924Board.org

[ronafios]

Tonight my 924 sadly died on the way home from my daughters music lessons. It just totally died, turned over sputtered for a second and died again. I looked at my fuel gauge, miles travelled, did some maths and worked out I would have done something like 14l/100kMS to be out of fuel, but thought it was the most obvious problem. Added 5 litres, still no good!

Fuel pressure at the fuel distributor after the filter, but if I opened up one of the banjo thingamies NO FUEL squirts out.

So, I suppose this means some kind of complete fuel distributor blockage.

As this is my daily driver, I'm now trying to work out how long I can go with it off the road with a busy work schedule - does anyone know someone in the Canberra region, or even interstate that I can ship to who can recondition for me? Or, any advice on unblocking it so I can limp to the weekend?
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Follow the restoration of my Porsche 924 http://restore924.blogspot.com

[morghen]

unless you run your car without a fuel filter and on road dirt and water you cant block the fuel distributor.

its likely that you have an electrical problem...the fuel pump relay is probably toast...or the pump itself is toast.

if you turn the key in the ignition (but not all the way to crank the motor) can you hear a buzz from the rear of the car?

step 1: get yourself a buddy to help and turn the key and make him listen at the rear right of the car...there should be a buzz going on if the pump is running. if you cant hear a buzz then you probably have a broken fuel pump relay.

if no buzz go to step 2: hit the pump with a rock or with a small hammer and listen if it starts. if it does...you need a new pump as you've ran it without gas too many times and it gets blocked.

if still no buzz go to step 3: look up the relay board in the haynes manual and learn which pins to hotwire to get the pump runing.
do that and see if the pump makes a buzz. (ideally you should use a voltmeter to see if you get voltage at the pump with the key turned- be carefull tho...if the FPR works you only get voltage for a couple of seconds so you need your buddy to turn the key but not crank the motor)

If you hear a buzz but still get no pressure after the fuel filter its likely that you have a clogged fuel filter or a clogged in-tank pump....if so...its hightime you give the in-tank pump a good clean aswell as the tank itself...and replace the fuel filter.

my bet is on the FPR tho..
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https://www.the924.com

[ronafios]

Thanks for that - yeah - there is power to the pump, the pump buzzes, and like I mentioned in my first post, there is plenty of pressure at the fuel distributor AFTER the filter. If I undo the 17mm banjo bolt, it squirts everywhere. But the smaller 12mm ones on top - nada.
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Follow the restoration of my Porsche 924 http://restore924.blogspot.com

[morghen]

[ideola]

+1 to the injector line test...that's not a proper way to determine what's going on. Furthermore, everytime you relieve pressure on the fuel system, you will make the car hard to start because it needs to re-build the system pressure. Time for some careful diagnostics.

The very first thing I would do is check for spark, mainly because it's easier than the fuel delivery tests, so you can either isolate it as the problem or eliminate it and move on. First thing, get a spark tester and unplug the main coil wire at the distributor side. Check to make sure you're getting good clean spark at the coil wire. If yes, then disconnect at least one of the plug leads at the plug, and make sure you're getting spark there. To be thorough, you should really test all four plugs. If you have spark, try using a little bit of starting fluid to see if you can at least get the car to attempt to fire.

Then, if all that checks out, focus on the fuel delivery. As morghen noted, fuel MUST NOT be coming out of the individual fuel lines until you press down on the metering plate (you have to remove the airbox to get to it). So that sounds like it's functioning correctly. As for the fuel pump relay or the fuel pump itself, the only proper way to test is to make sure you have correct system and control pressures using the procedure outlined in Haynes, the Bosch bible, or the FSM. You will need a proper CIS Tester for this. The other possibility is that the FPR and pump are both good, but you're not getting enough voltage at the pump to produce full pressure, which will happen if you have a bad ground or corroded wires. So that's an easy preventive task you can do without the CIS tester just to be sure.

It's also possible that the fuel distributor has gone bad, or that the WUR has gone bad. Again, you need as CIS tester and the test regimen from Haynes to check this out.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[ronafios]

OK - thanks for all that. I was limited in how I could test faults by the side of the road with an adjustable spanner I found in the hatch... my first thought was blocked filter which is why I tested pressure at the fuel distributor.

Spark is OK, and it does TRY to start - if I wait for 10 mins and try again, it turns over for like 2 seconds and cuts out. So, maybe it is fuel line pressure. I'll have a look tomorrow and post back what I find.
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Follow the restoration of my Porsche 924 http://restore924.blogspot.com

[ronafios]

OK - well, it seems you guys are worth your weight in GOLD. The roadside assist guy who helped me out said things like, "these bosch fuel distributors always go" and, "yep, it's definitely the fuel distributor". So, I had removed it ready to service.

After reading your thoughts, I put it back on and focused on the pump. The usual buzzing was missing - so I jiggled the spade connectors - and it buzzed (a crappy buzz, but a buzz all the same). The car fired up! Enough to get me up my steep driveway for the night, anyway.

So, looks like the pump might be wheezing. I'll look into it more tomorrow - but for now I'm super grateful for your suggestions and help - it meant I could get my car off the roadside for the night..!
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Follow the restoration of my Porsche 924 http://restore924.blogspot.com

[924aussie]

So is it all working now ?


Alan
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green 924 .. 1980 rego 924PSH
1998 Mopar Neon ... sick
2003 Challenger / Montery 4WD
1995 Hyundai Scoupe ... sold
1998 Nissan Silvia ... sons back from OS he has taken it
BIG BLOODY MOTORHOME 300zx Sold
1980 Fire truck Sold

[ronafios]

I had no problems for a couple of weeks, so I was cruising - then it stopped again. This time I was certain it was the relay because the pump wasn't making any noise.

I pulled the relay open and the contacts were mere nubs of their former selves... gave it a quick sand and put it back and it fired up again. Drove it like that for a couple of days while I waited for a new relay to arrive, and today the new relay was installed - all working great.

Hopefully that's it!
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Follow the restoration of my Porsche 924 http://restore924.blogspot.com

[stevekat]

When in doubt, it is the fuel pump relay.

Always carry a spare, or a jumper harness. This is a lesson learned back in the old Rabbit/Scirocco days.
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"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you are goin' all the way."

Gone to new home: '81 924T, US version, CGT Intercooler, UTCIS-PT, Euro DITC, Greddy Trust MBC, Forged Fuchs Flat Dish 6's, Factory Recaro's.