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

[Stef914]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give you a quick follow-up and say thanks for your help!

I crawled under the car and checked the ground metal strap from the tranny to the chassis. It’s there, a bit dirty and probably 50 years old, but still hanging tight. While I was down there, I checked the cables by the starter—everything seemed to be in place. The yellow one isn’t loose, and the big black one (sorry, not sure of the correct name, but you know the one I mean) is also secure.

I’ve attached some photos (they’re a bit blurry because they’re screen grabs from a video I took).

I couldn’t check the voltage on the yellow wire because I don’t have crocodile clamps yet. But I decided to try starting the car again because, well, why not? I know this is a pretty unorthodox way of troubleshooting—and probably not even troubleshooting at all. As a millennial who’s used to restart buttons on computers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/type.gif) and dreams of being a boomer who understands cars (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) , I gave it another shot. By wiggling the key around the ignition switch, it actually started! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

Check out the video here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/LTMnpiIOcVo?si=38QUzyNEQHBrYeLl

Could this be some kind of secret (now not-so-secret) anti-theft system? Maybe it’s one of those cases where people say cars have souls (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) ? Anyway, it seems like the switch might be on its way out and needs replacing. For now, though, it seems like this was the issue.

What do you think? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)