapped into the left brake light wire inside the housing and grounded it to a ground to the body inside the L-rear wheel arch. I would really doubt this would have anything to do with it at all since I drove a full day with this setup with no problems - other than blowing out the right side brake light - which I replaced - and then the car would not start. It would be just too strange if simply connecting a 3rd brake light would starve the fuel pump or blow something else out.????

[tryan]

i had been fiddling with my voltage regulator and unpluged the power feed for the cd. which caused a spin/no start condition.

fuel pump still pumping/whiring? is the pump in the 72 still good?


move the ground for you cyclops light and see if that helps.



check for fuel.. check for sparky.

[targa911s]

So when you turn the key to the "on" position does your CD box "whistle"? If it doesn't then you grounded the cd box and that is a BIG no no. Done it myself. Are you getting spark? Pull the coil wire out and lay it on the case so it will arc. With an observer watching the coill wire crank it. No spark? Does your tach register when you are cranking? If no to all these questions...start looking for a used 3 pin CD box. There were a bunch on ebay last week. DO NOT USE A PERMAJUNK CD BOX! Find a use Bosch box.

Hope this helps.

[RickS]

Guys,

Moved the ground of the evil light to another location. The CD has a very- very slight high-pitched whine (I think it may be coming from there -difficult to tell exactly). Removed the coil and tried starting - no spark. Don't hear the fuel pump activating either. With all that crankin - no smell of fuel. Are we back to the CD? If so, what's a decent price to offer on E-bay?

Thx,
Rico

very very

[tryan]

your grounds are good. look at your points,cap and button first. is the little brown pig tail ground for the coil good?

i'm ignorant ......can relays be swapped for the fuel pump and something else. if the plugs are fouling, there is gas somewhere

i would try to borrow a cd , just to make sure thats the problem.

edit what is the ratio for the coil windings on a cd coil? 10:1 for standard coils. check the coil with an ohm meter.

[targa911s]

I agree with trying to borrow a CD box if you can before you lay out cash. The high pitched whine is not always a sign that it is working properly, but no whine means it's dead for sure. Check the points and stuff as stated by the previous post. If you need a box, a used Bisch box is best. I paid $200 for mine. Some are rebuildable, I believe the ones with the epoxy dot instead of the rivet. Maybe it's the reverse, anybody else know? I think it is Zims in Texas that has a guy that can rebuild them. However I would go for a used one if that is what you need. Good luck

[RickS]

Thanks guys for the suggestions - but where are you hiding all the women?

But seriously, transplanted my CD to a friend's with a 73 T and I'll be damned but it fired right up and ran with out skipping a beat. He suggested checking the wires in the fuse panel for 7 and 8 (fuel pump and brake lights) to make sure all was tight - as well as fuse 1 in the engine compartment. All were tight but my meter showed no juice through any of them when the key was turned full on. Damn! The good news is that my CD box is bueno.