Car won't start easily, Ideas ? Options

[Stef914]

Hi All,

The 914 won’t start easily—please see the attached videos.

I had to do some work in the garage today and wanted to move the car. The engine was cold (I mean, it’s hot as hell in there), but the car hadn't started for a solid week.

Well, it took me well over 10 attempts to finally crank the engine (I started recording a few more attempts before you see the 8 in the video).

https://youtu.be/2e1Zta4ima0?si=XTANkf5B-IJE2HTc

I rolled the car out of the garage, took care of some business for about an hour, then went to turn it on again. Same story, but it took 14 attempts before the engine fired (this time recorded in full on the second video here).

https://youtu.be/5chyRhp0ykg?si=icUl87HgEzDkPIlx

I've noticed this issue sporadically over the last year or so, both on cold and hot starts, but it has never taken more than 3 attempts before it would actually start.

I always disconnect the battery when I park the car. By the way, the battery is basically new—a red Optima with a reading of 12.47 (see the attached photo hopefully) and a WOS Performance Starter Motor that’s brand new (less than a year old).

Is this a sign of a bad ignition switch? I know it could be hundreds of different things, but I’m trying to narrow down the issue here. If you’ve had or seen something like this happening with your cars, any insight would be greatly appreciated.

If it is the ignition switch, can anyone point out where to get one? If a reproduction even exist... I can’t seem to find it on pelican parts or PMB performance... Also, what else would you check or address that might cause this?

As always, thank you very much in advance!

Stefano

[Superhawk996]

You need to troubleshoot the problem not just throw parts at it.

Very well could be the switch. It might be a bad ground and/or transmission ground strap issue. Could be bad wiring to the solenoid from the ignition switch. Could be bad connections at the relay board. With so many possible issues that present the same symptom, troubleshooting is a must vs. guessing.

Start by measuring the voltage down at the starter solenoid (yellow wire) when it won’t crank. If you have 12 volts on that yellow wire but it’s not cranking, you have a ground problem.

Here is another thread that is relevant. Doesn’t really matter if this occurs hot or cold, the troubleshooting procedure is the same.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...71267&st=20