Last couple days, my car has been acting up.

At first it would sometimes die at stoplights or when coming to a stop like when i swing around in a parking lot to reverse into a spot, but it will start right back up. yesterday it also died twice while driving, once at around 30mph and another time at 10 mph or so. both times, it started right back up tho.

also while driving, sometimes it would sorta stutter, and would want to shut off, but like catch itself while driving, like the car would feel like its bogging down, the tach would start to fall, and the CEL would flash for just a sec, then it would come back to normal.

i noticed that it would also stick in open-loop mode when it was acting up too.

This is all during casual driving, nothing aggresive.

Also, no codes would ever be stored.

Then last night, it started studdering and bogging again, and finally tripped the CEL and i got a 14. Would a bad map sensor cause this types of problems?

if so, and i need to replace the map, is there any benefit in replacing the stock map w/ a 3-bar map sensor, or will the 95 ecu not be able to take advantage of a map sensor that can read boost? the 95s dont freak out when the see boost, ive seen as high as 15lbs without any sorta of vc or missing link or anything and never hit fuel cut....but does it make sense to use a different map sensor w/ the stock ecu still running things?

>Last couple days, my car has been acting up.
>
>At first it would sometimes die at stoplights or when coming
>to a stop like when i swing around in a parking lot to reverse
>into a spot, but it will start right back up. yesterday it
>also died twice while driving, once at around 30mph and
>another time at 10 mph or so. both times, it started right
>back up tho.
>
>also while driving, sometimes it would sorta stutter, and
>would want to shut off, but like catch itself while driving,
>like the car would feel like its bogging down, the tach would
>start to fall, and the CEL would flash for just a sec, then it
>would come back to normal.
>
>i noticed that it would also stick in open-loop mode when it
>was acting up too.
>
>This is all during casual driving, nothing aggresive.
>
>Also, no codes would ever be stored.
>
>Then last night, it started studdering and bogging again, and
>finally tripped the CEL and i got a 14. Would a bad map sensor
>cause this types of problems?
>
>if so, and i need to replace the map, is there any benefit in
>replacing the stock map w/ a 3-bar map sensor, or will the 95
>ecu not be able to take advantage of a map sensor that can
>read boost? the 95s dont freak out when the see boost, ive
>seen as high as 15lbs without any sorta of vc or missing link
>or anything and never hit fuel cut....but does it make sense
>to use a different map sensor w/ the stock ecu still running
>things?


Yea.. your map sensor is probably dead..

#1 - 3 bar map will do you no good.. your ECU isn't programed to take advantage of it.

#2 - You've probably destroyed your map.. even though it will measure 1 bar, it was probably never really designed to handle extended periods of the 1 bar operation. Most likely you've shattered the "measuring" device inside..

#3 - get a missing link.. excess boost will destroy the map.. missing link is a check valve.. and as such.. won't allow it to see boost.

-- Dave

Ive got a map sensor for you, $40. E-mail me

Yea, i ordered a missing link earlier today from motofool, just for when i start running 15-20psi w/ the new fuel setup

what confused me was why the car was going into open-loop mode during cruise and idle situations, didnt know a bad map sesnor would cause that to happen.

ok, well, i swaped in a different map sensor, and either this one is dead too, or the map isnt the problem ;)

the car pulls a lot of fuel at idle, so im gonna try lowering the fuel pressure a bit and see if that helps.

if thats not the problem, then im thinking bad o2 sensor since it does go into open-loop mode when it shouldnt...

just be sure to double check your battery cable connections to be sure they are nice and tight. Also check the ground cable going from the neg batt cable, to the driver fender by the fuse box. It could be your o2 sensor too..Check the simple stuff first though..could be a fuel pump problem too, check all the wiring for that. Almost sounds like a fuel pump or pressure issue though...

I was gonna suggest O2 sensor also. the sticking in open-loop is what would make me think that.

www.TeamKLR.com
1997 Silver RS
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Eagle Rods
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440's

My car did something similiar to that, but much worse. All of a sudden, it just started dieing every time I let off the gas, and let the RPM's drop. They would just fall down to 0 and the engine would die. I figured an alternator could have been the culprit, but it turned out to be a sensor of some sort, but I had the local shop change it for me cause I didn't have a way to test it.


1996 Eclipse RS / 5-Speed / More at www.dalnetcars.com
Mark Galyan - Greenwood, Indiana

Just an update:

1st, put a new map and the missing link on the car, did not solve the problem. car still died at the 1st red light on the 1st test drive :(

next day, replaced the o2 sensor, and altho the first test drive was fine, later that night the symptons returned, and car still did the random dying crap.

next day, i just did some reg. maintenance, replaced brake pads, changed the oil, and put in new plugs (last ones had about 3100 miles on em). The car has since only died once after several days of driving, so new plugs seems to have helped. altho, cruising on the highway it did still go in and out of open loop mode :-?

any other ideas?

I am not sure about the open loop thing and why this is happening?

I do know a bad(going bad)cam and crank angle sensors can cause your car to die all of a sudden without warning. It is also an intermittent problem for quite a while before they totally go out.

I do not know if this could mess with your car thinking it is at WOT and going into open loop. There was a 2gnt at a friends local shop that had similiar problems of the car dying. They changed everything you did and still had it. Then they changed the crank angle sensor and the problem was solved. I had a cam angle sensor problem, but my car would idle really funny(up and then down) and then sometimes quit.

That is all I have for you...mostly more things to check.

Dan at http://www.allmitsubishi.com might have both sensors in stock(used) for you to try. Gotta be much cheaper than buying new ones. Maybe someone else here has them also. Just a thought.

Man, this is definitely a tricky one, but I would definitely look to the ECU and it's sensors or the ignition.

Have you done any alterations to the MAP sensor wiring, for an S-AFC or a HRC fuel mapper. I would try to disconnect any remnance of those items and double check those connections.

Also, do a resistance check on your ignition coil. I had one go bad on me. Also check the resistance of your spark plug wires.

When the car isn't dying, does it drive fine?

Yea, the car drives fine otherwise (other than going in and out of open loop), and like i said, it actually hasnt died but once since i put new plugs in.

The ECU is brand new, was replaced last month.

ill check the coil/plugs next


I dont have anything on the map sensor, its a 95 so i never had fuel cut and i never wanted a safc. missing link is the first thing ive ever added to the map.

thanks for the suggestions Deano and Jason, at least its somewhere to go from