Hey guys I have an 07 380 vrx and I'm having some major issues with it, I have no High beam, driving lights and windscreen washers. Now for the back story, I started having high beam problems when it was under warranty, and Mitsubishi replaced the indicator stalk, that fixed the problem for awhile, then i lost both high beam and driving lights and they replaced the large relay box in the fuse box in the engine bay, this then fixed the problem for awhile. The next time I had troubles with the same things they had to pull the radiator out and repair the wiring harness that runs along the bottom of the radiator support panel because it was damaged somehow (think it had rubbed through). That among other the many other things were repaired under warranty. Now that it's out of warranty the high beam, driving light problems have come back and as said the windscreen washers aren't working either. I have no power to the washer motor and no earth when I hit the switch either. All the fuses are good. I can run a power wire to the high beam and driving light fuse and the lights will come on. I guess I'm also asking has anybody got a wiring diagram for these circuits so I can trace the wires easier ??

First thing I would do is call Mitsubishi.

Given there have been so many problems (which they haven't correctly rectified) I think you would be well within your rights to approach them and asked it be fixed properly despite the warranty being finished.

If the dealership won't budge, email head office.

Ok Since I wrote the post I took it upon myself to have a look at the previous repairs. So i undid everything needed to pull the radiator up out of the road stripped undid the clamps held in by tek screws, stripped back the tape and gave the wires a bit of a pull.. 1 of the old solder joins pulled apart in my hands. By the looks of things it seems the harness was full of water because of the dodgy tape job and water had gotten into the heat shrink around the join and corroded the wire AND IT WORKED!!!!!!. So I've resoldered it again using heat shrink again.. now to retape and resecure the harness and put it all back together.:facejump::facejump::facejump:

Bunch of flamin' geese!

http://www.donegaldollop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/alf-stewart-geoff-ogilvy41.jpg


This is why no mechanic has ever done any work on any of my cars. Because I don't trust them to do a decent job, as well as saving myself a lot of money.

The only work ever done by anyone on my cars was a wiring conversion by Mal/Madmagna.

sounds like the car was hit and not repared properly

"sounds like the car was hit and not repared properly" well that is such helpful information

OP, there is a sponsor in QLD who has wrecked a few 380's and may be able to assist you with a front harness. They are not the easiest harness to change over but they can be done and we have done this once in the past. If you dont want to go down this path believe me no amount of tape is water proof. The factory who made the harness initially also used elec tape to tape together joints made mainly to the earth system in the harness.

I would guess that the person who soldered the broken wire simply did not do a very good job and thus it has failed. If you solder properly and either tape or better still head shrink then that is a good start. Make sure you do support the loom again properly and also you mention "tek" screws. I am hoping you are referring to Scrivetts which hold some of the plastics on and not actual "TEK" screws holding bits of the front end of your car on.

Also remember that if Mitsubishi has done work on your car, they usually supply a 12month/20k warranty on parts irrespective if the actual factory warranty has ended.

My dealer got very excited when my warranty was about to end as I milked it for what ever I could. I reminded him that everything that had been replaced still had warranty on it, his smile soon turned to a frown lol

This is a tek screw.

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/data/tools/te25et835he.jpg

Not a factory installed screw if that is what it is!

"sounds like the car was hit and not repared properly" well that is such helpful information

I actually think that's very helpful information???

If the car had a previous incident at the front, the owner might be able to chase down the insurer who did the repair. I guess it depends on whether he has had the car from new, or bought second hand after a possible front end prang.

Wiring looms on a fairly new car don't just rub through for no reason.

Black lion, I'd take it to an autoelec. Re-soldering at home with some heat shrink will be a temporary fix at best. Even if you manage to keep the water out, unless it's a really good solder, the extra resistance will eventually start generating heat and it may fail again.

A qualified autoelec will do it properly and it will last many times longer IMHO.

Sorry Flyboy an auto elec will use......wait for it......solder with heat shrink.

Extra resistance in using solder, seriously. Perhaps in avionics this may be a bed thing but trust me, in the car world solder is just fine, it gives a good joint if done properly and is the method used by Mitsubishi themselves (well by the people who made the harness in the first place) when they patched in power or earth wiring along the length on the loom. Only difference is that they dont heat shrink as these joints are only taped together.

OP, if you feel confident in your soldering then go with it, if the issue re occurs then at least you know where to look. As for chasing down previous owners, getting information about past crashes if there was one and then claiming under a warranty several owners into the future, all the best with that. Usually most of these warranties only apply for the owner of the car at the time unless of course you were the owner of the car when it had an incident.

Sorry Flyboy an auto elec will use......wait for it......solder with heat shrink

Sorry MadMagna, please show me in my post where I said an auto electrician wouldn't use solder.


Extra resistance in using solder, seriously. Perhaps in avionics this may be a bed thing but trust me, in the car world solder is just fine, it gives a good joint if done properly and is the method used by Mitsubishi themselves (well by the people who made the harness in the first place) when they patched in power or earth wiring along the length on the loom. Only difference is that they dont heat shrink as these joints are only taped together.

Yes, extra resistance if it's done poorly. That's exactly why I recommended a professional. It's got nothing to do with avionics, so thanks for bringing that up. A poor solder on a car or in avionics or whatever else you care to name can create excess resistance and heat and will fail eventually - it's physics.

I merely suggested he take it to an auto electrician if he wanted it to be fixed properly in the long term, because they have the skills and equipment to do a long lasting, reliable repair.

just a bit of advice about soldering to the OP.

The thing to be careful in doing home repairs in system critical wiring looms is to ensure that you create both a mechanical join as well as a solder join.
it means you need to pre-tin both ends and then twist them so they mechanically interlock and then solder them by applying heat to the join and having the solder flow smoothly.
Dont put the solder on the iron and carry to the join, that is the wrong way.

Observe these simple rules and there is no measurable resistance or loss of overall integrity.

A lot of home handymen and unqualified repairers simply don't know how to solder.

I shudder at the thought of a loom vibrating in that part of the car and potentially failing,or stalling at a busy intersection or down a steep slope like the Adelaide hills.