Giving Up.... :(

[boxs2000]

Is your car a tip or manual? If its a tiptronic, try putting it in neutral vs park then try. If tip then it may be a neutral safety switch. Or if manual, check to see if the clutch safety switch is disconnected or bad. Good luck

[FrayAdjacent]

If you bought a battery off a shelf somewhere... it's probably been sitting there for a while, and probably only has a marginal charge.

Slap it on a charger overnight.


I'm expecting a new Optima battery tomorrow, and first thing I will do is put it on my charger for 12 hours or so.

[pbanders]

914's are even worse than you describe! The current path for the starter solenoid goes through the igniton switch, which is far from the starter, has undersized conductors, many contact points, etc. Many owners installed a relay next to the starter to provide a low resistance path for the solenoid.

[macyfilms]

To remind everyone: '98 Boxster, won't crank, won't start.

After a battery that had been completely dead for a month was replaced, the car won't crank. (Hood had been locked, and power had to be fed in through lighter socket to get power to unlock hood)

The history:

Battery: replaced AND charged for 24 hours.
Ignition switch: replaced.
Clutch switch: checked, appears to be going in and out and clicking accordingly.
Fuses: all appear good.
Relays: seem okay. switched out relay with same #, still no crank.
Immobilizer: opened box under seat; no obvious sign of any damage of any sort.
Starter: tested, spins fast.
Solenoid/Starter: Cranks engine hard and fast.
Analyzer readout: no problem codes.
Key: appears good; "capsule" inside appears fine.

What am I missing ??


SG

[Paul]

Have you checked the clutch switch with a VOM to see if it is actually opening and closing the circuit?

[macyfilms]

Originally Posted by Paul

Have you checked the clutch switch with a VOM to see if it is actually opening and closing the circuit?

I will check it today. Is it possible to bypass this switch ?


sam

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by macyfilms

I will check it today. Is it possible to bypass this switch ?


sam

Yes. You can just disconnect the leads to the switch and short them by running a wire between them. It's actually better for the engine to not press the clutch in while starting anyway so I've got my switch bypassed on all my cars.

Just make sure you don't have the car in gear when you start it.