Need input from fellow car techs

[2001teg]

Alright guys hoping someone has run into this problem before. At work we have a customer that has a 96 Mitsu Galant ES. Hes been having this problem for a while and we can't figure it out. Heres what happens.

Car runs and drives perfectly fine. Once in a while after driving either short or long distances the car will not run when you go to restart it. Problem is it will run if you let it sit for 5 minutes. When this problem occurs the car gets spark. We spray gas into the intake and it still wont run. Unfortunatly we cant predict when the car will decide not to run, so putting a FPG on is no help. We did put one on when we were trying to get the car to act up and we had normal fuel pressure.

[Honduh]

Coil tests good? Have you tested the crank sensor for resistance when the problem is occuring?

[boostjunky]

I had the same problem in my 89 Mirage beater I used to have. Was always afraid to park it somewhere. Used to keep it running and locked on quick trips to stores.

Would crank and crank and no start sometimes. Sometimes right away. Finally figured out if i just flicked the ignition once it would fire right up. Ended trading it before figureing out the real problem but at least it was a temporary solution. Sorry I don't have more info for you.

[jgartland]

how about a starter? i work at a subaru dealership, but i know we have problems with the contacts on some starters in older cars. sometimes the armature wont be at the right spot to give the engine that right amount of power to start. and other times it will just click, not like a dead battery, just one click and nothing else. itll do that until it is in the right spot and catches. thats just a problem weve run into so im hoping it helps you out. good luck

[Diablo2424]

what about possible ignition issue? As in the actual piece the key goes into, could that not be connecting properly? loose connection inside maybe?

not sure, just throwing out some ideas for you... good luck figuring it out

[94integra]

i had a similar problem with the civic. turned out to be a crack in one of the sleeves.

[2001teg]

The starter is fine, it will crank all day. Crank sensor is good too, its just really urking me because its getting spark and fuel and it wont run until it sits AND its only once in a while not all the time.

[tomustang]

I've heard about that problem several times but on different cars, usually ended up being a loose ground/starter/ignition, and what would happen would be someone closing the door (a slam) making a wire trip out, you can look into it

[SovXietday]

Problems like this are usually ignition switch or ground related issues.

[ThePrimerSuspect]

you spray gas in the intake? try ether? does it have injector pulse? i'd lean towards the crank sensor. i know you said its good, but since its an intermittent problem, it could be "good" intermittently.

[got_tint?]

Problems like this are usually ignition switch or ground related issues.

this.

[2001teg]

If it was the ignition switch it wouldnt crank or have spark. Thats why we are so stumped.

[Foolinaround]

cam postition sensor? or crank position sensor?

[supraghost]

can you hear the fuel pump running? main relay

or maybe the ecu temp sensor is bad.

[SovXietday]

If it was the ignition switch it wouldnt crank or have spark. Thats why we are so stumped.

Do a compression test, just to rule that out. If it comes out bad, leak down and then start digging.

If it passes, make sure the fuel pump is running at all times. However, you said you sprayed fuel in the intake and it still didn't fire... so that leads me to believe it's not a fuel issue, it's ignition.

Crank and cam sensors (I think that car only has a crank) are usually good or bad and nothing in between. Not ruling it out, but usually you will be breaking up a lot when the car is running if it's going bad.

I'm guessing you did check the spark plugs and make sure they were all good?

Pretty much leads me back to the ignition switch. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I'm like 80% positive you should be looking at that first.

Does it not start consistently in any kind of weather? Hot, cold, or is it just that random?

[BaggedXtreme]

Id check to make sure you have a good spark it could just be a weak spark problem. also I have found some cars don't like to run even spraying gas into the intake so check the fuel pressure next time it acts up we had a car the other day put a fpg on it normal and it ran fine than it stalled out no fuel pressure, turns out the fuel pump was just tired and would cut out, also id put a noid light on the injectors just to check.

[Honduh]

You didn't say if you tested the coil. I'm not familiar with galants, is it a coil pack car or does it have a distibuter. Have you tested the igniter?

Did you check resistance on the intake air temp sonsor while its not starting?

Have you pulled the plugs to check if they are getting soaked in fuel? And what. Do the plugs look like, gap wise, and is the porcelain cracked?

What is the fuel pressure when the problem is occuring, just because you have fuel at the rail doesn't mean it has enough to run. Spraying fuel into a throttle body isn't a very good way to diagnose a fuel issue on a fuel injected car.

Have you put a scan tool on the car to monitor live values while the problem is occuring.

Are you the tech working on the car, what EXACTLY have you checked, and what did you find?

[omg]

id start with ignition and work my way down

[Chris B.]

It sounds like vapor lock. I didn't even know it could happen on modern cars.