[968gene]

Took the '92 out today for the first time in months. Drove for about 40 miles. (now up to 30,045 miles on the odometer). Sat at a red light for a few minutes and the "!" light came on. Drove another 1/2 mile and pulled into a self service car wash. Put up the top, closed the windows and rinsed off the car. No major wash, just a rinse. Car is now dead. Tried to jump start it, no good. Unhooked the battery and tried to jump it, again no good. It turns over very slowly and very slightly, then dead.



OK, called the Flashman. Sounds like a grounding issue or a short to him.



Anyone else had a 944/968 die in this fashion? Ideas?



Thanks in advance.



(And no, I did not overheat and seize the engine.)

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[Cloud9...68]

The only time I got the dreaded "!", it was because the alternator belt broke. Seeing as you hadn't driven your car in awhile, your battery may have been pretty low (though it should have charged pretty well after 40 miles of driving), so the fact that you were only able to turn it over very slowly could indicate a charging problem of some kind. Did you happen to notice whether the battery (or charging, or alternator, or whatever it's called - blanking out on the name, for some reason) gauge was reading lower than normal on this particular drive?

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[968gene]

Cloud, I keep the battery up by using a battery storage charger. I did notice that I was running around 12.5 volts during the trip. This didn't seem unusual since the battery has been maintained. Also, I have replaced the regulator and belts within the last 2,000 miles.

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[top_gun92]

I agree with Cloud9...68's diagnosis. If your gauges are reading the same, your battery isn't the issue. However, you might want to first check your belts to make sure they didn't fail or fall off. That has happened to my car because my tensioner pulley failed on one occasion and due to rough driving on the other. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wacko.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> If they are fine then my thinking is your alternator has gone belly-up <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[968rz]

Even with NO alt the car should start with a good batt/jump. Don't these cars have an issue with grud building up on the starters? poor connection there would def cause the issue you stated.

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[top_gun92]

Sorry, didn't realize gene already posted response and didn't read far enough into the problem. I guess that is what I get for trying to do two things at once <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> *moves off into the corner with the dunce cap*

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[968gene]

UPDATE: disconnected the negative cable on the battery...connected the negative terminal on the battery directly to the engine with a jumper cable...car started immediately. I've got a bad ground and I'll bet its the bell housing ground. Any comments?

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[doster]

More than likely it was just the battery ground I ,ve had that problem with my truck, usually it will just

click when you try to start it. Glad you got it worked out <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[porsche]

sounds like it's time to sell that car!



Of course, I want first dibbs!!!!!



Porsche

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[Richard]

[quote name='porsche' post='40766' date='Sep 4 2007, 04:56 PM']sounds like it's time to sell that car!



Of course, I want first dibbs!!!!!



Porsche[/quote]



He had it for sale earlier this year, so this might be your lucky day:



http://www.968forums.com/index.php?showtopic=3934

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[968gene]

Well, it wasn't the battery to cable connection. I started looking at grounds and started with the main battery to chassis ground near the battery box. Here's the before picture. As soon as I cleaned and reconnected this ground, the car started and ran perfectly. I also went over the rest of the grounds as well. Thanks for the input.

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[flash]

yup - that's the one i was telling you about - pretty crappy way to ground a battery - mine showed some of that too before i cleaned it up - glad you sorted it out

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