I have a problem with my 97 TE magna.Every once and a while it wont start.It will be running fine the rest of the time but whe i go to start it it cranks but wont start.it is annoying cause i have to wait 30min for it to start then it will run fine.There is never any warning that the car wont start up again.
I had this problem back in may and it went on for months until i took it into a dealer to look at it.The dealer had it all day and not once did the problem occur and they did a full search of the car and found nothing that could cause this problem.
i have looked in my service book that tells you how to do anything and everything to a magna including services and pulling it apart, and nothing helped.
When i got it back from mitsu dealer they said they found no problem at all and searched the computer in the car and found nothing.After that the problem didnt occur till now.
It seems to do it when the key is inserted to fast.
I thought it was the imoboliser but i have a new one installed and it still does it.The key was checked but the coding is good.
HELP!!!!!

I have a problem with my 97 TE magna.Every once and a while it wont start.It will be running fine the rest of the time but whe i go to start it it cranks but wont start.it is annoying cause i have to wait 30min for it to start then it will run fine.There is never any warning that the car wont start up again.
I had this problem back in may and it went on for months until i took it into a dealer to look at it.The dealer had it all day and not once did the problem occur and they did a full search of the car and found nothing that could cause this problem.
i have looked in my service book that tells you how to do anything and everything to a magna including services and pulling it apart, and nothing helped.
When i got it back from mitsu dealer they said they found no problem at all and searched the computer in the car and found nothing.After that the problem didnt occur till now.
It seems to do it when the key is inserted to fast.
I thought it was the imoboliser but i have a new one installed and it still does it.The key was checked but the coding is good.
HELP!!!!!

If the motor is cranking its either fuel or ignition. My understanding is with immoberlisers they wont even allow the car to crank but I could be wrong. Perhaps look at the fuel pump, my mums old celica did exactly this back in the 90's.

pump is fine and there is always fuel in it.
It has the guys down at the dealer stumped cause they cant find anything wrong with the car.

my first thought would be the crank angle sensor. But normally if this is buggered the computer should have logged it in memory. But who knows, it could be it.

would be thinkin the crank angle sensor aswell
my mates does this, wont start for an hr but then on other days its completly fine, ie wen u take it in to get looked at...
yer thats my suggestion

Service guys prolly already did it, but does it help if u reset ECU (disconnect battery for few hours). Do u have second key with same problem?

no second key that i can find in my house?i could have one somewhere!

i know this must be way off cause i dont know crap about engines, but mine used to do that and ut turned out i had a dud battery, sometimes it would start other times i got nothing..... and if i went back 30 mins later it would work...... replaced the battery and it was fine

mine was doing this.

took the plugs from my immobiliser and solidered (spelling) them together cos they were corroded(spelling) lol

~ had a dud battery, sometimes it would start other times i got nothing..... and if i went back 30 mins later it would work...... replaced the battery and it was fine

Mmm, valid point, cos these "new" engines are fussy about the voltage in the battery/starting system. If I remember correctly it needs to be much above 12 V, even tho the nominal voltage in a battery is 12 V. I could only verify this from Service book - which is at home of course....

would be thinkin the crank angle sensor aswell
my mates does this, wont start for an hr but then on other days its completly fine, ie wen u take it in to get looked at...
yer thats my suggestion
While reading through 3diamondgal's post, I too thought it could be the crank angle sensor.

Failing this, it could be a dud 02 sensor.....Ask the dealership if they checked both sensors.

I too have the exact same problem with my car and i know exactly what it is, cos each time i have done my little "fix" it starts.

There is a plug on the side of your distributor the has about 8-10 wires going from it to the loom on the engine. Every now and then, moisture can build up in this plug. The plug is for a sensor in the distibutor that tells the ECU that the motor is turning and the spark plugs are firing, so then, the ECU tells the injectors to fire. When the moisture builds up in the plug, the signal doesnt get to the ecu, so the injectors wont fire. I usually unplug it, blow the plug and the socket out, and re-connect and it goes then. If it wont go after that, check the plug for the injector harness, i was told that this one does the same thing as well.
Sorry for being longwinded.
Chris

Check fuel pressure, might be the fuel pressur regulator???

There is a plug on the side of your distributor the has about 8-10 wires going from it to the loom on the engine. Every now and then, moisture can build up in this plug. The plug is for a sensor in the distibutor that tells the ECU that the motor is turning and the spark plugs are firing, so then, the ECU tells the injectors to fire. When the moisture builds up in the plug, the signal doesnt get to the ecu, so the injectors wont fire. I usually unplug it, blow the plug and the socket out, and re-connect and it goes then. If it wont go after that, check the plug for the injector harness, i was told that this one does the same thing as well.
Sorry for being longwinded.
Chris

Should spray it with WD40 or CRC as it will repell any moisture.

no as they both conduct electricity. a can od Co2 spray will do the trick. Its just Carbon Dioxide in a can.

My 97/98 TF has a similar problem. Had a problem with a spark lead so fixed with new leads ( old ones way over km for change [my bad] ) plugs , disi cap and rotor. Car starts fine idles fine but when you bring up the revs at around 2500rpm the engine surges backs off surges backs off and keeps doing this until you release the throttle slightly. Now i have tried to give it a slow run down my street but if feels like it is starving itself of something (fuel, spark, or air) and it basically kangaroo hops if you dont give it a bit more of a rev to start. And once you get it going and get the revs way up there ( 5500rpm) you get no throttle response (evenif you try to stab the throttle nothing just dies) and you have to let it idle for a little while before you up the revs just to get moving :rant:
So does anyone know of what the hell this could be. I ran a diagnostic check and it said to check the TPS, but i checked with multi-meter and all was well. I dont want it to be the TPS as there $300 from mitsu dealers

TPS, engine temp. sensor, cracked disi cap, crank angle sensor, o2 sensor, blocked injector(s), blocked cat., low fuel pressure, ignition module, ignition timing, engine immobiliser, etc.

Don't always rely on the diagnotic codes. They usually only tell you if a sensor is faulty and not giving any readings. Some of the sensors can be faulty, but still send an "incorrect" signal to the ECU!

no as they both conduct electricity. a can od Co2 spray will do the trick. Its just Carbon Dioxide in a can.

Bullcrap!

If I remember correctly it needs to be much above 12 V, even tho the nominal voltage in a battery is 12 V.

I hate to be a picky K1w1 but the nominal, unloaded, voltage for an auto battery is 13.8 volts, not 12.

I have a problem with my 97 TE magna.Every once and a while it wont start.It will be running fine the rest of the time but whe i go to start it it cranks but wont start.it is annoying cause i have to wait 30min for it to start then it will run fine.There is never any warning that the car wont start up again.
I had this problem back in may and it went on for months until i took it into a dealer to look at it.The dealer had it all day and not once did the problem occur and they did a full search of the car and found nothing that could cause this problem.
i have looked in my service book that tells you how to do anything and everything to a magna including services and pulling it apart, and nothing helped.
When i got it back from mitsu dealer they said they found no problem at all and searched the computer in the car and found nothing.After that the problem didnt occur till now.
It seems to do it when the key is inserted to fast.
I thought it was the imoboliser but i have a new one installed and it still does it.The key was checked but the coding is good.
HELP!!!!!
MINE DOES EXACTLY THE SAME WHAT THE F#U%K IS IT ??? ITS SOO ANOYING I FOUND UNDOING THE PETROL CAP AND LETTING PRESSURE OUT OF THE TANK HELPS BUT MAYBE ITS JUST MIND OVER MATTER.! I have had several ppl look at it frist though it was Idle speed control motor was stuffed but thats been checked, i replaced my battry and it didnt do it for 4 months straight now its back again, i am thinking possibly electrical problem.. grr so anoying

I hate to be a picky K1w1 but the nominal, unloaded, voltage for an auto battery is 13.8 volts, not 12.

Well actually you'll get a nominal voltage of 13.8V because of the alternator. The standby voltage for the battery is 12V (trust me, I have permanently connected a volt meter, it doesn't lie)

isnt it a royal pain. Just when you think it is fixed and the problem goes away for a while it comes back. so many people have posted so many possible causes that we may aswell pull the whole motor to pieces...........I HATE THIS PROBLEM.......its like an annoying ex......just when you think you have rid them from your life they show up out of the blue and cause all sorts of problems. :rant:

OK while i do not suggest i know exactly your issue I can point you in another way....

The ignition module that sits on your dizzy is a bosch, whihc is also used in teh 6cylinder holden and falcon as well as the v8 commodores. This offen breaks down when it is hot. is you car stopping when warm only? I had this problem a while ago... $80 and changed ignition module and away we went. One thing I would advise go to an electronics store and grab a can of freezing spray, when it happens next time spray the outter case and see whether it starts then, if so i suspect the ignition module to be the case. Just a little more diags need to be doen.. :D hope it helps

Cheers

whenever the problem has occured my bf has pulled one of the leads off the spark plug and stuck a screw driver in the end of the lead and lent it on the engine,started it and it cranks over for a little bit and you can see the spark but it starts everytime. when the problem occurs i always get a slight smell fuel.
what does everyone think?
seems like lots have this problem but none know what to do! :confused:

Two years ago "the most annoying problem ever" occured on my Magna.
Symptoms.
Engine cranks over at normal speed hot or cold, but will not start.
Check engine light stays on when key is returned to the run position after trying
to start engine.
Turning key off then back on and observing "check engine light" the following
occurs. Key on (not cranking) check engine light goes off after approx 30
seconds, engine will start normaly. Key on (not cranking) check engine light
stays on after approx 30 seconds and remains on, engine will not start.
Turning the key off for a few minutes will usually clear the problem, problem
occurs randomly and can not be made to happen by any logical sequence.
Problem occurs with either of the genuine ignition keys. ( Non genuine or
uncoded keys will usually allow the engine to crank but will not deactivate the
imobiliser).
Battery voltage when cranking a cold engine stays above 10.5volts.
Fuel pump can be heard running when engine is cranked.

After six months of searching, checking and swearing the problem has been solved? Well it hasn't shown up for a year. Being such an intermitant problem it is hard to pin point what action finally fixed it but the following is the method I have used and may be of some use.

All, I mean ALL electrical connectors to the engine were disconected, one by one
and the contacts cleaned then securely reconnected ensuring that there was no strain on any of the wiring or connectors. All of the relays and fuses were removed, cleaned and replaced. An additional earth strap was connected from the engine block to the vehicle chassis. This cable is the same diameter as the main battery cables and is bolted to a sanded shiney bare metal surface area at each end. This cable is probably overkill as no significant voltage drop was measured but as the problem would disappear whenever a test was to be made accurate measurements under fault conditions were not possible.
I hope this is of some use, and if applied with the other suggestions in this thread may just cure your problems. Regards Dan

just read your reply and was wondering what you used to clean all the electrical connectors and did you clean the ones that are connected to the transmission?
Just wondering if you had an rev problem? Lately my problem has been worse with the car stalling after idling at 2000rpm. My idle jumps all over the place even when i am sitting at lights when the idle increases the car pushes forward...the aircon is off at the time.
Usually when i stop at the lights the car tries to jump forward with the idle going up.
Not sure if this is a seperate problem or if it is related but since you seem to come the closest with having this problem.....i have tried the other sugestions and nothing changed....i thought you might have this one too.

Had the TPS changed for a new one :rant: which fixed slightly however if you stab the throttle from 3000-3500rpm feels as though its not getting enough fuel?? Then you loose all throttle control until the revs drop a little. And it still surges sometimes :nuts:
I'm hoping that its the fuel pressure reg and not the ecu. Think i might take it into mitsu dealer and see what they can find out for me, unless anyone has had these symptoms

After a year of having the problem with my car where it wont start on odd occassions and the revs being all over the joint, 3 mitsu visits with no detected problem and several mechanics later i have solved the problem. With the whole engine miss behaving i thought that it would be a huge problem to fix but i was wrong..........anyone who wrote on this thread origionally will no just how much damage is caused by this problem and all it is is a sensor.
I discovered what it was by purely showing off. My car wouldnt start again at the petrol station and guys were coming from every direction to help a girl out.....but typical me canot stand guys who pull the whole "I am a man so move over and give me a look at the car" so i pulled the first clip off that i saw and then tried the car.........It started, so i put the clip back together and drove off. From then on if the problem occured i undid the clip and then started it, then when running put the clip back together and drove off.Well i did some research and found out it was the engine coolant sensor and this little sensor controls a big part of the running of the engine.This is the lowdown of the problem:
If the sensor is faulty your car thinks the engine is too cold and wont start, therefore runs a richer mixture which then gives you the fuel smell.When the car is running and the revs are all over the joint this is because the car is adjusting the revs to the temp of what it thinks your car is at even if the temp is fine. I replaced my sensor the other day for $150 from mitsu and the car runs perfect. No more engine light, starts perfect everytime no matter what temp, perfect revs all day everyday and no more fuel smell
I hope this helped all those other members who had the same problem. Its a wonder though that mitsu didnt pick up on this problem evertime i put it in to be checked, apparently it is one of the most common problems in the TE, TF series.