'89 colt needs help please

hello

1989 mitsubishi colt (4 cyl; 1.5 L; fuel injected) runs VERY WELL on the highWay however, was *tuned up* (spark plus; spark plug wires; air filter. pcv; ignition rotor) last month last week the mechanic (???technician???) cleaned out(?) ALL_of_the_vacuum hoses to correct a rough idle and hesitation. (should they be cleaned or repl'd?) however, now on startUp XS STRONG SMELL of fuel (esp from tailPipe) and using > usual. i found the fuel filter which is rusted and o.l.d. (and should be rpl'd every year at its age.) just wonder since now again it hesitates and sporadically has rough idle whether this could be due to a very O.L.D. fuel filter? which the nonChrysler place doesn't want to rpl also supposedly the ignition wires are the original and i wanted them rpl'd but was told not necessary..... could that cause the hesitation? finally: when i turn on the a/c which (afaik) never worked, the idle goes down (according to manual idle should increase w/ the a/c) (from 700 rpm to 400) A.N.D. turning on the lights, the idle tanks and the dash lights and clock dim (to nonExistant (despite the dimmer switch)) and w/ the wipers it really slows. although the alternator light does_not_come_on, how reliable is this if it's part of the electrical and if the alt is insufficient/dying, it's not going to send extra power to the panel lights is it? i thank you VERY MUCH in advance

-- to reply, userName tjtmd separate by the sign domain: attglobal.net (userNamedomain)

Reply to
Tanya
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If hiway running is OK, fuel filter would not cause bad idle. Replace it anyway.

Above, you said spark plug wires were replaced. Ignition wires = spark plug wires (plus coil wire). If they weren't replaced, replace them - they're due and can cause engine behavior problems. You didn't mention distributor cap - if not replaced, replace it now.

Get the electrical problem diagnosed and fixed - it's probably a bad ground or bad alternator causing poor voltage regulation. In either case, it should be repaired/replaced. When you turn on the a.c. and lights, there's extra load that the alternator is not compensating for. May or may not be related to the engine behavior issues, but get that fixed first and see if the other problems don't clear up.

If not, then at least you know that's not it and you can pursue other potential causes. But the electrical problem has to be fixed unless you want to get stranded at some random time and place not of your choosing (usually in the rain on the way to a very important job interview). 8^)

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Reply to
Bill Putney

upDate... now there is visible exhaust that smells like fuel... no leaks......

i really do appreciate the clarification about the wires :-) sorry -- the distributor cap and ignition rotor (but it does not mention the coil wire) were rpl'd

will follow your advice thanks again! sincerely Tanya

Reply to
Tanya

You're welcome!

After you get the electrical problem (alternator?) fixed, post back with the results. If you still have rich exhaust, others here can help with that - maybe an O2 sensor if it doesn't clear up with the electrical fix, but others can offer better advice than I can on that.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Reply to
Bill Putney

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