Hi guys.Hoping someone can help me try and get my 1997 magna sports(Automatic) to start.

This is the story.After only owning the car for 3 days and driving like a dream,i pulled into the servo to fill up with fuel.The tank was low,and i put $80 worth of fuel in.No sooner had i pulled out of the servo,that the car started to cough and splutter.I pulled over after the car was spluttering,and gave it a rev,which was fine,so i pulled out again and it started to cough and splutter again before cutting out and not being able to start the car again.My initial suspicions were i just got a tank full of shit fuel.
NRMA came out and his diagnosis was that there was no spark coming out of the distributor,and i had to get the car towed home.
The motor cranks over strongly but it just wont start
This is what i have done so far: New distributor cap,new rotar button,new fuel filter,new fuel pump.Checked and confirmed the fuel pump relay is good and also the engine control relay.Checked all fuses and there all good,including the 2 fusible links.Checked all plugs and leads are all contacting.Went through the gears up and down in case the transmission sensors were dodgy.
When told it may be the crank angle sensor,i checked that to.I disconnected the plug and checked Pin 3 has battery voltage.All good there.But there is no power on pin2 which should have 4.8 - 5.2 volts.This pin is directly connected to the ECU.This is where i have come to a stop and just dont know what to do next.
It's just funny how everything was going smoothly before i put fuel in it.Now i have no spark.
Please,any advice on what could be the problem would be greatly appreciated.

Does it have an immobiliser?

Read the ECU error codes. A failed crank angle or cam angle sensor will show up if it is that. If no error message, suspect ignition coil.

Following is not my work and I haven't needed to use it on a Magna so accuracy is not guaranteed.
I know it works a treat on a 1997 Lancer though, took me straight to the cause of the non starting problem it had.
Hope this helps!

================================================== =======================

Mitsubishi Diagnostic Trouble Code Retrieval
Magna, Verada, TE-TJ, KE-KJ 1996-2004
Manual or Automatic Transmission V6 3.0 & 3.5

Engine Codes:
The Two Digit Engine Fault Codes are displayed as flashes of the Check Engine Lamp.
There is an initial pause of 3 Seconds followed by the Code.
Long Flashes (1.5 Seconds) represent the Tens.
Short Flashes (0.5 Seconds) represent the Units.
A 2 Second Pause separates the Tens and Units.
If more than one Code is in Memory, they will be displayed in sequence.
If No Codes are present, continuous 0.5 Second Flashes will be displayed.

Fault Code Extraction
1. Switch Ignition ON.
2. Ground Terminal 1 on the Diagnostic Connector.
3. Read Engine Codes as Flashes of the Check Engine Lamp.
4. Read Transmission Codes as Flashes of the Neutral "N" Lamp in the Dash.

Mitsubishi DTC’s (Diagnostic Trouble Codes)
11 Oxygen Sensor
12 Air Flow Sensor
13 Intake Air Temperature Sensor
14 Throttle Position Sensor
21 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor
22 Crank Angle Sensor
23 Top Dead Centre (TDC) Sensor
24 Vehicle Speed Sensor
25 Barometric Air Pressure Sensor
36 Ignition Timing Circuit
41 Fuel Injectors
44 Ignition Circuit
52 Ignition Circuit
53 Ignition Circuit
54 Immobiliser System
61 Automatic Transmission Communication PCM Failure

To Erase Codes:
Turn the ignition switch OFF.
Disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery terminal for 20 seconds or more and then reconnect it.

================================================== ====

Yes,it has an immobiliser.How do i check if this working or not?

Yes,it has an immobiliser.How do i check if this working or not?

By checking the ECU error codes.

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/indytech/2012-07-04_124941_dlc.png

Did you put ULP or Diesel?

Diesel won't stop the spark.

It's so annoying when I post in a thread and I get ignored. So this is my last post.

Good luck with the fix.

Finally i can log in.I have sent emails to the administrator,as i couldnt log in.If you are reading this,please have the decency to reply to a members email!!

Sorry madmax,you definately havent been ignored,i just couldnt log in to post.I have checked the error codes as per your post,and there are no error codes because about a week ago i had the battery disconnected,which i think has wiped the codes in the ecu.
Should the error codes come up again if i try cranking the engine again ?

My concern is,why wouldnt there be voltage from the ecu to pin 2 of the crank angle sensor.There is supposed to be 4.8v coming out of the ecu to pin2.Could the ecu be crook?

lol I was starting to think you had given up on the car.
Battery disconnect will clear the error codes, but they will reappear when you try to start the engine.
If the crank angle sensor is crook it will definitely show up next time you check the error codes.

Great.I will try again tomorrow. Cheers

Still no luck.I tried cranking the engine over to reset the error codes after the battery was disconnected.
I grounded pin 1 and had the ignition turned on.The check engine light just continuously flashed without stopping.With the car being an auto,the N was also flashing.

The anti lock light was flashing continuosly also.Is this normal?

Would the immobiliser have anything to do with it?

Possibly ignition coil has failed.

How do i check ther coil?

How do i check ther coil?

Yeah, good question. The manual shows how to check with a multimeter, but you can get the right readings and still have it break down at high temps and voltages. A distributor from the wrecker may fix the problem.
Good that you got no error codes, shows things like crank angle sensor etc are ok.

I have just checked the voltages going to the immobiliser and also the distributor.Because i disconnected these plugs for testing,afterwards i done the error code check again,and came up with codes 44 and 54.
To confirm if this is a fault or just because i disconnected the plugs,i disconnected the battery to clear the codes.I then tried starting the car to get the faults back,but after checking the codes again,all is clear.I will look at getting another distributor and see how that goes.

When trying to start the car,i get a strong petrol smell.Where would this be coming from?

Also,would the leads cause the car to not start and have no spark?

You would expect those 2 codes if those bits were disconnected.

Petrol smell means the injectors are firing, smell probably coming from the exhaust pipe.

Leads won't all fail at once, so not likely.

Ok,thanks very much for all your input madmax,much appreciated.
I will replace the coil or the whole distributor,and let you know how i go.

Cheers

Ok,thanks very much for all your input madmax,much appreciated.
I will replace the coil or the whole distributor,and let you know how i go.

Cheers

There are other bits inside the distributor besides the ignition coil that could be causing the problem. Best grab an intact unit.

Hi,just wondering what the trick is to remove the distributor.I have removed the obvious 2 side nuts,but it wont budge.
If i get a screwdriver,i can force it to move a little,but should it nead forcing out???

Well i finally replaced the Distributor and she's a goer.It was the dizzy all along.It was oviously just a coincidence that the dizzy died straight after i just filled the car up with fuel

Thanks for everyones help,as all the posts had directed me to eventually replacing the distributor.

Cheers

Congrats!