Help me get it running.. again..

Alright a lot of people have heard my story over and over but im gonna type it all out so everyone can read it and get the full story..

info about the car:

1996 Base DOHC 3000GT ATX

Ok, I recently got my car back from the mechanic after 2 years of it being down and I drove it for roughly 2 days. I drove it for 2 days and on the second day I got to my mothers house and because my radio hadnt been getting power I decided to pull it and check the connections. I took the radio out of the car with the car off and then tried to turn the car over. (This roughly 15-20 minutes after I arrived) I turned the key over and the car started, it idled really rough and died after about 2 seconds. I tried to turn it over again but the car wouldn't start. I let the car sit for about 30 minutes and came back and it did it again, started up, idled rough and then died after a few seconds. Tried to turn it back over and it wouldn't start. I let it sit for about 2 hours and went out and tried it again. This time the car started up and I figured I'd try to get home before it messed up again. I got about 5 miles from my moms house and the car began struggling for power. I was driving about 30 mph and was at about 3500-4000 rpms with the pedal floored and it slowly died on me. After then it wouldn't start again. I pushed it off the road and had it towed back to my house. I was told that with my car sitting for 2 years that the filter and pump might be bad from sucking up water. I changed the filter and the pump and while doing so broke the fuel line and had to replace it to. After I got home it again would turn over and start, idle rough as hell and die and then not start after that. I checked the battery terminals and connectors to make sure they were clean and tight and they where. I was also told that the ECU could be bad so I pulled it and checked my capacitors for leaking and couldn't find anything at all that looked bad. I put the ECU back in and made sure the harnesses were clipped in good and tried to start the car again. Now when I let it sit for awhile then try to start it I get a large "POP!" sound in the engine bay, I believe is coming from the drivers side of the bay and then it dies. and after ward just cranks and won't start up. I am needing this fixed and really don't want to get this sent to another mechanic. I've replaced everything fuel related now and I pretty positive its something electrical. My main problems being even though I have a multimeter I am not a guru on using one and don't have anyone who lives close and can swap out parts from their car to test. Anyone have any ideas I can try short of buying parts? If I can get a diagram of where every ground on the damn car is I am willing to check em, I just need this car running. I just spent over 2000.00 at the mechanics shop and can't blame my wife for being pretty pissed off. (The mechanic did say he replaced my cam and crank sensors, and gave me my original coil pack back. Not sure why he replaced the coil pack with a different one but I checked mine with a multimeter and got roughly 13.5 with each coil)

what?

first check you timing... was this guy a 3s mechanic?

Detail everything the mechanic did... and another easy question??? Did you put new gas and oil in the car after sitting 2 years????

This is kind of the wrong forum.

new gas and oil yes. and the timing is good. I know theres a different forum for engines and stuff but i figured this would have the most traffic

You have your old cam and crank sensors to toss in? Have you tried starting it with the car in neutral? Its too bad you dont have an ECU to try.. Try letting the battery sit disconnected overnight. Also check your fuel pressure, which Im sure is fine with a new pump and filter.. You could pull and clean your injectors. Just a few ideas.. Do you have a logger like HHH or something?

Also, no CELs?

Im not sure if you checked your wires or cleaned/replaced the plugs also.

my vote is on the ecu. u know i try stressing this to as many new comers as i can its worth it to go to a 3/s mechanic v a normal mechanic but none seem to listen to me and end up with problems like this. do the ecu , make sureyoure getting the crank on then checking the cam marks you might have jumper a tooth on the crank but cams stayed in phase with eachother , if the mechanic did a tbelt for you did he use oem tensioner and tensioner pulley? along with belt?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by terrets

You have your old cam and crank sensors to toss in? Have you tried starting it with the car in neutral? Its too bad you dont have an ECU to try.. Try letting the battery sit disconnected overnight. Also check your fuel pressure, which Im sure is fine with a new pump and filter.. You could pull and clean your injectors. Just a few ideas.. Do you have a logger like HHH or something?

Also, no CELs?

Im not sure if you checked your wires or cleaned/replaced the plugs also.

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Defiantly have good fuel pressure, and I had the car sitting without the battery in it over night a few times. No CELS the light does come on like normal but turns off as I try to crank it. I also replaced my plugs and wires with brand new NGK wires and plugs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nodoze

my vote is on the ecu. u know i try stressing this to as many new comers as i can its worth it to go to a 3/s mechanic v a normal mechanic but none seem to listen to me and end up with problems like this. do the ecu , make sureyoure getting the crank on then checking the cam marks you might have jumper a tooth on the crank but cams stayed in phase with eachother , if the mechanic did a tbelt for you did he use oem tensioner and tensioner pulley? along with belt?

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The mechanic I used is not only a 5 diamond Mitsubishi mechanic he uses them in his shops logo, and has 5 sitting in front of his shop for parts, or up cars waiting to be worked on at all times. I had a friend do my timing, and I checked it when I first sent it to the mechanic, then had the mechanic check it and it would good for me and when he checked it he said it was good as well. I purchased and used an OEM belt, tensioner, and pulley.

Your MAF plugged in? Does the manual have a method to test the MAF..? You could check if the EGR is stuck open or something but Im not sure if it would cause this. Could check for vacuum leaks and compression. Injectors too.

Otherwise, Im leaning towards the ECU.


Edit:

Grounding diagram here page 4:
http://www.3sx.com/faq/manuals/Servi...1-Volume-2.pdf

16-26 Shows some ignition troubleshooting.. Also specifically how to test on the next few pages.
I also couldnt find a MAF circuit.. Maybe its in volume 1.

Check out master trouble shooting on 00-24:
http://www.3sx.com/faq/manuals/Servi...1-Volume-1.pdf

MAF is plugged in. I was advised to unplug the MAF and try to run it and have done both unplug and try and plug it back it.

well you should always have the ecu rebuilt if you havent, although I though the 96's were more resistant to failure. Send it in to have it checked out

And just because someone is 5 star rated... that means squat nowdays :)

^ agree with mike

All I know is the guy specializes in our cars and actually sponsors the statewide club.. I am looking now locally for someone with a 2nd gen to swap my ecu with and see if it makes a difference. Does anyone know what all years of ECU will fit a 96?

I know its frustrating, Im not attacking the guy... :) I have just heard plenty of the horror stories... 2000$ your car should be running like a fricking top.

Why is he not taking care of the issue? I would be like "hey come tow the car you just fixed!" :)

Its a second gen ECU, it shouldnt have that much of a worry. It wouldnt hurt to grab a second gen ECU. Should be able to find one fairly cheap.

Maybe you can get someone local to help you with testing your ecu. Its not blowing up your ECU, some are reluctant to lend you their ecu, if you car is shorting
it can blow their ECU but your car isnt doing that.

First thing first I would be checking my timing.

ECU info
ECU Part Numbers...JOHN MONNIN'S PERSONAL 3000GT/STEALTH FAQ

cam timing then ignition timing , if he replaced the sensor and didnt set it properly itcould run like shit. very rarely hear of second gen ecus going bad.

I would take it back to him and tell him to fix it for free if the problem happened right after. How was the car running before the mechanic?

sorry guys, ive been really busy lately, update:

The car ran for 2 days perfect after I got it from him. Unless my oem tensioner failed and it slipped time at the crank then timing should be good.. its good up top. I swapped my control arm thing today that controls the headslights and turn signals back to my original one and cleaned and messed with the battery terminals some and now i've noticed when i push on the brake pedal the red security light turns off and i can hear a small "click" sound.. same thing happens when i turn the key to where my running lights should be on..

Also a local guy is going to come pick my ECU up and put it in his car to see if his has problems with the ecu.. said he felt more safe doing that then putting his working ecu in my car

Have you checked the alternator? Grounds? Battery shorting against the hood?

Jeremy

Do you have some diagram or something where I can find all the grounds to check? the hood has been open while I mess with it and the alternator is pretty recently rebuilt..

Stealth 316 - Battery move to rear compartment

There's a couple of diagrams on that page. Or you could also try BigTyla, he sells nice ground wire kits and probably has a diagram he could send you.

Jeremy

the only grounds it shows are the batteries though right?

update: put my battery on the battery charger for 4 hours (was reading roughly 90% when i took it off) and hooked it to the car. It wouldn't turn over so I took the battery to oriellys to be tested. tested good but said it was completely drained and took over 30 minutes to charge it (Had set on the car for maybe 15 minutes) Got home with the fully charged battery and new battery terminals, installed the terminals and installed the new battery nice and tight. Turn the car over and it started, ran really rough and then stopped.. I then went to test the head lights and I am not getting them on at all, only the inside dash lights. Also I noticed my Halos arent even lighting up and I wired them directly from the battery.. I checked both grounds coming off the battery, 1 to the body and 1 to the engine and both seemed good.

Got my ECU out and to my friend. He said he put it in last night and it started up and other then idling a little low his car seemed fine. he let it idle for a bit, turned it off and turned it back over and had no problems..