AMC,

my KF Xi is causing me some grief

tonight after a bit of a drive around with mates and stopping to give the car a wash my engine light came on

i tried to start it while the light was on to see if this may have been something small, all it did was simply turn over and not start at all.

after i locked the doors and the security light went off on the dash i unlocked the car and it started fine.

second to this, going to fill up some petrol the same thing happened, rinsed and repeated what i did above, however i didnt turn the car on this time and when i unlocked the doors it stayed on. it did however, flash off for less then a second then came back on again.

prior to tonight it had happened before the same but hasnt for a while. while the car was getting serviced at mitsu i asked if they could take a look at it, they had told me there was nothing in the computer at all to say what was wrong and there was no error codes listed, Derp!

im completely stumped on this and, it usually happens while im out so i cant do the whole engine light flashing code thing. the only mods done to the car that of a new headunit and stereo for the car.

any have any ideas or options ive got to attempt to narrow it down and rectify this problem from what ive written?

many thanks AMC.

My TF did the same thing once, engine light would be on solid car would turn over but not start, check the plug that plugs into the immobiliser module. Behind the ash tray under the radio,you will see a small black that say's BOSCH immobiliser check the plug is pluged in well.My plug was not pluged in properly and it gave me this problem, pluged it in properly and now the car is all good.

checked that plug, was already quite firmly in already.

there was two smaller plugs, one squarer white one and a black one twice as wide as that one just sitting there.

ideas with what these may be if they are causing this?

You may have an antenna ring fault possible loose or poor connection the terminal is very tiny , its located behind the ignition key / barrell , easy to access take the bottom dash panel off then you access two screws that hold the ignition key / barrell cover pull down on the cover and you will see the white antenna ring the terminal is located on the back of the ring make sure its a snug fit , Other than that could be the crank angle sensor connection or its open circuiting hope this helps Cheers Tom

Bit of a long shot, but the crank angle sensor might be a bit filthy or loose. Check that one as well because it is an easy way to set that light off.

Bit of a long shot, but the crank angle sensor might be a bit filthy or loose. Check that one as well because it is an easy way to set that light off.

where abouts am i looking for that exactly?

one thing i dont know what it is

I had check engine light show up on my car everytime i drove for longer than 10 minutes. I also had an intermittent start isssue. I did the whole ground ecu thing to find the error code. Turns out it was the coolant temperature sensor - i renewed it( $30 from ebay) engine light stopped appearing and no more start issues.

not sure if it is your issue but just thought i d mension it. if your not sure this is the case, next time the check engine light comes on listen to see if you can hear the radiator fans go on, as this is a sign that the coolant temp sensor is faulty.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/59528593/Mitsubishi-Magna-TE-TJ-96-04-V6-3-0-3-5

Full list of error codes and how to get them.
Temperature sensors, immobiliser, CAS should all set error codes.

where abouts am i looking for that exactly?

one thing i dont know what it is

It is near the timing belt. It's a pain in the arse to get at

It is near the timing belt. It's a pain in the arse to get at

Personally, I find it's more a pain in the back. But each to his own.

Ancillary belts, their idlers, crank pulley, timing covers need to come off. Crank angle sensor can then be gotten to. It sits next to the end of the crankshaft.
No point looking at it though, if the ECU hasn't thrown an appropriate error code. Just looking at it won't tell you anything, unless there are wires that are partly rubbed through.

HINT: get an error code from the ECU before you rip into the engine. Had a Lancer problem, 10 minutes after a cold start it would run rough, then would not restart after turning off. ECU gave me error code 23, top dead centre sensor. Replaced that and all good. Without the error code I would have wasted a lot of time and money replacing random bits.

Personally, I find it's more a pain in the back. But each to his own.

Thanks for that Max.

Thanks for that Max.

You're welcome!

I hope the OP has gotten the message to NOT rip into things randomly until he has obtained some valid ECU error codes.
It's nice to have an ECU that tells you which bits are acting up just by using a piece of wire and watching a flashing light, might as well make use of it if you can.