Dear All
Perhaps someone can help, my car is a 2004 MITSUBISHI VERADA XI KW SERIES II F/INJ 4D SEDAN (V6, 36000 KM).

The car stars perfectly fine from cold. About 35 or 40 mins of city driving without an apparent reason the ABS and TCL lights will go "on". Then the handbrake light goes "on" as well. Please note the car is NOT hot, neither I have pulled the hand brake lever. Around the same time the radio will switch "off" as well as the lights on the driver panel. The power of the engine appears to be ok but at this stage I will turn the engine off.

Inmediately after these issues, the car will NOT start. I can hear a humming when I turn the ignition key, but the starter motor will not operate. It behaves as if the battery does not have a lot of power - but its not that old (12 months). The lights in the driver panel will not operate either.

I will leave the car turned off for around 1.5 to 2 hours, then it works perfectly fine (all driver panel lights will turn off after starting the engine (TCL, ABS, handbrake, etc). The lights will operate fine so as the radio. Please note the car has petrol, water, all oils are at correct level.

Before I take the car to any mechanic I want to exhaust any possible solution. I dont want to replace the ECU etc ($$$$), and still have the same problem.

Any help will be appreciated. :beer:
PCSM

Sounds electrical to me. Check the fuses (won't be that) and plug connectors under the dash and under the hood. Locate the BEM module and ECU and check the plugs and any earthing points on those. Any signs of coolant leakage here? Trial and error to find this problem, I'm afraid. A mechanic won't be of any help, but an auto electrician familiar with KW Magnas might be. Not starting indicates battery, starter or immobiliser. Does the car use coolant - needing topping up often? Coolant leakage is a common problem in third gens, gets on the ECU plugs and makes the car get confused.
Unless another forum members have come across this problem before I can't be of much use.

Looks like the classic case of the alternator regulator not working (under/over charging the battery). Has it ever happened at night with the headlights on? If so, did you notice the headlight go dimmer or brighter?

The fact that it hums when trying to start means its not the starter motor solenoid (which can seize when it gets hot and due to age). The hum is most likely the fuel pump.

Madmagna and others will probably provide more info.

yeah i would think its the battery, how old is it?

Thank you all for the tips,
I will check all plugs, fuses and clean them. The batter was intalled at the begining of Feb 2008, its 26 months old - I would not expect it to fail that quick ( I have done about 15000km in the last 2 years).
One question, would you please assist on the location of the BEM and ECU units in this model?

If the problem is the altenator would't the charge light go on in the the dash? I will check this evening if the headlights dimm when I accelerate the car. This has only occured twice and I stopped the car the second time in order to get some feedback here. I will research here on how to check the alternator myself.
PS

thats over 2 years old, depending on quality and size of the battery, id say its old enough to be dead. not enough to not start your car, but old enough to have some of the symptoms your having

This has been covered countless times even recently

The symptoms you have are altinator, is becoming a bit of an issue, many have replaced altinators of late for the same reason

Generally the diode pack lets go, it will then throw AC current into the system and sent the whole lot into haywire.

Thank you all again.
I have disconnected and cleaned all plugs with WD40 + checked fuses. All look pretty new and clean. Also cleaned the air filter - still original after 38000km, perhaps I should replace it. So I guess the option now is:
A- replace/check the battery (after 26 months of use it looks a bit dry on the cells, I have never topped with any water).
B- replace/check the alternator (is it possible to replace only the diode pack?)
C - clean the ABS sensors (last).

PS

Thank you all again.
I have disconnected and cleaned all plugs with WD40 + checked fuses. All look pretty new and clean. Also cleaned the air filter - still original after 38000km, perhaps I should replace it. So I guess the option now is:
A- replace/check the battery (after 26 months of use it looks a bit dry on the cells, I have never topped with any water).
B- replace/check the alternator (is it possible to replace only the diode pack?)
C - clean the ABS sensors (last).

PS

Sounds good, but the battery won't cause those symptoms but wont hurt to fix it!

Hi,
I agree this does not seem to be a battery problem. Otherwise the car will not start from cold.

I tend to think is a sensor. I will let you know.

The symptoms you have are altinator, is becoming a bit of an issue, many have replaced altinators of late for the same reason

Generally the diode pack lets go, it will then throw AC current into the system and sent the whole lot into haywire.

Mal , This is a problem on Delicas as well ( our other car ) i have seen plenty of new alternators on ebay of late for Magnas , most likely chinese imports . do you have any experience with them , are they good/bad? thanks

Any idea to a link to the Verada 2004 Worskshop Manual? I found a link to one but it only has until 2003 - see http://www.lisho.net/?page_id=3

Thanks, PS

Any idea to a link to the Verada 2004 Worskshop Manual? I found a link to one but it only has until 2003 - see http://www.lisho.net/?page_id=3

Thanks, PS

Pretty sure you can download the pdf version off here..... Just do a search for it!

Any suggestions on a good honest and reliable electrical workshop to take the car and have this problem and the alternator checked/fixed. I am in Crowns Nest (north shore) and Waterloo/Moore Park (Sydney) ?

I had some bad experiences in Mosman and Chatswood - once they told me my old car (a magana 93) had severe oil leaks, to take it to parramata rd and get $500 at best-I took it to have the engine cleaned went to another mechanic and had a full rego - no repairs. That was 3 years ago, this my current car now. Another one, following the rego inspection they indicated I have to fix a light on the rear number plate - apparently the whole wiring was bad, $150 later they "apparently" fix it. I did 2K km the following year and at the next rego they diagnosed the SAME problem with the wiring, what a joke. I took all the papers from the previous year and asked to show me exaclty the problem. They couldnt and I end up paying only $15 for the repair. Since them I started DYI. :-)

but I can not check the alternator ;-(.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
PS

Thank you all. The alternator was not charging the battery - hence the light going crazy and then off.

I took it to an electrical repair shop (linked to BOSH) and they replace a small module attached to the alternator, EVU or EVL??). It took half an hour and cost $140.
Is still using the same 26 months battery which now has some water - it was dry. All working fine.

good to hear dude, question though, what was wrong with the wiring for the number plate light...?

Number plate wiring - I assume nothing wrong. They could not explain the fault the second time. I believe the garage, noticing there was nothing wrong with my car, made up the excuse to charge me extra money. They never though I was going to remember and bring up last year's rego papers (this was the only problem last year so it was difficult to forget).