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Car Shuts Off While Driving?!!!


toicy4ya
12-20-2006, 06:17 PM
Sup Guys,

I have a 99 GS Eclipse Spyder with a 2.4 engine, lately it has been shutting off on me while driving. Initially it would shut off while stopped at a red light and I would just quickly turn the ignition and it would start up again. I didnt think much of it then because it rarely happened but now I've noticed that it's been happening while I'm driving, the car would just shut off. The dash board lights would come on like when your initially starting the car meaning the Service Engine, SRS and seat belt reminder lights. Also sometimes when I drive the "Service Engine Light" would come on and I feel momentary a loss of power but then the light would come off and the car would continue driving like normal. Any one have any idea what this might be? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Blackcrow64
12-20-2006, 06:56 PM
You have been here long enough to know better than to post every thread in the main forum. Post in the correct subforums from now on. You never do and I always have to move them. This is an official warning... :nono:

defiancy
12-20-2006, 07:00 PM
Sounds like you need to check your battery cables and make sure they are connected good. Check the power cable and the ground.

Also check the alternator, make sure it's plugged in and all that good stuff.

Talon69
12-20-2006, 08:24 PM
my guess would be your alternator mesing up.

gthompson97
12-21-2006, 03:26 AM
If the battery connections are good, it's probably the ECU. That's exactly what happened to my RS. It would randomly die and then start back up the first couple times but then it quit starting until it sat for like an hour. Replaced the ECU and haven't had the problem since.

toicy4ya
12-22-2006, 07:30 AM
The battery connections are fine. I checked them and re-checked them. How much is an ECU? Was it difficult to replace?

gthompson97
12-22-2006, 06:24 PM
I don't know about the 2.4, but on a NT 2.0 it's like 4 bolts. Takes like 5 mins. I'm not sure how much they are, you could try a used one on ebay for whatever the price, buy a remanned one, or get a new one. You'll have to search around and see what you can find.

toicy4ya
12-28-2006, 07:56 AM
Sup guys,

I'm still having the same problem. I rechecked the cables on the battery and retightened them in addition I checked the spark plug wires which are plugged firmly. This morning while driving, the check engine light flickered then the car shut off. All the lights on the dashboard came on as if I was starting the car. I placed the car in park, through on my hazzard lights on and turn the ignition, the car cranked for a bit but didnt start. After a few tries the car started. I placed it on drive and it quickly shut off again. Same scenario, put the hazzards on, put it in park and cranked it, after several tries the car started and I was able to drive it to my destination which lucky for me was a short distance away. Anyone ever experience this problem? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

gthompson97
12-28-2006, 12:19 PM
Sounds like the ECU to me. It could be the alternator, but eventually you would have no power to anything and wouldn't even be able to crank it.

violent31601
12-28-2006, 03:04 PM
I had this problem with my old GS....Eventually it will get worse to the point that your car will not start, the problem is a heat sensor/ or relay i forgot mostly what it is but get them checked out

MazdaX
12-28-2006, 11:42 PM
If you put it in drive and it happens then park and start up then drive again and it happens again it just may happen to be a fault park/nuetral switch if it's an automatic.

toicy4ya
12-29-2006, 11:16 AM
Violent31601: Heat Sensor/Relay? Where is it located? Did you get a check engine light?

violent31601
12-31-2006, 03:43 AM
i think i did.....and i don't know i had a mecanic do it, i'm just giving you ideas what it could be

gthompson97
12-31-2006, 04:42 AM
You say you're getting a CEL? Go to Autozone and have them scan the codes for you and see what they come up with. That'll help tremendously.

4g63rice
01-18-2007, 01:44 PM
It could be a faulty alternator because the alternator might not be taking over for the battery after the car starts.

Mikelb
01-18-2007, 01:52 PM
get the codes pulled...

you also might wanna check the ECU, TCU, and possibly the torque converter lockup solenoid...

^I'm assuming you live in the city and make small trips... if it's the lockup solenoid, it'll happen after the car's run awhile(hot) and when you pull up to a stop light or when the AT is supposed to shift...

gthompson97
01-18-2007, 03:16 PM
ECU man, I'm tellin ya, it's the ECU.

sprocketjuice
02-20-2007, 11:34 AM
Hey guys,
I'm having the same problem with my 1995 Eclipse GS. My DSM was running fine until i started smelling a faint smell of gas while the car was driving with the windows down and the sun roof open. The smell would be strong on the driving 40+MPH and subside when the cars at rest. Eventually, the car began to shut off while at lights, and then while moving too. At first i could always start it back up. I got frustrated with the problem and because i noticed oil on the boot of the spark plug wires (mostly 2 and 3). I changed my valve cover gasket, spark plug seals and plugs. This made the problem go away temporarily but when it returned the car would shut off at freeway speeds and got progressively harder to start. I cleaned my air filter (aem V2), and treated my fuel injection system with lucas, twice. The problem subsided for a couple of days, and returned. New wires, cured the problem for a few days. Then it returned. I tested and found my ignition coil, found it faulty and replaced it. Cured for a day. After searching the net for some help i found some solutions in the Mitsubishi eclipse section of “all-parts.com”:
"Engine Malfunction Happens sometimes Always
Q: I just replaced the plugs plugwires and coil and my check engine light has been coming on. The car stalls both at idle and low/high speed driving. No other distinctive symptoms but it does feel like a total loss of power. I had it hooked up for a diagnostic test i think it was an ODB II and the code was p0352. Before I changed the coil there were two codes 351 and 352 any ideas. I had the head rebuilt 6mths ago and just had the trans rebuilt too. Got 144k original miles.



A: replace your oxegen senser it should stop Any questions BryanX45@hotmail.com






Engine Malfunction When stopped Always
Q: Car stalls out intermittantly, regardless of whether it is hot or cold. Seems to happen more frequently when stopping on hills.



A: The Idle Air Control(bypass) system is plugged and sticky. It is not reacting fast enough. Remove and clean thoroughly. Ed"



I did the continuity test on my O2 sensor and it passed. Haven't done the running test. So that brings me to Air control bypass. Would a sticky/plugged bipass lead to an intermittent inability to start AND unexpected stops? Id just like to test every possible problem before i head off a buy a new ECU. BTW just after i installed the Ignition coil, the car began to overheat and the fans did NOT come on. I checked the fluid and connections, to no avail. Last time this happened to me i was able to sand down the dirty connection with some 1,000 grit paper and the problem was fixed, my fans returned to life. Did any one else experience Over heating with stalling as a result of ECU failure? I hope i might have brought some new light to this topic and any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll be watching this thread and posting specifics of my solution.

gthompson97
02-20-2007, 09:13 PM
You have an assload of problems dude. And next time, start your own thread instead of jacking someone else's. Welcome to AF.

Did you get a CEL during any of this? And if so, what were the codes?

sprocketjuice
02-20-2007, 11:25 PM
Thanks for the welcome. Start a new thread? I figured i could bring a fresh perspective on the same (or similar) problem.

Well, no CEL. I had it towed to a shop after it was acting up about a 1.5 weeks ago, and the mechanic said the computer was not displaying any CEL codes (not sure if i believe him though). Usually by now I would have been able to start back up, but no luck. I bought an o2 sensor and belt today, they'll be in there tomorrow. I'm gonna do those installs and see if i can check the canister and report back any findings.

gthompson97
02-20-2007, 11:48 PM
It could very well be the ECU, but that'd be about the last thing that I'd want to change. I had some random shut-offs when my ECU was going out in my RS, but it wouldn't do it at highway speeds, just when I was driving around town.

sprocketjuice
02-21-2007, 11:30 PM
After a day of fun, i thought id post an update. I decided to hold the timing belt and o2 sensor replacement, and inspect the crank angle sensor. It seems that this sensor has a crack running through the end that is inserted in the engine. This mechanical failure in the sensor is a reasonable cause for my increasingly difficult starts, and more common shut offs. Removing the sensor on the 420a is easy, well in theory at least; remove the splash shield below the timing belt, remove the one 10mm bolt that holds the sensor to the engine, unplug the wires, pull the sensor from the block. My sensor however, was quite hard to actually pull from the block once it was unbolted. Kragen and Pepboys both have given me sensors with flat terminals, however the terminals on my sensor are round. Id have no problem splicing in the new sensor, but a passage from my Haynes manual about O2 sensors keeps nagging at me in the back of my mind. The passage insists that you do not change the length of the wire because it can corrupt the sensors readings. I think I'd rather pay top dollar for a DSM sensor that will just plug in than risk corrupting the output of something as important as the crank angle sensor. I'm having a fun time trying to find one in a local store who can provide me with that. When i get a hold of the right sensor and install it I'll report back.

gthompson97
02-22-2007, 01:17 AM
The only place you might be able to get the correct one is the stealership. And those sensors are fun to get out aren't they? That o-ring on them seals in like a BITCH, just make sure you don't break the sensor off inside the hole, then you'll realllllllly be wishing you didn't have to replace it.

sprocketjuice
02-23-2007, 02:03 PM
Yesterday: 11/22/2007

Welcome to the word problem of the Day:


After trekking my way down to the dealership i come to find that they no longer make the stock Crank angle sensor for the 95 eclipse. It seems that flat pined connector i found at every location in my previous post, is now the standard. However to connect it, you need to modify the wire harness.


The dealership sells a nearly identical sensor to the one at pepboys. . . except it costs twice the price and doesn't come with a harness. The harness, which they sold separately, cost half as much as the sensor-harness package from pepboys. If the total dealer price for the sensor-harness combo was $178.22 after a 8.25% tax, how long is the wait in line at pepboys?.


Another big down side to the dealer sensor is that it had to be assembled and the color code was definitely different than the stock eclipse wire harness (i remember green and green-white. I didn't get to inspect the third wire, but i'm almost sure it was green-X). The colors on pepboys harness on the other hand seemed familiar; Yellow-Blue, Black-Blue, and Orange. Needles to say i empirically found the solution to today's word problem, and speed my way back toward crank-angle-sensory.


Upon arriving back at my crippled eclipse, i found that the color code for the sensor was; Blue-White, Black-Blue, Yellow. Uh-Oh. So of course I do what seems logical and connect them with respect to the plug as seen from the engine; Yellow-Blue>Blue-White, Black-Blue>Black-Blue, Orange>Yellow.


I've got no problem crimping in small spaces, upside down, in the cold or in the rain, but some how when you put them all together, at the same time, it just doesn't seem fair. I don't think theres an easy way to do this crimp, hopefully you wont have to do it in the rain.


Finished with my crimp torture, I excitedly crank the engine, but find no joyous growl. Time for more searching. I search the manufacturer's site Borg-Warner (apparently it is, i couldn't resist) to see if the provide the color codes, no luck. Then I find the following TSB:


1999 Mitsubishi ECLIPSE 99 - Gas Engine > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING : ENGINE : GASOLINE [Part 061100 ]
TSB No: 80 NHTSA ID: 637066 , March 01, 2002 : Replacement:
Summary: subject regarding replacement crank angle sensor wire colors. *tt


Smells like a jackpot, but no info on the correct color code! I sadly request information from the NHTSA ( http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/ ) , (the part that makes it sad is that they charge $38 per hour for info). If/When the info comes I'll make sure to plaster it all over the board so no DSMer has to waste their time and money again. Oh well, I'm tapping out for the day, working in rain is almost as fun as dipping all of your tools in water just to see which ones shock you and which ones rust. . . . and which ones shock you, then rust.


P.S. I'm hoping this falls on def ears, and that no poor soul has their crank angle sensor stuck in the block. If some one does however, they might try using a large flat piece of Styrofoam (EPS or EEP) with a crank-angle-sensor-sized hole in the middle like a gasket and pray that their shop-vac sucks more than their situation does. Good luck.

gthompson97
02-25-2007, 08:43 PM
So exactly what is your problem? You don't know the wiring colors? And why did you pay for that information, it seems useless.

sprocketjuice
02-27-2007, 09:54 PM
Trust me when your car won't start and you aren't sure if you crank angle sensor is wired correctly, that information is infinitely valuable. My wiring codes were correct, just in case any one wanted to use them in the future.


After performing a “on-off-on-off-on” computer test, I broke down and bought a new computer. After keying in the ignition sequence, the the check engine light provided “no codes”, which reminded me of the beginning of my post where i mentioned i took my dsm to a local mechanic who also said that it provided “no codes”. For the 2.0 non-turbo engine, i found its normal to give code “55” if there are “no codes” so the fact that my computer actually gave no codes at all was a solid enough foundation for me to believe the computer was faulty.


After poping in the new computer and adding some fluid, my dsm no longer overheats, no more gas smell, and no more weird shutoffs. It was worth every penny.

gthompson97
02-27-2007, 10:02 PM
"55" means the end of code cycle, FYI. Glad you got your car fixed.

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