Another Mechanical problem a real one this time

[Squeak 17]

I drive a 1994 Mitsubishi Magna TS (Diamante) V6 fuel injected.
Whilst driving today the car stopped twice.
The dash dies and then the engine dies. The dash is all electric dials etc. Power steering also cuts out.
I pull over to the shoulder of the road turn off the ignition wait a few seconds and turn the key and the engine starts again (with some difficulty).
This happened twice in a matter of 15 mins but not again this afternoon.

Any constructive ideas as to what the issue might be? Battery, computer etc..

Thanks

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[piisfish 140]

maybe some rodent eat a couple of cables (and short circuits some stuff ) ?
is the problem heat related ? maybe some kind of fuse somewhere ?

edited to add possible fixes :
-use a blow torch on the dash
-clamp a battery with jumper cables to any metallic part you find close to the dash

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[airdvr 210]

Sounds like you have the Windows XP Diamante

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Sounds like you have the Windows XP Diamante

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Any constructive ideas as to what the issue might be?

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[jerry9461 0]

Bad ground. Check the wire from the battery to the body/frame, particularly where the wire terminal contacts the body - disconnect and clean the terminal and the area around the bolt where contact is made. Also make sure the connection to the battery is clean and tight.

[upndownshop 0]

Are the electronics acting strange, like dim lights, wipers and blinkers slow, etc.when it acts up? If so then Id say a bad alternator/battery.

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

I drive a 1994 Mitsubishi Magna TS (Diamante) V6 fuel injected.
Whilst driving today the car stopped twice.
The dash dies and then the engine dies. The dash is all electric dials etc. Power steering also cuts out.
I pull over to the shoulder of the road turn off the ignition wait a few seconds and turn the key and the engine starts again (with some difficulty).
This happened twice in a matter of 15 mins but not again this afternoon.

Any constructive ideas as to what the issue might be? Battery, computer etc..

Thanks

Sounds like you got some bad fuel through the system.
If it continues to happen, check the fuel filter.
It probably needs to be replaced if you've never changed it before.

.

.
Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[Thanatos340 1]

No Check Engine Lights??
Not Overheating??

Does it run smooth otherwise? (No Skipping or misfiring?)

Possible bad Fuel or Clogged Fuel Filter like Jan suggested.

Other Possibilities are Electrical Problem such as a Battery with a Bad cell or Weak Battery, Bad Sensor somewhere or faulty wiring.

Best bet is to get it to a real Mechanic and have them take a look. Car dying on the Highway can be very dangerous for you and others on the road. Ignore us shade tree guys and get a trained mechanic to check it out.

[jumpwally 0]

and then come back and tell us what it was.....thanx

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Quote

Sounds like you have the Windows XP Diamante

Sounds electrical to me. Possibly a relay going bad.

Relay overheats,loses connection,everything quits. Pull over,cools off,reenergize,everything works.

I would look at the ignition relay.

Get out that new MAPP gas torch that you should have after getting that nut off and apply heat to the relay.

[Squeak 17]

Quote

No Check Engine Lights??
Not Overheating??

Does it run smooth otherwise? (No Skipping or misfiring?)

Possible bad Fuel or Clogged Fuel Filter like Jan suggested.

Other Possibilities are Electrical Problem such as a Battery with a Bad cell or Weak Battery, Bad Sensor somewhere or faulty wiring.

Best bet is to get it to a real Mechanic and have them take a look. Car dying on the Highway can be very dangerous for you and others on the road. Ignore us shade tree guys and get a trained mechanic to check it out.

+
No check engine and no overheating, car does not splutter and stutter (as it does on carbie motors) before dying, so i dont know if EFI motors just shut down ot splutter.
Eletronic dials on the dash also die at the same time, so i was inclined to think Electrics rather than fuel, but I'll look at both in the am.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

Quote

No Check Engine Lights??
Not Overheating??

Does it run smooth otherwise? (No Skipping or misfiring?)

Possible bad Fuel or Clogged Fuel Filter like Jan suggested.

Other Possibilities are Electrical Problem such as a Battery with a Bad cell or Weak Battery, Bad Sensor somewhere or faulty wiring.

Best bet is to get it to a real Mechanic and have them take a look. Car dying on the Highway can be very dangerous for you and others on the road. Ignore us shade tree guys and get a trained mechanic to check it out.

+
No check engine and no overheating, car does not splutter and stutter (as it does on carbie motors) before dying, so i dont know if EFI motors just shut down ot splutter.
Eletronic dials on the dash also die at the same time, so i was inclined to think Electrics rather than fuel, but I'll look at both in the am.

Your problem was transient. That kinda indicates something related to a temporary situation, like fuel flow or lack thereof. Electrical problems also generally manifest themselves in starting the car first off. You can start a car with a dead battery and it will run just fine.
IOW, you can have a dead battery, bad alternator/starter or relays and have the car run - once you get it started.
A car stopping while it is already running really points to fuel/fuel starvation/fuel contamination.
A big lump in the fuel filter can stop all fuel flow.

Once a car is running, the power for the electrical comes off the altinater, not the battery. The excess charge goes to charge the battery.
If you have a bad battery or altinater or starter or relays, you would not be able to start the car with the usual twist of the key.

.

.
Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[wmw999 2,457]

Loose wiring can also make an electric problem transient. I had a wire that was loose under my hood; when it would swing forward from slowing down my lights would cut out; I'd speed up again and they'd come back on. Sometimes. But when I finally figured it out, that was definitely the cause -- a little electrical tape fixed it handily.

No ideas about Squeak's problem, but it sounds electric to me with all of the components going out at once. The electric ones should keep going off the battery even if the gas quits running.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Squeak 17]

Well i went and checked the leads, the terminals and i made sure the ashtray was empty. and found no obvious issues
Man i was so hoping it was a loose lead

Look like i need to book it in so some clown can run a shedload of test and spend an hour or two fixing a 3 min job

I prefer no computery cars., my Guzzi would NEVER give me i problem i cant at least identify if not fix on the roadside

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[DeNReN 0]

Make sure you call the tech who you bring your car to a clown before he/she looks at it
I always give a discount to idiots who come to my shop and insult me

[Squeak 17]

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Make sure you call the tech who you bring your car to a clown before he/she looks at it
I always give a discount to idiots who come to my shop and insult me

We dont have local garages anymore, they are all corporate fanchises, like Kmart Tyre and Auto, and i lot of places seem to have high staff turn overs.
I miss the local guy who you got to know and who knew your car.. He wasn't a clown.
I have trouble trusting the guy who have little vested interest in the local community
Didnt mean to offend, Denren

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[CSpenceFLY 1]

How long does it take for this problem to surface?

[Squeak 17]

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How long does it take for this problem to surface?

Well i asked the person who was looking after it whilst we were away. She said it happened once a long time ago.
and it happened twice yesterday, once 10 mins after starting and then again about 10 mins later.
It didnt happen again and we drove 40 mins back home

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[DeNReN 0]

No offence taken Squeak...I just like bustin your balls

wish I could help with your problem...however I am not familiar with your model car.and you have not given percise information.... as others have said...check obvious stuff like loose or bady corroded cables to the battery etc..(you actually need to take battery cables off to check them properly) if you own a volt meter do a quick check for charging voltage (needs to be above 13.6 volts..should be over 14volts)


One thing I can tell you....its not the freaking fuel filter .... I always joke at work about people who come in and want us to install a fuel filter or pump because they think the car is "NOT GETTING ITS GAS!!!!!!!"

good luck finding a tech you can talk to...feel free to ask me questions...I will help if I can.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I'm betting on a relay. Find the one that energizes when you turn the key on and the dash board lights up.

I had one in a truck that would not let the truck start after it got hot.

[freethefly 6]

After checking connections, overall condition of the system, and a wiggle test, I'd move on to checking total current output of the alternator. Unstable reading/ low reading may indicate a faulty winding and/or bad diodes.
Have you noticed a change in brightness of your lights when slowing down? What happens when you turn on the stereo? Often problems with an alternator are slow coming to attention, until it's too late.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[warpedskydiver 0]

Yeah what happens when you put it in drive and jump out in front of it?

Does it stall?

[Squeak 17]

OK took it to the local Mechanic (Kmart T&A) and he said, We need to do some tests on it you'll have to book it in for a few hours.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Squeak 17]

Ok Bloody thing just stopped with Mrs Squeak, half way through a roundabout
It's booked in for Friday (that's the earliest).

Whilst it's there i'll also get them to get the rusted bolts off and replace with new ones, so when the Muffler arrives i can swap it over.

Computerised cars shit me.
I like points dizzys, and carburetors

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[billvon 3,006]

>That kinda indicates something related to a temporary situation, like fuel flow or lack thereof.

Lack of fuel will cause a car to stall but not to lose electrical power.

The most likely cause is a failure of a main DC feed somewhere, like the bus bar of the fusebox or the wiring that goes to it. An intermittent connection there will cause all the lights/dash to go dark and the engine to stall almost instantly as the engine computer dies. Once the intermittent condition clears itself the car will restart, since that connection does not pass starter current.