Hi all,

As the title states i am having a little trouble starting my wagon in the mornings as of late. It only seems to happen after it's been left over night and the air is cool. It doesn't happen after work when the weather is warm even though it's been sitting there for 9 hours.

The battery seems to be ok, however I will go get a load test done on it tomorrow to rule out the battery.

Few symptoms, it took about 5-8 seconds of me turning the car over and pumpin the accelerator to get it going. Once running it idles fine in neural or park. If I put it into drive or reverse it struggles to idle sometimes and nearly dies. If I give it a boot full to get out of my crappy angle of a street it feels as though it has absolutely no power at all then out of no where gains its momentum again. The first set of few lights on the way to work while its idling in drive it struggles and misfires a little. After 5 mins of driving it is completely normal again. Also none of this happens after work driving.

(A small note I forgot to add, with the AC on it sometimes has a little misfire once every few minutes)

Last week was the first time I have run 91 fuel in it so I put 98 back in just invade it was the injectors getting dirty from shizen fuel. I'll buy some injector cleaner also.

Is there any way of checking for leaky injectors or the fuel pumps, or does anyone have or know of a problem similar to this with a solution?

I have used the search tool with not too much luck.

Cheers

To determine if you have a leaking injector or fuel pressure dropping overnight:
Leave car overnight, longer if possible
Turn key to "On" and wait 30sec
Then kick it in the guts.

If it starts quickly/normally, you're dropping fuel pressure - possible leaking injector or fuel is making its way back into the tank.

If it's a battery issue, you should notice a drop in cranking speed.

Thanks for the instruction,

I tried it this morning, still the exact same problem. If anything it took longer. There was however a lot more due this morning on the car so maybe it's a moisture thing? Still the same in starting it I have to pump the throttle on and off to get it to start. Once started it can idle fine. First few mins of driving in D at lights at a stop it misfires a little and drops revs every now and then until warm

Traditionally hard starting indicates cactus spark plugs, I'd check their condition. Also check your temp sensors, if the ECU doesn't know the engine's cold it won't adjust the air/fuel mix to suit (equivalent to pulling out the choke... assuming anybody remembers one of those!). Note also that injector cleaner may keep them cleaner for longer but it won't unclog them, that can only be done ultrasonically. I'd be checking all sensors, hoses, filters etc. for tightness, correct values, no cracks and so on.

Traditionally hard starting indicates cactus spark plugs, I'd check their condition. Also check your temp sensors, if the ECU doesn't know the engine's cold it won't adjust the air/fuel mix to suit (equivalent to pulling out the choke... assuming anybody remembers one of those!). Note also that injector cleaner may keep them cleaner for longer but it won't unclog them, that can only be done ultrasonically. I'd be checking all sensors, hoses, filters etc. for tightness, correct values, no cracks and so on.

Thanks for that Ensoniq5 ,

In regards to temp sensor how do I go about checking this? Cheers

In regards to temp sensor how do I go about checking this?

Proper check involves removing sensor and placing tip in water while measuring the resistance across it's terminals and raising the water temperature. You'll need a thermometer in the water too. Correct range is below:

0°: 5.1-6.5 KOhms
20°: 2.1-2.7 KOhms
40°: 0.9-1.3 KOhms
80°: 0.26-0.36 KOhms

I guess a simple test without removing it and buggering about with thermometers would be to measure when the engine's cold and again when hot. Based on the stated range I'd guess something like 3.0-4.0 KOhms on a cold morning and less than 0.2 hot.

Thanks for the reply again!

Another thing to note,

I found a large deposit of yellow gump that looked like coolant that had fallen out of one of the hoses to the throttle body, could this be leaking into the distributor perhaps? If so makes no sense why it's only after I've left it over night regardless of the fact that I leave it 9 hours during the day.

Also, the battery light is on only while it is trying to crank, is this normal?

Also I might add that once it has started once it can be started again

Is there any sensor near or below there that might be getting the liquid built up ontop of it then once started comes off or something?

Since you are in Victoria, perhaps take it to Madmagna at Mits-Fix to have a look.

Since you are in Victoria, perhaps take it to Madmagna at Mits-Fix to have a look.

Vlad I have since moved to SA about a year ago and am unsure how to change my profile to SA. I see it says you're from around here also. Anyone you recommend on that could help me out?

Vlad I have since moved to SA about a year ago and am unsure how to change my profile to SA. I see it says you're from around here also. Anyone you recommend on that could help me out?

1. Click Forum Actions at the top menu bar and select Edit Profile.
2. Select South Australia in the Location Drop down box.
3. Scroll to the bottom and click Save.


As for someone in SA, you could always try a dealer. Elizabeth Mitsubishi is fairly good. An old friend has his own shop at 28 Regency Rd Kilkeny, not far from Centro Arndale. Number is 8445 2875

1. Click Forum Actions at the top menu bar and select Edit Profile.
2. Select South Australia in the Location Drop down box.
3. Scroll to the bottom and click Save.


As for someone in SA, you could always try a dealer. Elizabeth Mitsubishi is fairly good. An old friend has his own shop at 28 Regency Rd Kilkeny, not far from Centro Arndale. Number is 8445 2875

Cheers thanks for that!

Looks like a busy weekend ahead!

Any more ideas from anyone who has read through the comments, would be much ly appreciated

I think I may have found it !! There wa a vacuum hose that had fallen off the throttle body, as I put it back on it dropped its idle instantly and was much smoother (even though I thought it was idol in fine before hand) hopefully this helps it, will find out in the morning I gues