Hi,

I've not posted on here before but I'm in need of some help regarding my Magna.

On my way to work this morning (fast lane of the Monash freeway) my Magna started violently shuddering, the revs dropped to nothing, the orange engine warning light came on. I pulled across the lanes and stopped on the hard shoulder, by this time the engine had totally cut out. I switched the ignition off and restarted after 1 minute. It started fine and got me to work without any problems.

Obviously I dont want this to happen again but have no idea why it happened. Any clues?

I had half a tank of fuel and there's only 169000 on the clock.

Thanks,
Lewis

Any other strange noises from the engine bay? Any smoke or strange smells?

All i can think of is massive fuel starvation, like the fuel pump dropping out. There isnt much that will cause a dramatic loss in engine power like that and then start and run fine. Loss of timing belt would have a similar effect but wont run again until its been fixed

All i can think of is massive fuel starvation, like the fuel pump dropping out. There isnt much that will cause a dramatic loss in engine power like that
Magnas have a limp mode, don't they?

Could be anything really. Random once off problems are a pain to diagnose.

I'd suggest 3 things:

Scan the on board diagnostics for an error code, seeing it threw a CEL.

Check it's not coolant leaking onto the ECU, ECU plugs.

Carry a mobile phone and the phone number of a local tow truck company, and carry on driving the thing.

(Somebody delete the same thread in the second gen section please)

Nothing out the ordinary, no noises, leaks or smoke. I'm totally puzzled, I took it out over lunch and it seems fine.

ECU looks OK, I've only had it a month and dont have a CEL.

I'm no expert but would you say battery or fuel pump might be good starting points???

Thanks

would you say battery or fuel pump might be good starting points???

No.

Which dash light came on? If it was the "Check engine" light, aka CEL, rather than oil or alternator lights, an error code will be stored in memory. Find out how to read the code, then act on that.
Randomly peering at or replacing battery/fuel pump may well be a waste of time.

The "Check Engine" or "Malfunction Indication" Light came on when it happened but went off when i restarted and stayed off since. I'll try and find out if theres an error code stored. Thanks

check that there is a good earth from the batter to the motor. check the voltage drop between the 2, also, check water level in battery. these 2 issues are unlikely to be the cause of your problem, however, its good maintenance.

following that i would check for codes like Madmax said, and go from there.

The "Check Engine" or "Malfunction Indication" Light came on when it happened but went off when i restarted and stayed off since. I'll try and find out if theres an error code stored. Thanks

Useful link:
http://www.evoscan.com/technical-vehicle-manuals/12-mitsubishi-diagnostics
Need to go through it to see which test procedure and error codes are relevant to your car. I found it very useful when trouble shooting non start in a Lancer. Turned out to be a failed cam angle sensor.

That's handy!! Thanks a lot @MadMax