Porsche Repair: porsche 944, tree dwelling, porsche 944

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have a 1984 944 that sat for a few months. I am going to attempt to put it back on the road and would like to know if there is anything that I should, or should not do, as to ensure that I do not damage the electrical, or engine in the restart process. I was not drained to sit and it sat partially under a tree. Any information would be greatly apperciated.
Answer -
Hi Jason.

Let's start by reflecting on the fact that the car sat "partially under a tree".  I'm not sure how to use that information...I could consider the best case, where the tree's foilage protected the car from the wind and rain...or I could consider the worst case, where the foilage from the tree is now covering the car, or worse, it's inside the engine compartment...and the little tree-dwelling animals now  think the 944 IS a tree, and the woodpeckers have arrived....OK, maybe I'm over analyzing this a bit.

Here's what I'd do:

Absolutely! =>Drain the oil cold, just as you find it.  

Change the oil filter.  

Replace the oil with fresh stuff.  

Charge up the battery real, real good.  Keep the charger handy.  

Find the coil wire leading to the distributor and  disconnect it so the car can't start.  

Buy a generic 'clear' plastic fuel filter (FRAM has a couple available, one with 1/4" fittings and one with 3/8 fittings) and plumb this temporarily into the fuel line as close to the fuel injectors as you can.  I'm not suggesting ruining an existing metal fuel line, but the objective is to be able to stand over the engine while it's running and actually see the fuel passing through the filter...the incoming fuel will be fresh...because you added new fuel to the tank...and either the filter will show itself as perfectly clean...or it will be contaminated with dried fuel left in the tank.  Better to have that gunk captured in the fuel filter than captured in the fuel injectors!

Turn the engine over once.  Any bad sounds?  Probably not.  Turn the engine over twice.  Any bad sounds.  Probably not.  Turn the engine over many times.  NOT to fry the starter (let it rest often)...but to distribute the fresh oil throughout the system... before... the engine is acutally started.  Keep cranking the engine till the battery begins to tire.  Remember to rest  the starter frequently (meaning give it time to cool off).

After you've done all this and the battery is recharged and everyting is well...and the coil wire is replaced, start the engine, drive it slowly for awhile to let all the other transmission and differential fluids to ease up to their operarting temperature, then:

Keep that car well maintained, running forever...and have a great time with it.

Dave

Thanks Dave! The oil looked fine but I will drain it. The battery is new and it seem to turn over fine, the olnt thing that appears to be wrong is the battery light is on all the time now any fix or idea? And please post this on the Porsche web site.

Thank you,
Jason Killion

Answer
Hi Jason.

The battery light is telling you that the alternator is not charging the battery yet.  

If you mean the battery light is on while you're cranking the engine to distribute the oil, then that's OK.  If you mean the light is on when the engine is running at all or any speeds, then there is a problem.  The alternator output when it is on should be in the range of 14.0-14.6 volts.  Just measure the battery voltage while the car is running.  If it's 12-13 volts there's no charging going on.

The alternator shouldn't be a concern just because it sat for awhile, so check the tightness of the belt first, then look at the alternator itself.  There's a specific procedure to check if the regulator is bad, or something else is amiss.  Write back if you need this info.

Dave

p.s.  I'm not sure what your suggestion is to post this on the Porsche website.  Could you elaborate.