'91 Eclipse Start Problems

through the "growing pains" of learning to use the site.

husband works with. I had wanted an Eagle Talon more than LIFE in 1991 when I turned 16, but sadly, I never got one. I was looking forward to starting my second childhood early by tinkering with this car and restoring it. The interior is almost pristine (except for the sagging headliner) and the exterior is in pretty good shape too. The car was driven by a teenage boy for the past several years and has several small things wrong with it. Nothing to big to handle . . . until today.

I was pulling into the parking lot at work today. Suddenly, the engine started stuttering and acting like my speed was too low for the gear that I was in. I downshifted from third into second and got the same problem. Then, without warning, the engine died.

cranked, caught, sputtered, and then died again. Almost as if it had ran out of gasoline. And yes, guys, it has gas! My husband and brother asked me the same question as soon as I talked to them, lol.

to start it, I would hear a faint "click" right behind the radio and another one coming from the rear of the car on the driver's side. This clicking noise would happen only after I released pressure on the key (after trying to start the engine) and let it return to the "run" position. Sometimes, however, it didn't do it. Then, after trying to start it for the umpteenth-million time, I began hearing what I can only describe as "clicking and whirring" from the center console, almost directly under the gearshift. It almost sounded like a computer hard drive gone nuts (like when you're trying to download a HUGE program and you can hear the computer board working like crazy). When I turn the key to the accessory-only position ("ACC" I think on the ignition) I don't hear the noise. But, when I would turn the key to the "Run" position the sound would start again. I only heard it a few times, and th en it quit doing it and I haven't been able to get it to do it since. My lights are all bright as ever, so I don't think it's the battery. I've gotten out my Haynes manual and I've almost decided that it's the ECU, but I want to get some feedback from ya'll (yep, I'm from Kentucky and that was a southern yaaaaaa'll) on the forum.

any help you can give me. I'd like to get my little red "Cherry Bomb" on the road again, lol.

Have you checked the plugs and wires? I would also try a compression test. And while your at it, check the check the oil and coolant levels.

Try checking the belts as well. Or it could be the O2 sensors failing. And have you checked to see if the clutch is actually engaging and disengaging? You might also want to check the ignition coil (long shot, but you never know).

In short, a whole host of things could prevent the car from starting and just as many could cause it to sputter and die. We need some more info to help you. Like did a check engine light pop up, and what were the results of checking the various things that I just asked you, and we will need the vital stats on the car (Year, Mileage on the car, Mileage on the Engine, Mileage on the Clutch, what were the problems you found in the car when you first got it, how long did you have the car before it gave you this issue, and was it showing anything else strange no matter how insignificant it may seem?).

The people here are more than happy to help a southern bell like yourself, but like I said we need some more info from you first.

Good evening and have a nice weekend, CMF

(P.S. It may help if you gave us some background into how much mechanic work you have actually done as well. Most people hear are serious gear heads and may blow right by some of the amateurs until you tell them that you are one.)

the noise from your center console is an indication that your ecu (computer) is fried. this is common. don't buy a new one from the dealer!

The 2.0L DOHC non-turbo ECU is located behind the center console, and is quite easy to get at and out in about 10 minutes with a philips crewdriver and then a 10mm socket with extension. You should be able to get an ECU from a wrecker for $100-200. Same engine and ECU is fitted to the DOHC Eagle 2000 GTX / Mitsu Galant and 93 DOHC Hyndai Sonata. Just make sure you get the standard or automatic transmission ECU model as appropriate.

Stewart DIBBS

I'll second the comments on the ECU. Done it twice on my car. Some wreckers will let you try then buy, for a small restocking fee, mine did. Got pissed after replacing two ECU's with the third, then went back and repaired the first two.

Ray

Hi Chris. Thanks for the quick reply! I've been lurking around this forum for a couple of weeks now, soaking up the knowledge, lol. Let's see if I can send this post and get it to show up as nice little paragraphs instead of a long string of sentences.

The car is a 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It has a 2.0L 16V DOHC engine (but it is NOT a turbo) that is the original engine for this car. Tranny is original as well. The current mileage is 161,248 and I've had the car a total of two whole weeks. The clutch is the original and hasn't given me any problems (btw, I've driven nothing but manual transmission cars for 5 years so I feel comfortable making this statement without a garage looking at it) even though the car was a little hard to get into gear when it was extremelly cold last week. After the engine warmed up, however, it shifted almost as easily as my Honda Accord.

Although all the lights in the dash cluster will come on briefly when the key is first turned in the ignition (like most cars) they will go out when the engine is started. So, I know the bulbs aren't blown. No light came on at any time in the last two weeks, and definately not yesterday when the car died. I have checked all the fuses for the car and they are all fine too.

Something minor, but somewhat related, was the fact that the car gave me a problem last week when I first started driving it. It had been parked since June of 2003 by the old owner because his son bought a new car. After driving it for a couple of days (and everything was fine) the engine started quiting whenever I wasn't giving the car gas. I would start the car, and it would die immediately unless I had my foot on the gas pedal and maintained the RPMs by pressing the pedal slightly. The car would drive, no prob, but if I depressed the clutch to switch gears and was slow- ing down (or my RPMs fell as I was braking) the car would die unless I gave it gas. After checking the air filter and finding that it was as black as coal dust and clogged, I replaced it and the car ran fine; but now I'm wondering if the air filter was the real problem.

While I haven't replaced the plugs and wires, I haven't noticed the engine missing or idling odd. I had planned to change them as part of a routine maintenance next week- end. Likewise, the oil and coolant levels are okay, but an oil change is probably needed and I wanted to flush out the radiator too. Looks like my "next weekend" projects might happen sooner than I expected. :-)

The belts are fine, but I haven't checked the O2 sensor, the ignition coil, or performed a compression test. My plans were to do all these things during the next month (my work schedule permitting) and some other things as well. I was a total tomboy growing up, and was always in the garage helping my father on this vehicle or that. He made me change out an engine and transmission in an old junker he bought before he would let me have a car when I got my license. He believed that women oughta know how to handle themselves in the garage! One of the reasons I was so happy to get this little car is that I wasn't scared to actually get under the hood and do a few things. NOT something I'm comfortable doing with my Accord or with my husband's Nissan Pathfinder while we're paying payments, you know? I'm not very up-to-speed on the newer cars and their systems, other than routine maintenance issues.

There is a junkyard about 40 miles north of me that has several Eclipse/Laser/Talon vehicles in the 1990 to 1994 model years. This looks to be my biggest supplier of parts because I can't get much of anything at the local auto parts stores. They either don't have them or they're staff- ed by teenage kids who couldn't care less and will tell you they don't carry the part you need (or they'll give you the wrong thing). I'm going to go to the junkyard today to get and ECU if I can and replace it. I'll post and let ya'll know how it turns out.

Thanks again for your time and concern. I look forward to speaking with you again.

Julie

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

One thing, however, has had me worrying. The noise in the center console did not happen until I made repeated tries to start the car. Now, I'm worrying that I've fried the darn thing and am going to need to replace it to find the other problem.

I did hear a muffled "click" each time I tried to start the car; and one time the engine actually caught and ran for a second or so before quitting again. As I depressed the gas pedal the engine sputtered and stuttered and quit like the gas tank was empty (and I've ran out of gas a few times in my life, lol).

I'll post as soon as I replace the ECU.

Julie

I'm printing your post to take with me to the junkyard so that I'll (hopefully) be sure to find one!

We've got a junkyard near our town that is HUGE and they let you go in and "pull" your own part. The prices are significantly lower than at the other junkyards. Got a Reece hitch for my hubby's Pathfinder for $15 dollars that was practically brand new. Hopefully I can find an ECU that'll work!

Julie

I'm going to call the junkyard before I go and see if they will guarantee that the part will work (or let me replace it with another if it doesn't) before I go. I've called the local auto parts store and the young man that answered the phone had no idea what I was talking about and couldn't find the part in his computer. ~sighs~

Julie

This is a very common problem with the ECUs of that age, it is very unlikely that it is 'fried' but there is a problem with leaking capacitors causing corrosion of the printed circuit board and gradually causing some of its outputs to fail.. this rarely causes any other damage to the unit. If you know someone who can do electronics / PCB repairs chances are they could fix it for you..

the ouputs that fail are the idle speed control, some emissions controls depending on the model, miscellaneous dash warnings on some models and the one that never goes un-noticed, the fuel pump relay control! Because when the key is in the start position the fuel pump relay is directly enabled from the switch, the engine will usually start, but then die as soon as you release the key beacuse the ECU cannot control it with the fault. If the engine does this then it shows that the rest of the ECU is still most likely good..

Be warned that if you get a second hand replacement ECU chances are its capacitors will also be on the way out! It is a very simple and cheap job to replace them if there is not yet any other damage... just do a search for ECU capacitor replacement for more info..

Good luck!

before quitting again. As I depressed the gas

Not a problem. Well I'm glad to hear that you are comfortable under the hood of your car, because these cars can be a little picky about how they are adjusted. If you are looking for more info, I would suggest you register with DSMtuners.com as well. They've got a couple of gear heads there that are truly scary in there ability to diagnose and fix some very odd issues.

With that said though, I would go with what simpleton, Stewart, and Nirodac recommend. They seem to be the resident DSM experts here from what I've seen.

And I can certainly relate about the parts issue, if you were lurking a while ago I went through hell and back just to get an O2 sensor. So your fears about local autoparts stores are justified. I would locate your local DSM club and see what they have for info on local parts dealers and see which ones are reputable. Local DSM clubs also tend to have some kind of discount with said dealers. I did a little Google search for a club that serves your area and I came up with the Midwest Club DSM. Their website is

You can also go to They have a special section for DSM cars and their prices don't seem too bad (plus simpleton seems to recommend them). One last thing, I would recommend ditching the Haynes manual and going with the Chilton Manual. They tend to be much more thorough and give better pictures.

That's all I've got for now.

Have a good weekend.

Cheers, CMF

You know you're a DSMer when you schedule giving blood around your turbo upgrade schedule.

I can vouch for the comment on age related failures, as Ricky stated , chances are the replacement ECU will have bad caps also (a ticking time bomb). You might want to consider have the working, replacement, ECU checked by an electronics tech, to ensure the caps aren't leaking, then have them replaced anyway. You could have your current one also checked, and the capacitors replaced , but there may be significant damage or corrosion to the PCB. Get ALL the filter capacitors replaced, there are only 3 or 4 of them and parts cost is under $3.00. There are web pages dedicated to this type of repair. On one of my ECU's when the cap blew it left a crater in the PCB.

Hi guys. Just wanted to give an update on the Eclipse problems.

Went to the local "pull it yourself" junkyard yesterday and got two ECU units. Blame it on the cold, or my hubby who was hovering nearby saying "Will this one work?" I got two

1.8L engine units! Discovered this after arriving home an hour later and taking the old one out of my car. I know, I know, you're always supposed to look at the part in YOUR car first . . . but I was running short on time and decided against driving to the Wal-Mart parking lot and taking apart the console of my car. ~Sighs~ Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way. On the bright side though, I dismantled and bought a driver's side door handle (the one on my car is broken off) for $8 and it's the same color as my car. I might not be able to drive, but at least I can open the darn door . . .

So, went back today. Got FOUR units because I figured that the odds of me getting a useable one were pretty good that way, right? And, at 50 cents each, I couldn't go wrong. Got them home this afternoon and tried first one, then the others, without any success. Two of them ticked and buzzed like the one that I have is doing; the other two just sat there. I feel confident that the ECU is not the problem and that I need to look in a different direction. Gonna keep a few of these though, and have them looked at by an elect- ronics guru and make sure that they're in good working order. Who knows? I may need one someday.

And, lol, I've got a few extras for a 1.8L engine in case anybody on here wants them. Just pay shipping! :-)

I had my hubby get in the car and I took the gas cap off and listened as he turned the key to the "ON" position. I can't hear the fuel pump whirring when the key is first turned on (like you sometimes can) and so now I'm wondering if I need a new fuel pump? I also had a friend tell me that the fuel filter might have collapsed and to check it good when I pull the fuel pump out.

I just had it towed home tonight. Right now I'm really leaning towards taking it to a local shop and having them look it over really good and give me a good diagnosis of the possible problem before I replace anything else. My own diagnostic abilities are in serious doubt in my household right now, lol. The only thing that worries me about this is the fact that I've been told most shops can't run a good diagnostic on a vehicle if it won't run.

I've printed out all of the replies and I'm taking each and every suggestion under advisement. Too bad ya'll don't live in Kentucky. I might just hafta throw a car-fixing party! I'll supply the drinks and the food . . .

Thanks again!

Julie

First off, how much did you pay for the ECU's, sounds like you got a real deal. Did you pull these your self or where they just laying around the auto wrecker. Could they be "returns" to the wrecker that don't work because they have already failed. At least pop the covers and look a the center of the circuit board. The capacitors in question are round cylinders about 1/2 inch high and about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter. Usually have blue plastic coverings. Check the base of these units, for corrosion or black (as in burned) material on the circuit board. If you find this, then chances are they can be repaired by an electronics tech, by cleaning the board and replacing the caps.

Check out this link for more information about the ECU repairs, and the description of a failing ECU.

confident that the ECU is not the problem and

I'm still not convinced the ECU isn't the culprit. However, what is the battery voltage reading? If it's low, it will click too.

Hi ppl. This topic was enlightning for somebody like me. I hope Julie fixed her car already and will share with us how. I have a 90 Eclipse GSR4 and it's my first car. (pls don't laugh) Probably all of you already know all the details of this model: turbo,AWD,DOCH 16 valve 2.0 L,manual gear,left steering (in UAE where I'm located, many cars are coming from Japan) Unfortunately I've ignored some symptoms, not knowing how serious it was, and the ECU burned while driving, luckily in second gear at ~30 km/h. I've crane it to a garage, took off the ECU, replaced the capacitors on the PCB and repair the hole in the PCB :) since I could not find a second-hand replacement anywhere. A brand new one from the Mitsubishi dealer is too expensive for me, and considering the price I paid for the entire car, is out of the question. After repairing the ECU, it seems I got sparks and fuel pressure, because I can hear & feel a repeately short combustion as long as I keep trying to crank it. My mechanic friends are saying the injectors are not pulsed by the ECU. (I'm a software developer, so I believe them) I've unplugged all 4 wires going in the injectors and measured the voltage and conectivity. Each injector receives 14-15 V on both wires when turnining the ignition ON, and a variating 10-12 V while cranking. We did lots of other sorts of tests, but could not find nothing wrong. I've checked again and again the ECU, but since I don't have any manual or testing values to make on the board, I cannot be sure if something else got damaged. I'm also thinking that a sensor could've been damaged when the ECU burned, and that's a good reason for me not spending money on another ECU, until I'm sure mine is not functioning correctly. I will appreciate any hint of what to do next and how to make a correct diagnosis. Thanks

for KY -- After searching DSMTuners.com, search vfaq.org. EVERY question re DSMs has been asked and answered.

91-94 ECUs will interchange, even tho the books sez they are not interchangeable. Don't use one from a turbo or automatic or 1.8 liter car. Must be non-turbo stick 2.0 liter. You can tell the turbo by a boost gauge in the tach, and the 8th digit in the VIN is "F" or "U". Look at the shifter to tell A/T Take the cover off any prospective purchase, look around the base of the blue cylinders. You don't want to see goop or smell dead fish.

for Bornish

The cap repair is NOT guaranteed to fix the motherboard, which could have other components already damaged by the bad caps. The injectors receive voltage all the time, they are fired by being grounded by the ECU, so check that via the harness.

LSupreemo

-- LSupreemo

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Hi Would anyone have or would anyone know where I can get a S/H throttle body for my 24v 3000 '96 LWB petrol auto shogun - they seem to be rarer than hens teeth! Kim

replying to KyFirestorm, Hank wrote: I have a fuel filter issue and I can't find it on a 91 Mitsubishi Eclipse 1.8 L where is it located on the car