924Board.org

sheriff · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 1

We own a 1980 924 Turbo. Been on this site a few times with the same problems. As a recap: About every 3-4 days, the car won't start. We jumpstart it, and it immediately starts. We know the battery is at full charge (checked with a volt meter). We've bought a new battery, a new alternator, and re-wired all ground cables. We've looked under the dash, as suggested, at the fuse box for corrosion and loose wires, but nothing stands out. When car won't start, all electrical systems are functioning normally, i.e., antenna, windows, radio o.k. Check of battery at that time indicates full charge, but still won't start. Add jumper battery (or a good push down the street) and it's fine. After jumpstart or push start, we can turn the car off and (within seconds) start it up with the key switch. What else should we be looking for?

Smoothie · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 7:53 am Post subject:

You might just have a gunked-up starter solenoid. Could be that just one reasonably good battery is not enough to move it through the gunk and the jump start's giving it that little extra juice needed to do the job. Once you have the car running for a while, the battery's freshly charged so it has a little extra power to get it going again on those quick restarts.

Also - just putting a voltmeter on the battery doesn't tell you everything about the charge in the battery. A better way is to use an actual car battery tester or use your voltmeter and take the reading while the ignition is turned to "start". (The battery has to be under load while testing to get a real volts reading.)
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"..it's made in Germany. You know the Germans always make good stuff."

'82 924T, US version, dark green metallic, 5 speed Audi 016G gearbox

welder · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 158 Location: cumberland,maine

Sheriff, the next place I would look would be the connections at the starter. These corrode over time , very common. From what you describe it sounds like something realitivy simple. I say this because with a jump or push the problem seems to go away easy enough. Your starter is more accessiable on the drivers side than a non-turbo. Also check carefully the wire ends or the connectors as oxides will travel up the wire and cause problems. You may need to cut off the wire connectors and crimp or better yet solder new ends on. Also wire brush the posts on the starter after removing the wires. This sounds like a very typical problem for a 24 year old car. Good luck, and let us know how you made out.
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I have a 78 n\a currently under restoration.

CMXXXI · Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 1939 Location: Vicksburg, MS

When I first "ressurected" my 931 I had a similar situation. It turned out that I handn't bolted the starter on tightly enough to make an adequate ground. All the car's accessories worked fine, the starter just wouldn't turn over time-after-time-after-time. A 1/4 turn on the two mounting bolts and it solved the problem. (In retrospect, the problem may have been caused by the painted mounting flanges. None-the-less, the root cause was the same - the starter wasn't grounded well enough.) It certainly won't hurt to go underneath and double check the bolts and all the wiring while you are at it. If nothing else, it will satisfy yourself that the connections are solid.
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'79 Eurospec 931

D Hook · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 3158 Location: Omaha, NE

You may want to take the battery to a parts store and have them load test it. If you put a voltmeter on the battery, it may read 12 or more volts but not have enough umph to turn the starter. I've had batteries fail within weeks of purchase (usually Diehards) and the one I'm on now has been flawless for 3 years (knock on wood). I chased many problems on my car that turned out to be a bad battery. Start there and then go to the wiring/grounds. Did you put a voltmeter on the battery while the car was running to see what voltage the alternator is putting out? Should get about 13.5 volts I believe, at the posts.

Let us know what happens. Lot's of guys on here w/good electrical solutions to these cars' problems.

numbbers · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 11:00 am Post subject:

So, is the problem that it won't start, or that it won't crank?
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1980 924 Turbo

Buwani 931 · Joined: 31 May 2004 Posts: 308 Location: Napa California

A good auto parts store can also test the starter to see how many amps it is ( and should be ) drawing. Have them spin it a few times as they tend to get dead spots that can draw extra amps when starting at a certain spot on the armature.

Food for thought
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1980 931
That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten.

Jazzerpet · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Posts: 186 Location: Omaha, NE.

DHook was that a poke at Sears? When you know every one of my cars have their batteries and all of my toolboxes are full of their tools. I didn’t know anyone else had batteries.

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1980 931
1985 ½ 944
Member of the “Omaha Crew”

D Hook · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 3158 Location: Omaha, NE

Weeeellllll

.....Sorry Jim, facts are facts. I've had more Diehards die on me than any other brand. YMMV. I used to use them religiously in all my cars. Then I had three crap out on me within about a year. Each time I'd take them in, they'd say they were shot and give me another. Never had problems with the warranty. But I got tired of changing batteries.

But I'll take their tools any day. Like you, most of my stuff is from Sears; never have much problem with them. But the batteries...? Different story altogether.

BTW, haven't updated the sig yet, eh? Don't worry...I won't tell.