HELP!! No more. Done and dusted

[energy69]

Okay,

Perhaps a little dramatic, although not far off the truth. Bought a Cork reg'd 95 FTO off someone who I thought I could trust. Since day one its being one problem after the other.

Just got it repaired with a part sourced through here. Thanks all.

First evening bringing it out on the road. She cut out at the first set of traffic lights. Battery totally flat. Friend came to jump start and everytime i went to drive off it cut out. Batt flat. 5 times it took before i raced off and got it back to the house. Cut out again straight away.

Okay. New Batt I thought. Must be knackered. Got a new battery after much tribulation. The guys in J & S Dun Laoire not knowing. Duoh. Googled the intraweb in their shop to find the answer here. Cheers again.

Put new batt in me little car. Have only had this on the road 3 weeks. Owned for 3 months. Aggghh. Drive in to town to meet a friend. From Churchtown to Canal. Cuts out as idle in traffic. Cuts out again. Scream I do. And a little more. Push in rush hour Saturday afternoon traffic off the road.

Call the AA later that evening. Car starts straight away. Worried its going to do the same thing again. AA guy says strange. Perhaps alternator. MMMMmmmm. Okay he says and checks battery reading with nothing on (i.e. lights, fan, etc) and then with all on. Ranges from 12.9 to 13.4 reading. He says probably get you home although more than likely alternator.

Go to local mechanic. He sends me to AM electrics near Walkinstown Roundabout. Car cuts out 10 times on the way over any time i go to brake or car idles to low.

Get to AM and Cathal says strange. MMmmmm. Alternator appears to be okay with lights and rear window heater. Fan is draining the mo fo out of it. He suggests I get the electrics checked.

Car cuts out 10 times on the way home. Here I am deppressed and really close to going insane. Can anyone help me out? Please

Cheers

[deepseadcs]

''Car cuts out 10 times on the way over any time i go to brake or car idles to low''

Maybe a problem with throttle or idle motor, try cleaning them up or try adjusting the air intake screw located on throttle body.
And if your car is a manual might be clutch was sticking and comes with annoying smell when the engine cuts.

Deepsea

[CJ]

energy69, sounds like the stepper motors at fault, try cleaning it, otherwise it will need to rerplaced. Have a search of the forum for more info, in the mean time, here are some links to check out:

http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2 ... php?t=1488
http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2 ... php?t=1468

CJ

[Damo]

My car was cutting out like that too but not as often, turns out the wires on one of the sensors were stripped and they were shorting off each other causing the car to cut out without warning. I had it checked in the Mitsubishi garage and the MUT II pointed to the Crank sensor it was only when changing the sensor that we realised what had been happening, I needn't have changed it at all in the end it could have been easily repaired..

[steelroe]

id go with the stepper motor

[ronbyrne]

i'll buy it off ya for €1,500, theres no point in puting any money into it and it will just break your heart. doin ya a favour you know !

[JD]

It's definitley worth takin the stepper motor out and clening it - I had very similar problem (see cj's link) and it sorted it out over a year and a half ago, no problems since.
JD

[energy69]

Cheers all for your advice. Much appreciated.

Got down to it and took out the Stepper Motor. Was fairly black and dirty. Gave a really good clean. Cleaned out the Air Intake valve. Disconnected te battery for 40 mins.

Reconnected. Nothing. Cuts out straight as allowed to go on idle. Problems seems to have worsened. Took it all apart again. With the inside of the stepper motor checked. Spotless as suggested. Gave ot all another good clean. No difference.

Suggestions!!! Replace the Stepper Motor? Or anything else anybody can think of?

Cheers for the offer Ronbyrne might get back to you on that one

[MAC 1]

Cheers all for your advice. Much appreciated.

Got down to it and took out the Stepper Motor. Was fairly black and dirty. Gave a really good clean. Cleaned out the Air Intake valve. Disconnected te battery for 40 mins.

Reconnected. Nothing. Cuts out straight as allowed to go on idle. Problems seems to have worsened. Took it all apart again. With the inside of the stepper motor checked. Spotless as suggested. Gave ot all another good clean. No difference.

Suggestions!!! Replace the Stepper Motor? Or anything else anybody can think of?

Cheers for the offer Ronbyrne might get back to you on that one

Do you know anyone who you could lend/swop stepper motors with just to see if it is this that needs replacing?
Also worth checking the wiring near the connector to the stepper as these wires are prone to breaking apparently.
Good luck.

[energy69]

No. Have sent a message to Steelroe. Waiting fo response

[JD]

Steelroe is in the west, unless you're buying one off him it would make more sense to try to get someone from Dublin to swap it over to see if that helps. I would think that if doing something to the stepper motor made a difference (good or worse) you could be in the right area. I'm not in Dublin but if you want to come out to Enfield I'll swap mine over to yours to see if it makes any difference (PM me if you want). But check all of the wires to the stepper very carefully first.
Anyone in Dublin able to give a dig out on this one?
JD

[CJ]

Anyone in Dublin able to give a dig out on this one?

energy, whereabouts in Dublin are you based?

CJ

[energy69]

Churchtown Dundrum area just off the M50 can travel a bit. How far away are you?

Thanks JD. Will take you up on the offer if all else fails, appreciate the help.

[CJ]

Churchtown Dundrum area just off the M50 can travel a bit. How far away are you?

Energy, you've seen my other post, I'm probably not the best man for the job at the moment!

Is there anyone in the vicinity of energy who can help out?

CJ

[energy69]

Thanks Again every1 for your help.

Still no luck with the car. Did the full clean out on the Stepper Motor and to no avail. Was wondering if it might have something to do with the fact that its an Automatic and the car was pushed onto the back of a tow truck with it being in gear, while it was in PARK and pushed down off it and back on again. They didn't have the key when they lifted it hence the above.

Can moving an Automatic while in PARK cause engine problems?

[CJ]

Can moving an Automatic while in PARK cause engine problems?

I don't believe it would cause too much of a problem if its pushed a short distance, that said, this wouldn't stop the car from starting it it were a problem.

Can I assume you havn't tried another stepper motor? Anyone in the Dundrum or surrounding areas willing to help out a fellow owners perchance?

CJ

[energy69]

Still no luck with a Stepper Motor and Steelroe has none available. Looking round the dismantlers for one.

[Dave]

did you try Ricerocket? he probably has one or two lying about

[CJ]

did you try Ricerocket? he probably has one or two lying about

He does, I've just bought a new one off him, he also has second hand ones as well. Send a PM to RicerocketUK and he'll give you a price....

CJ

[MAC 1]

Just re-reading this one ENERGY69.
I know how frustrating it is as mine has a long term starting problem but is otherwise OK.
It may be worth biting the bullet and taking it to either a Mitsi dealer or a performance car specialist to stick a diagnostic (Mut11) reader on it.
Is it starting OK then ticks over happily? or does it start easy then cut out immediately you lift off the throttle pedal?

It could be as simple as a slack throttle cable or one of the throttle adjusting screws wrongly adjusted?

Don't know about others but on the GPX the throttle cable runs across the top of the manifold at the very back (top) of the engine. There is a bracket with adjustment mounted on top of the manifold, simply slacken off the two bolts and slide it left until the cable is almost tight. There should be no more than about 10mm sideways movement in the cable, engine off or at idle.
Next, on the throttle body there are two adjustment screws, one is on the rear side of the throttle body and should have a locking nut holding the screw in place. This sets the 'at rest' or idle throttle position, it's factory set and should not have been moved. However if it has been tampered with and the screw is backed off too far it will idle slow and could cut out.
Secondly on top of the throttle body there is a screw under a 8mm round black rubber grommet. This will adjust air intake and if screwed too far in it will cause low revs at tickover and if too low cut out. Should idle at around 700rpm according to the manual.

Good luck anyway, I hope it is this simple!

[energy69]

Thank You Mac 1.

Car was originally cutting out when driving along and stopping at traffic lights. Then after some very helpful advice I took out the stepper motor, reset the battery and cleaned out everything and put it all back together.

now it cuts out immediately I take my foot off the pedal. no idle of any sort. Waiting for a mechanic to look at it for the last month. I'm driven insane with this. Going to get rid of it the second I get it back on the road.

[Myfeckin FTO]

...... I'm driven insane with this. Going to get rid of it the second I get it back on the road.

A little bit melodramatic methinks! Still sounding like a stepper motor problem to me - no biggy! - just replace the thing and be done with it. I had the same problem when I bought my present FTO - but not a thing has gone wrong in the two years since. I'd have missed out on a really good car if I'd just fixed it up and sold it on.

[energy69]

Thanks Mac 1

Do you recommend anyone that is southside based that might be able to have a look at it. Really like to get this sorted ASAP.

Sam

[energy69]

thanks for all your help although I can not take it any more. Car is for sale

[Myfeckin FTO]

thanks for all your help although I can not take it any more. Car is for sale

Energy - If I were you I would be throwing this car back at the dealer (Deerpark Motors) - it hasn't worked properly since the day you bought it - the dealer is under a legal obligation to sell you a roadworthy car regardless of warranty - have a few words with your solicitor or ombudsman.