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Old 09-28-2023, 12:28 PM   #1
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Not starting issue

2001 986S was sitting for 6 months while I was travelling. I tried to start it and ran into trouble.

The dash lights come on fine. I do not hear the starter at all. There is NO clicking as I would expect from a dead battery for example and no overt cranking sound.

I do hear an unusual low tone that seems to be coming from the right/passenger side front wheel area and feel a slight vibration when trying to turn the ignition.

When I listen at back I hear nothing at all from starter area.

Immobilizer was prophylactically pleased in Tupperware a while (and if I remember correctly immobilizer issue presents as cranking but no start, unlike here where I have no crank.

I tried a brand new battery so that is ruled out as a cause

Any ideas / troubleshooting? Thanks.

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Old 09-28-2023, 01:52 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by clueless1 View Post
2001 986S was sitting for 6 months while I was travelling. I tried to start it and ran into trouble.

The dash lights come on fine. I do not hear the starter at all. There is NO clicking as I would expect from a dead battery for example and no overt cranking sound.

I do hear an unusual low tone that seems to be coming from the right/passenger side front wheel area and feel a slight vibration when trying to turn the ignition.

When I listen at back I hear nothing at all from starter area.

Immobilizer was prophylactically pleased in Tupperware a while (and if I remember correctly immobilizer issue presents as cranking but no start, unlike here where I have no crank.

I tried a brand new battery so that is ruled out as a cause

Any ideas / troubleshooting? Thanks.
First make sure your fuses and related relays are good.
Then
Look up "testing Voltage drop on starter system" on youtube.
That will show you how to test the starting circuit for voltage drop issues.

Last edited by blue62; 09-28-2023 at 01:54 PM.
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Old 09-28-2023, 02:03 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blue62 View Post
First make sure your fuses and related relays are good.
Then
Look up "testing Voltage drop on starter system" on youtube.
That will show you how to test the starting circuit for voltage drop issues.


Will do. When you say fuses and relays, I want to make sure I don’t miss anything: Fuses in drivers side panel (I think mainly C 1-4 and E1 but I will check everything).

Also relays in back trunk on driver side under panel? Is there any particular relay? (Or any easy swap for testing purposes?)

Any others panels or fuses to check? I’ve read here going through old messages about passenger side both in cabin (fuses?) and in trunk (relays) but it was hard to decipher?

Also, is there any easy way to check ignition switch?
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Old 09-28-2023, 03:34 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by clueless1 View Post
Will do. When you say fuses and relays, I want to make sure I don’t miss anything: Fuses in drivers side panel (I think mainly C 1-4 and E1 but I will check everything).

Also relays in back trunk on driver side under panel? Is there any particular relay? (Or any easy swap for testing purposes?)

Any others panels or fuses to check? I’ve read here going through old messages about passenger side both in cabin (fuses?) and in trunk (relays) but it was hard to decipher?

Also, is there any easy way to check ignition switch?
I had to look this up
No fuse for the starter but there is relay.
It is in the rear trunk in relay panel #2 it is relay #7 which is in the bottom row far left.
Three more easy checks you can do.
1. Make sure your cable connections at the battery are clean and tight.
2. Check the connection of the negative battery cable where it connects to the post on the body.
make sure it is clean and tight.
3. There is small plastic junction box next to your power steering fill spot.
Inside that junction box is a cable junction or connection make sure that connection is clean and tight.
If you don't find the issue after the above checks then the next thing to to is a voltage drop test on the starting circuit ti see if you can isolate where the voltage is dropping out of the circuit.
I would do the above before I started looking at things like the ignition switch.
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Old 09-28-2023, 09:49 PM   #5
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Hi clueless1, I ran into a similar issue a month ago. Check out this thread:

http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/83762-no-start-crank-advise.html

My first post listed the steps I took initially before having to replace my starter.
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Old 09-30-2023, 08:10 PM   #6
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Ended up being clutch micro switch.

Thanks for all the help.
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Old 10-01-2023, 04:28 AM   #7
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[QUOTE=clueless1;656325]Ended up being clutch micro switch.

Thanks for all the help.[/QUOTE

Could you detail the diagnostic process you used to get you to the clutch micro switch?
Lots of no (crank) issues happen for various reasons.
A decent diagnostic process would help others when they search the issue.


Last edited by blue62; 10-01-2023 at 04:31 AM.
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