I'm confuzed and flummoxed!

(1) Moved my TS 2.6 onto the lawn to give it a wash.
(2) Went to move it, but it just cranked and didn't fire.
(3) Tried again, no life from the starter.
(4) AHA! Flat battery! Swapped for a known good one, nope, still the same.
(5) AHA! Starter motor. Pulled it out, turns out my spare is the wrong sort, put the old one back, tested the old one while out, works fine.
(6) AHA! Ignition switch! Swapped for another one, repeat of (2) and (3)

Max scratches head and starts to doubt his own otherwise eggcelent fault finding skillz.

I'm at a loss. Any suggestion? Haven't checked for spark or fuel yet, or ECU fault codes. Does the ECU cut the starter if there is no spark or fuel?

I'm ready to junk this car and buy another!

pop off the dissy cap

look inside the cap (condensation )
and the plug to the dissy give it a wriggle

and see if the coil is sparking as well as the plug leads

could be ecu

check the ECU fuse

Yes, must do that. Where is the ECU fuse? In the fuse box in the engine compartment? They all look fine, but haven't checked with a multimeter.

lol The car is not in use at the moment, last 2 times it wasn't used for a while it had trouble firing up. In both cases the coil had snuffed it. Would be a really weird situation if the current coil has snuffed it AGAIN! Will check for spark as soon as possible. Wouldn't explain the crank/then no crank situation though. I will keep at it. lol

To motivate myself, I have threatened myself by saying that if I can't fix it, my punishment is to go buy a Commodore! Great motivation! (But only if you can follow the logic in that) lol

I'm hoping its not the immobiliser. Its a weird one used only on the TS, its an optical chopper attached to the back of the ignition switch. Probably mated to the ECU. No transponder in the key. No chance of replacing that with a new one or one from the wreckers, rare as hen's teeth. If that is the problem the car is history, I'm afraid.

under the bonnet in the black box

dont know what value it is

my TS/TRrepair manual no help

60A fuse, I think.

Manuals are like that, they can do only so much. Mine doesn't even mention the immobiliser.

Given up for today, will carry on tomorrow with more checks. Need to get an analog multimeter to check ECU codes, that might (?) help. Patience is a virtue. lol

Just pulled all of the under bonnet fuses and fusable links and checked them with a multimeter, All ok. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
(Your choice car, co-operate or DIE!!!!)

Threatening the car seems to have worked, sort of.

The starter motor I put in was the wrong one, probably off an auto while mine is a manual. Wrestled the original starter back in, after testing it off the car, worked ok.
Still did the crank, no start, then no crank bit.
Pulled and checked fuses, all ok. Ignition switch dismantled and checked for burns, melted contacts - all ok. Immobiliser module pulled apart and checked, no damage to its little circuit board.
Pulled the glovebox off to check ECU plugs, maybe pull it out to open it up and check for bulgy capacitors, like I did 5 years ago.
Noticed bottom bolt of ECU mount missing, thinking it may be needed for earthing, I jammed a screwdriver between ECU and its metal mount.
Car fired up first go, idled like it was new. Finally managed to get it off the lawn! Also tells me the ECU, starter, distributor etc are ok. Battery voltage jumps up to 14.4 volts soon after starting, so battery and alternator are fine.

Don't want to drive this car as it is until I'm sure it is now reliable.
Questions:
(1) Can the botom mounting bolt for the ECU, missing for 5 years, suddenly cause the no crank/no start condition? I'm assuming it earths the ECU to the body.
(2) Relay next to it (can be heard clicking when you turn ignition on/off), does it work the fuel pump only, or is it also associated with starting and ignition?

Must look at manual and circuit diagrams, to try to find out. I want this car to start EVERY time I turn the key, dammit!

There does seem to be a slight delay, only a fraction of a second, between turning the key to "start" and the starter motor kicking in. My other TS doesn't do that. Sounds like a relay problem to me, but which one? Dash stays in bits and the car stays off the road until I solve this one.

That relay runs your fuel pump and injectors. MPFI I'm sure. Has an SPST and SPDT contacts in them IM POSITIVE but my memory is a little bit sketchy!

Yes, I thought it might do more than just run the pump. I might just pull it apart and check the contacts. An easy fix if that is the problem, plenty of them at the wreckers. Thanks for your input Tuffy.
I thought at one stage I would need to junk the car, would be a shame with a new clutch, new front disks and all.

Yes, I thought it might do more than just run the pump. I might just pull it apart and check the contacts. An easy fix if that is the problem, plenty of them at the wreckers. Thanks for your input Tuffy.
I thought at one stage I would need to junk the car, would be a shame with a new clutch, new front disks and all.

If not give us a hoy I got a few laying around. But crappy contacts seems like a logical explanation.

Right, the relay is out and apart. Contacts look fine. Not shiny smooth like new, but need to check with a multimeter. Might go get another one just to try. Wreckers would be quicker but thanks for the offer. Will take you up on that if I can't find one. Need a bolt for the ECU mount too. lol

Ho hum. Relay is back together, and in the car. I found a bolt for the ECU but the holes don't line up so its still not in there. The car starts fine without it. I will crank the car up 3 or 4 times a day - its under the carport, unregistered - for the next week to see if it is consistent. At the moment it looks like my self proclaimed "eggcelent fault finding skillz" are still intact. lol

I now have a starter motor I can't use. I think it may be for a TR or TS automatic. It came off a car at the wreckers but didn't check if it was off a manual or auto. I didn't know they were different at the time. Anyone in Adelaide want a free starter motor?

Ho bloody ho, the fun and games!

3 days later. Cranking the engine killed the battery, took it out and put it on the charger, voltage with charger went up to 14.4 V as it should, but off the charger voltage dropped to 11.6 with no load, so off to replace the 3 year old battery.
Car started fine, but wanted to replace the suspect relay anyway. Went to wreckers, paid $7 for one, wandered about, said hello to all the other freaks stripping cars, went home, tried the car and it started, then pulled glove box out. With the old relay still in, tried to start it, but no go. Same problem, it cranks but doesn't fire, then doesn't crank at all. New relay in, same problem. Its unlikely both relays are stuffed, so wriggled the wires plugged into the relay. *** thing starts. GROAN, the old "unreliable contacts in the plug" trick! VERY uncommon in Mitsus! This car has had the odd no start problem ever since I bought it, and I think I may have found the problem. Wires are now exposed so I can push on the plug and wriggle the wires any time I need to.

Had a look at some semi stripped 3rd genners there (U-pull-it Adelaide, North). They don't look any harder to work on than the second gen, maybe I should get one and have a NEW toy to play with! (Masochist? Not me!)


I'm now officially no longer stumped by this problem, just a bit teed off for going down a number of wrong tracks, like trying to change the starter motor. Grrr!

No, I take it back. The problem has resurfaced.

Re registered the car at 9 am, drove to the shops and back. Parked on the lawn at 10 am, with visions of washing it, couldn't be bothered, tried to move it, won't start. *Insert blue language here*

Engine cranks, but won't fire as there is no spark. Immobiliser should be ok as when it acts up the car won't even crank over.

Tried another ignition coil, still no start. Checked plug on fuel relay, plug on distributor.

Anyone come across this problem, or have any ideas?

Just an update, re this car.

Figured it wasn't an electronic component failure, as the problem comes and goes. Electronics die and never come back. lol

I figured it might be (playing the guessing game) the Hall sensor in the distributor I looked up the test procedure in the manual. Simple enough, but when I looked at the actual plug I had filled it with silastic to keep water out, so no chance of test probes fitting. The little pins in the socket on the distributor looked corroded, so I cleaned them by scraping with a knife. Car starts, runs like a new one. Low voltages and corrosion on that socket don't go together. lol

Need to clean it out with some spray contact cleaner next, but it looks like I found (finally) the problem spot.

Car is for sale by the way, to anyone in Adelaide. New battery, front tyres, discs and pads. A steal at $1,200. 3 months rego. 4 cars up the driveway, one driver, means at least 2 cars have to go. lol As a bonus if you come and have a look, you can see my progress on my TJ project car. lol lol

That Plug on the distrubutor is a pain, sometimes acts up on mums tr and wont start. Plus side is though my mate brought a tn elite with the same problem, wriggled the plug and she fired up, guy was spewing he parted with it for $150 lol

Yep, its easy to imagine the car has a major problem rather than just a crappy plug and socket. lol

I must admit I had thoughts about junking the car after spending time on the fuel relay and starter motor. lol Finding the problem is 99% of the job, with a Magna. lol