hey guys in my tf wagon im having trouble starting it when its cold. It cranks and cranks and then fires up. once its warm i can start it first pop.

And over the few days I have noticed its miss firing a bit eg: when you pull up to a set of lights itll miss quite a bit sometimes and sometimes it wont. also after driving for about 5 mins after its warmed up i can smell fuel :facepalm and when you stop and jump out the car you get a strong fuel smell from the rear of the car. Iv checked for leaks etc and cant see any.

this has got me stumped :tired:



thanks in advance guys

Unburnt fuel coming out of the exhaust, you may have crappy plugs or leads. Start there anyway.

ill change the leads and plugs tomorrow and see whats happens.I spoke to a mate of mine and he seems to think either the fuel filter has got a bit of a blockage or the pump maybe faulty.

Sounds like its running rich?

If your fuel economy isn't what it used to be, after checking the simple/cheap things you might want to check the oxygen sensor, especially if its done more than 150000km on the existing sensor.

yea its done 200,000 now just replaced the leads and still has a fuel smell.could the pump need replacing?

Fuel smell is often the fuel cap has dropped its valve, change that for starters

THe hard to start may be a secondary issue, pop a fuel pressure guage on and see how long it takes for the pressure to drop, may have a leaking injector or the valve on the fuel pump may be faulty causing the fuel to drain back to the tank over night

today i changed plugs,leads,fuel filter, fuel pump,fuel cap. stil the same issues :( could it be the rotor inside the dizzy or oxygen sensor?

got up this morning and started the car. took a lil bit longer to start up than usall (maybe 4 seconds of cranking then fired up) went for a drive and about 5 mins later you could still get a hint of fuel smell while im driving. Now this ha got me stumped. Iv done plugs,leads, fuel pump and filter, pulled the dizzy cap off cleaned the contacts in the cap and the rotor.

What does the fuel cut off valve do on top of the tank?could the EVAPORATIVE EMISSION canister be faulty? any help would be great as this is starting to get me a bit puzzled.

If it was a rotor or a honda id be able to sort it out lol but the mitsubishis are a different breed that run extras that confuses me lol

Not sure how on earth a sparkplug etc could give you a fuel smell, if there was that much un burnt fuel in your exhause the engine simply would not run

Yo have an issue with the ventilation in your tank, check your fittings under the car, the hoses etc etc. Check teh vapour canister in the engine bay and ensure that it is also working through the valve as when you start your car any vapour in the canister will then be pulled into the TB and burnt

Not sure how on earth a sparkplug etc could give you a fuel smell, if there was that much un burnt fuel in your exhause the engine simply would not run

Yo have an issue with the ventilation in your tank, check your fittings under the car, the hoses etc etc. Check teh vapour canister in the engine bay and ensure that it is also working through the valve as when you start your car any vapour in the canister will then be pulled into the TB and burnt

hey madmagna how can i check the vapour canister? today i went for i drive down the road when i started the car up out the back of the exhaust was a strong smell of fuel. when i drove down the road just easing the trottle on it was hesitating and when i was pulled in the driveway and reving it, it was bogging down/ missing before reving up. I know the pump i had put in was out of a v6 model, are they different and over fueling the engine? causing it to run like sh*t??

thanks for your help i appreciate it :)

Not sure on the fuel smell but poor starting in cold conditions may mean the battery is knackered. Get it tested, usually free of charge at auto shops

Not sure on the fuel smell but poor starting in cold conditions may mean the battery is knackered. Get it tested, usually free of charge at auto shops

batterys fine checked all that and also load tested it at 300amps and held the charge fine, as i was an auto sparky apperentise a few years ago.and the battery is a Exide obital B;ue top 750 CCA so has got a shet load of power.

to me seems like either faulty spark plug, O2 sensor, pump, or an injector. Luckiy i has have finished rebuilding some spare injectors so ill chuck them in tomorrow and see what happens. I know its going to be a process of emlimination but also lowering the bank lol

I would say you have 2 separate issues, the running issue sounds more dist related, the igniter perhaps. Get a code out done and you may get a better idea

The fuel smell, I still vote for a cracked line or blocked breather system. The canister is in the engine bay on the RHD is ont eh pass side above the gear box, is a black round thing with 3 hoses, one to the tank, one to the engine TB and one to the ground

batterys fine checked all that and also load tested it at 300amps and held the charge fine, as i was an auto sparky apperentise a few years ago.and the battery is a Exide obital B;ue top 750 CCA so has got a shet load of power.

to me seems like either faulty spark plug, O2 sensor, pump, or an injector. Luckiy i has have finished rebuilding some spare injectors so ill chuck them in tomorrow and see what happens. I know its going to be a process of emlimination but also lowering the bank lol

fair enough man lol

good luck fixing the problems :)

I had exactly the same issue not long ago..
Turned out to be a leaking injector. Fuel smell was quite strong after it fired up when cold.
Will start fine when warm as it takes the injector a while to bleed off the fuel line pressure.
Mine was an issue with a replacement set I bought from Aznew injectors.. I took them back and they tested them & found one to be stuffed so they replaced them & has been great since!
During the time they were away I got a second hand set and it fixed the problem straight away! Still go them if you're intersted?

I had exactly the same issue not long ago..
Turned out to be a leaking injector. Fuel smell was quite strong after it fired up when cold.
Will start fine when warm as it takes the injector a while to bleed off the fuel line pressure.
Mine was an issue with a replacement set I bought from Aznew injectors.. I took them back and they tested them & found one to be stuffed so they replaced them & has been great since!
During the time they were away I got a second hand set and it fixed the problem straight away! Still go them if you're intersted?

hey Alan thanks for that info :thumbsup: iv got a spare set here which im just about to chuck in so fingers crossed :pray:

Good luck mate, Sucks that you have to wait for the engine to cool right off to get an answer once you've swapped them out :mad:

well changed the injectors over .................... and still the same. but now on start up you dont get a fuel smell. but its still bogging down when you hit the gas from a still position and does a cough/ miss as your driving.
I checked the resistance through the dizzy and the leads etc and accroding to the manual its all in line. timing is bang on injector resistance are good.
chucked it on a computer and no codes stored in the ecu (as i had expected as no engine light had come on)
Also changed the evaporator canister over.

I think all i need now is a match and a rag :rocket:

I'd be trying the coil inside the distributor as Madmagna suggested - there is a test in the manual ......0.5 to 0.7 ohms on the primary although I've had coils on Commodores give a good primary voltage test but break down under load giving a weak erratic spark and the problems you are having.

Sounds very much like a weak spark.

Coils can be like that, test perfectly with a multimeter but break down when in the car. Probably shorting out internally at the 100's of volts the primary circuit works under. Never seen the inside-the-distributor type, but the coils on both a TP and a TS did that to me. The TS one finally broke down and resulted in a "crank but no start" situation. A new coil fixed that, but it went out too, so I replaced it and the power transistor from the wreckers. No problems after that. I have been looking at the manual to see if the coil and power transistor (both inside the distributor in the third gen) are removable and replaceable, but no picture seems available.

From the manual:
IGNITION COIL CHECK
1. Measurement of the primary coil resistance
Measure the resistance between connector terminal 1 and 2 of the distributor.
Standard value: 0.5–0.7Ω
2. Measurement of secondary coil resistance
Measure the resistance between the high-voltage terminals and connector terminals 1 or 2.
Standard value: 9–13 kΩ

Sounds very much like a weak spark.

Coils can be like that, test perfectly with a multimeter but break down when in the car. Probably shorting out internally at the 100's of volts the primary circuit works under. Never seen the inside-the-distributor type, but the coils on both a TP and a TS did that to me. The TS one finally broke down and resulted in a "crank but no start" situation. A new coil fixed that, but it went out too, so I replaced it and the power transistor from the wreckers. No problems after that. I have been looking at the manual to see if the coil and power transistor (both inside the distributor in the third gen) are removable and replaceable, but no picture seems available.

From the manual:
IGNITION COIL CHECK
1. Measurement of the primary coil resistance
Measure the resistance between connector terminal 1 and 2 of the distributor.
Standard value: 0.5–0.7Ω
2. Measurement of secondary coil resistance
Measure the resistance between the high-voltage terminals and connector terminals 1 or 2.
Standard value: 9–13 kΩ

Yea i know iv gone through the tests etc and all seem to be in specs. Iv got a dizzy im gona borrow tomorrow and trail and see if its the dizzy. The cap and rotor are fine, very clean/no cracks etc and the other day i cleaned all the contacts inside.

today its doing something weird. when i turn a corner and excelerate it bogs like it got no fuel but its got half a tank. stupid bloddy thing. maybe this has something to do with the miss.

today its doing something weird. when i turn a corner and excelerate it bogs like it got no fuel but its got half a tank. stupid bloddy thing. maybe this has something to do with the miss.

thats sounds like your fuel pump may be due for a service considering you had half a tank of fuel, mines act's similar altho at low fuel level when travelling at excessive speed it cuts in and out when turning hard but goes back to normal when on a straight

today its doing something weird. when i turn a corner and excelerate it bogs like it got no fuel but its got half a tank. stupid bloddy thing. maybe this has something to do with the miss.

This might just be the traction control kicking in, depending on how keen you're being ;)

This might just be the traction control kicking in, depending on how keen you're being ;)

pretty sure tf's dont have traction control.

Sounds like its running rich?

If your fuel economy isn't what it used to be, after checking the simple/cheap things you might want to check the oxygen sensor, especially if its done more than 150000km on the existing sensor.

I agree, my O2 did the same thing (amongs others :|) at about 170K-km

today its doing something weird. when i turn a corner and excelerate it bogs like it got no fuel but its got half a tank. stupid bloddy thing. maybe this has something to do with the miss.

Sounds like fuel pump problems, which would correspond with the mis-firing. I remember reading once that high rpm misfire is spark, low is fuel. Don't know how true it is, but seeing as you've looked into much of the ignition system maybe have a look at the pump.

Sounds like fuel pump problems, which would correspond with the mis-firing. I remember reading once that high rpm misfire is spark, low is fuel. Don't know how true it is, but seeing as you've looked into much of the ignition system maybe have a look at the pump.

yea iv changed the pump and filter but the pump was a second so i think that maybe faulty ill change it again tomorrow and see how i go