1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST Is now running however CEL is on again?

[GeforceXtreme]

My friends sister has a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST 2.0 Turbo that all of a sudden will not start. All the car does is crank and crank and once in awhile it sounds like its going to fire over but it doesn't. We pulled the spark plugs out and they seem to be covered in fuel so I would guess that the car is getting fuel however no spark? She said that earlier during the week when she would start it would run a little rough at first but get better as it warmed up. Does anyone have any idea of what the problem could be? She just had a new battery and coolant temp sensor installed a few weeks ago and not sure if one of those would cause this problem? The car only has 40K on it and she is surprised its having this problem already. I would have to guess it has something to do with the coil packs (if that is what they are called on this car) or a crank sensor? Me and my buddy are trying to see if we can fix this problem if its something common with these cars or she will have to pay the fee to take it to a mech shop.

If anyone could let us know asap that be great!

[bl@ckvr4]

Originally Posted by GeforceXtreme

My friends sister has a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST 2.0 Turbo that all of a sudden will not start. All the car does is crank and crank and once in awhile it sounds like its going to fire over but it doesn't. We pulled the spark plugs out and they seem to be covered in fuel so I would guess that the car is getting fuel however no spark? She said that earlier during the week when she would start it would run a little rough at first but get better as it warmed up. Does anyone have any idea of what the problem could be? She just had a new battery and coolant temp sensor installed a few weeks ago and not sure if one of those would cause this problem? The car only has 40K on it and she is surprised its having this problem already. I would have to guess it has something to do with the coil packs (if that is what they are called on this car) or a crank sensor? Me and my buddy are trying to see if we can fix this problem if its something common with these cars or she will have to pay the fee to take it to a mech shop.

If anyone could let us know asap that be great!

Sounds like a DSM alright.
I had a similar problem, it ended up being a bad coil pack. Check the coil pack and fuses.

[Renegade_]

If the spark plugs are covered in fuel, they are fouled. Replace them first and try again. When my car doesn't start on some days it is ALWAYS the spark plugs. I Change em and problem solved.

[DPancoast]

you could be dumping fuel for some reason... start with the plugs and see if they foul up again.

[lownslow95]

Originally Posted by bl@ckvr4

Sounds like a DSM alright.

x2 on a DSM. I would check the coil packs like every one else said.

[TrboChicsRock]

She's not getting spark to any cylinder?

Do you know anyone local to you with a 2G? You can try swapping parts with known working parts to find your problem. The coil pack and ECU would be a good start.

Originally Posted by DPancoast

you could be dumping fuel for some reason... start with the plugs and see if they foul up again.

His plugs are covered in fuel from turning it over so many times without it starting.

[SovXietday]

Have you checked for spark at all? Check for that, then come back with findings.

[BlkWhtTSI]

sounds like there may be a short check all your fuses, when i say check i mean pull them out, check the ecu for damage, those plugs are shot replace them, turn on the head lights and crank it if they dim the battery is dead, if everything check out fine and still no start hold the throttle wide open and crank it if that doesnt work come back and tell us.

If its stick, have you tried pop starting it?

[Rotary Knight]

check for spark first.
i dont remember how the engine is on it but if it has seperate coils then just take off the coils, put in a spark plug into the coil and ground the tip of the spark plug to something metal on the engine. have somebody go inside and crank it, if you see spark, then that pack is working. you can then try all the others.
if they all spark then you have either a timing issue or a fuel issue. cranksensor might not send a signal everytime because its bad or the fuel injectors are leaking flooding the engine and fouling up the spark plug so it wont spark. do a compression test also, because if its really flooded, the fuel will dilute the oil around the piston oil rings and wont hold compression. if compression is low try adding a teaspoon of oil in each spark plug hole, crank it a few times and retest for compression.

[GeforceXtreme]

Alright guys I had a little time to go over to her dads house to check the car out (its stuck there).

I picked up a error code scanner and it came back with no error codes. I just wanted to see if the car had any codes to tell me if it was any sensor or not however no luck.

I did notice one thing.... It seems when you turn the car to the "On" position I can't hear the fuel pump prime itself. I mean maybe its really quiet but the funny thing is I think I hear the pump turning itself off after I am done trying to crank the car over. Also it seems that the car is getting fuel because the spark plugs were covered in fuel and as well I can see unburnt fuel coming out of the muffler.

My friends sister said that she started having these starting problems after she had her thermostat and coolant temp sensor replaced. The reason they were replaced was the car was getting a check engine light saying it wasn't warming up fast enough or something. There has been no check engine light since replacing that however after replacing those 2 things is when the starting problem happened? Would a broken coolant temp sensor cause the car not to start in a Mitsubishi? In my GM car I can unplug the temp sensor and the car will start without a problem.

She also just had the battery replaced because she said it seemed like it was cranking slow at times or it would take awhile for it to crank. She said she thought it was the battery causing the starting problems because she said after she didn't drive the car for more then 5+ hours is when it would take awhile to fire over or stumble. However now it will not fire what so ever.

When you are cranking the car over it cranks and cranks and every once in awhile it feels like its going to "pop" over to running however it doesn't.

So do you guys suggest me getting new spark plugs and trying to start the car again with them? Also how can I check to see if the car is getting spark. Should I pull out one of the spark plugs and crank the motor over while the spark plug is out of the motor? Is that safe?

She is just trying to see if me and my buddy can figure it out before she has to fork the money up to tow the car to a shop and pay like 85/hr for them to possibly say it was a simple problem. She is tight on money and I am just trying to help a friend out here. I know GM and Honda cars pretty well but these cars I am kind of loss.

These are some of the things I am thinking of that could be causing the problem.

1.) Spark plugs
2.) The 2 coil packs
3.) Ignition Modular
4.) Fuel pump or Relay
5.) Crank and/or Cam sensor
6.) PCM (I sure hope it isn't this)

She is willing to pay anyone on the site here that knows these cars much better then I do to give us a hand with trying to figure out this problem. The car right now is located in Holland, Pa. 18966

[GeforceXtreme]

I am wondering do these Mitsubishi's have the same setup like my GM cars do... When the fuel pump relay fails the pump will not prime when you turn the car to the "on" position. Well if that happens the car is designed to turn the fuel pump on another way "IF" it detects enough oil pressure. If you crank the motor long enough and it builds up enough oil pressure the pump will turn on. My old GM car did this once when the relay failed. The pump would not prime itself with the key on however after cranking the car over a few seconds the pump would then turn on.

If this is the case with the Mitsubishi cars I wonder if the relay failed and because she cranked the motor over too long the older spark plugs foiled out with fuel and this is the reason why the car is not starting now?

[GeforceXtreme]

I tried to check the fuses however when I looked at the fuses and relays under the hood and on the driver side floor I couldn't really find any fuses that dealt with the ignition or fuel system... Am I missing something?

[Kevin]

Cam and Crank sensors work together to initiate spark. Once new ones are installed they need to be synced by a computer. Check that.

I've had this problem before.

[GeforceXtreme]

For tomorrow I am going to swap the spark plugs and see if I get any spark. If I don't I am going to swap out the coil packs and igntion module. I am also going to try to replace the fuel pump relay however that most likely is something I will have to get from the dealer?

[assault187]

A bad coolant temp sensor will do this too...

Save yourself the time and money...Its most likely not the fuel pump. If it primes when ignition is on and there is fuel in the cylinders the relay is working properly.

[GeforceXtreme]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Cam and Crank sensors work together to initiate spark. Once new ones are installed they need to be synced by a computer. Check that.

I've had this problem before.

Is there an easy way to tell if the crank/cam sensor is not working?

[assault187]

Get a Haines manual and a multi-meter

Also check out this site Vfaq.com

This should help

[turbochachi]

seems to be a comon thing with them mistus..

[iloveturbolag]

Originally Posted by turbochachi

seems to be a comon thing with them mistus..

what breaking down?
get more feedback on here about whats going on. pull the plug wires and test one to see if its getting spark. if not, work your way backwards from there. plugs, coil pack, fuses...
theres also a small modual about the size of a small cell phone that has one large plug going to it. the plug looks just like the 2g maf plug. it should be right around the coilpack if not attached to it. i was with spendone down in maryland when his failed randomly and the car wouldnt run. give that a check if all else fails

[BlkWhtTSI]

one blown fuse can cause the car to run funny or not start i have experienced this just got to look for one thats all black. idk if fuel pressure could cause this. it just seems like theres no spark