Ok here is the deal. The damn thing just dies, and it dies speraticly at that. For instance, I can drive 2 miles and it will die, or I can drive 100 miles and it will die. I have to wait around 1 minute or so and then it will start back up. Although it is getting worse now. I've narrowed it down to an ignition problem and here is where I'm at.

When the car died I pulled the number 1 sparkplug to see if it was getting any spark, it wasn't. So I thought, well maybe it's the coil. Replaced it with a new one, it ran better yet it still died. So now I'm lost. Yes there are new plugs and wires in the car as well.

The reason I thought coil, was because when the car dies the tach goes to 0 instantly. Normally when a car dies from other problems the tach will show the car's RPM's dropping, or at least that's what I'm use to. Any ideas will be helpful.

I have some of the same sorta symptoms, but everything I checked was fine. Like you I wasnt gettung any spark, but the coil is a new MSD, new MSD wires, plugs, battery still showing 12-14V and the starter and the fuel pump seem to be working fine also. I checked the ASD ( Auto ShutDown ) relay and nothing seemed the work.

Needless to say the car is at the dealer now. I will keep everyone posted as to what they say is wrong.

could it be your fuel pump or your filter needing to be cleaned?

The first day I took my car home from the dealer, the damn thing died and never started again, so I shipped it back to the dealer and left a good WTF! message on there machine, and what I was told was the crank sensor had gotten wet somehow and went to hell, Just a thought if there is such a thing as a crank sensor, those dealer guys are assholes and could have been messin with a newbie ;)

An update on my situation. I was not getting a check engine light......couldnt get it to come on or even check the codes by turning the key OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON.

Do you still get the check engine light? If not, as the dealer says to me.....you need to replace your PCM. SO $228 diagnotsic test to track down any bad grounds, power surges, all the wiring checks out fine. SO they determine that its the PCM and its gonna cost me $865.

Hopefully you have better luck.

Check the connections to the battery.

The only two sensors that can cause that are the Cam angle sensor, and the Crank angle sensor. Check both, and the harnesses. Both are Hall effect magnetic pickup sensors, so a little water isn't going to hurt anything other than the harness connector. if you loose the crank angle, the tach will immediately drop to zero, as now the ecu has no way of knowing how fast the crank is turning. if you lose the cam angle, the car will immediatley fall on its face, backfire, misfire, and run like ass. Both will cause the car to stall, as one is used to determine iginition timing, and the other injector timing. The two combined are used to verify mechanical timing.

Only other thing would be a loss of power to the ecu, or an ecu that is dying.

have you tried the ignition relay? i have been having reletively the same problem...the car will sometimes just die right on the road...or it will not start, just sit and crank...after replacing everything, i have found that when it does this..if my GF messes with the relay, the car will start right up...if i were you i'd give that a shot before dropping $860...

I hate to ask this but where is that thing located?

Which one?

I believe the ignition relay is located in the relay bank on the driver's side firewall. As to exactly which one... *shrug*

The crank angle is directly above the oil filter housing, and the cam angle is, of course, on the driver's side front of the head.

yea like ^^ dino said....there are 2 relays back on the drivers side firewall, one black on grey...but i have no clue which is ignition and which is fuel...

I tried EVERYTHING!!! I even bought the fuel pump and the ignition ( ASD ) relays from the dealer. Still didnt work! $865 here I come! :-(

The relays are located together on the same bracket mounted to the firewall above the brake master cylinder. The one on the left is the fuel pump relay and the one on the right is the ignition relay.

But yeah try those before you have to drop the big scratch for the PCM like I have to.

Dude, hit up Tallahasee Mitubishi (their link is under the vendors tab on this page). I just got a quote for a new pcm for 560! Shoot 'em an email and save a few 100 bux. Good luck

I just pulled codes from the vehicle and here are the two that I came up with.....PO351 & PO352

Armond said he thought i may have a short somewhere in the ignition system, but I have traced every wire and check'd every fuse. I'm totatlly lot. Oh yes and I have also replaced and am running a new coil. What now, and I call the computer an ECU, is that what he means when he says PCM? Or does he mean ignition power control module?

PCM = ECU. Two abreviations for the same thing.

http://www.2gnt.com/nuke/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=4

I had my ECU go out and it was doing the same thing. I got a replacement ECU from Wyatt for about $300.

Well my car was (IS) doing the same thing as noted in this post. I went out to start looking for wires that are shorted and I think I may have found my problem. I was jacking with the plug/harness that plugs into the ignition coil and noticed something. Every time (and I mean EVERY time) I pushed in on the plug (towards the coil) or moved it around the car started sputtering and died. If I did it really fast, as in push the plug in let it start sputtering and then pull on the plug (away from the coil)it would stop sputtering and run perfect. So MY problem has something to do with this (I think). So now I am lost, is it the plug, or the wires leading to the plug. Its a brand new coil so I have ruled that out. Any ideas?

Well turns out the PCM ( ECU ) whatever name you wanna use, that I go tfrom the dealer was $532. I had to pay $228 for the diagnostic and they went in and tested every connection in the wiring harness to make sure that when the new PCM went in that it would get shorted out or burned again, resulting in more money.

On another note I got the car bcak today and it seems to be running normal. THANK GOD!!!!! Hopefully the S.O.B stays that way!

could someone post a pic of the cam angel sensor........i think that might be my problem because i did run through some water during the usa flood a month or so ago......my car sometimes will try to die and when i hit the gas it will go but i have like no power what so ever and the rpms climb very slow.....after i turn it off and let it sit for a while its gone........lol.....dont know why.........so if someone can post a pic of it i can get one at a junk yard or just buy a new one.........how much them things cost anyway????

dfresh

I have a pic somewhere, but don't feel like looking. it's easy to see.. front driver's side corner of the valve cover. See that black plastic thing on the side? That's the cam angle sensor. it's a magnetic pickup sensor - they don't really ever go bad, and if they do, your car just won't start. Check the harness connector, and the harness itself. make sure its not sitting on the EGR pipe shorting out or something..

ok so im getting the car just dies deal now to. but to the guys whos car just dies and or had the ecu replaced, did any of your fuses blow also? like the 30a motor fuse in the engine bay, top left?
thanks
Michael
99gs
HRC Stage IV 8-Injector Setup
2GNT Member #32