02 Lancer Problem

Start with these; How long has it been since you replaced the belts? Is the belt tension correct? Check ALL the wiring connections. Make sure they are tight and clean. Also check the two large battery cables. Does the Charging warning light come on when you first turn on the key before starting the engine? Does it turn off after starting? How soon does it turn off. These are the things I would check first if I had this problem with my Lancer.

gb

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible to live without breaking laws."

-- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

lancerprblm wrote:

try cleaning the battery cables and using a noncorrosive spray sounds like a bad ground

I just had my timing belt, my water pump, my spark plugs, my air/fuel filters, and more replaced just before christmas when i had my tune up. I?m not sure about belt tension, would this problem occur if it were too loose or too tight? I will double check the wires, i checked once and didn?t see anything abnormal but i will look a little closer, at the time i checked i was thinking it was the alternator so i didn?t look too hard. I haven?t noticed that any light comes on before i turn the key in the ignition. As for how it goes off, it doesn?t even start. It usually starts and gets me where i need to go and then won?t start when i need to leave. After i got a brand new battery it ran for a day and a half. It hasn?t died in the middle of the road or anything it just wouldn?t start the next time i went to go to start it. Thanks for your feedback. I?m very confused and i don?t want to have to spend 100 dollars to have it hooked up a diagnostics machine. Worst thing i?m afraid of is that it?s a computer chip or something..

"gray-beard" wrote: > Start with these; > How long has it been since you replaced the belts? > Is the belt tension correct? > Check ALL the wiring connections. Make sure they are tight and > clean. > Also check the two large battery cables. > Does the Charging warning light come on when you first turn on > the key > before starting the engine? > Does it turn off after starting? How soon does it turn off. > These are the things I would check first if I had this problem > with my > Lancer. > > gb > > "There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any > government > has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there > aren't > enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things > to be a > crime that it becomes impossible to live without breaking > laws." > > -- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged > > lancerprblm wrote: > > I have a Mitsubishi Lancerwith 74,000 mls on it. I have > taken very > > good care of it, oil changes regularly, i just had a tune up > a month > > ago. i was driving down the street the other day and my > radio went > > off, and my digital clock went so dim it was almost not > visable. I > > got to where I was going and it wouldn?t start a few minutes > after > > parking. I assumed it was the battery because after awhile > we went > > out to try it again and it started. I went out and bought a > brand new > > battery and 2 days later the same thing happened i drove it > for about > > 1 minute and when i went to start it again it wouldn?t > workand this > > time it didn?t start after awhile of waiting. We had the > alternator > > checked out at 2 different places and they both say that the > battery > > and the alternator are charging fine. Anything... Anyone > know what > > could be wrong? > >

Likley bad ground somewhere, or else a short. Start with the biggest in the engine bay: battery and ground links from the engine to the chassis. The work you had done recently could well have dislodged something.

Make sure the alternator belt is correctly tensioned and the brackets are tight. Check the various cables on the battery +ive post for burned or discoloured connector insulation.

R/R all the engine harness connectors you can see, using a squirt of WD40 on each one.

Its unlikely to be an ECU problem, given that the lights went dim, and the engine still runs (sometimes). ECUs have capacitors that can start to leak, but the usual failure mode is the engine stops and can be restarted, or the ECU burns up internally. This is SIMILAR to your problem, but a failing ECU would not cause the lights to dim.

There is the MPI relay behind the dash that is sometimes problematic in older models. This provides power to the ECU and fuel pump.

If the above does not help. the next thing is to get any error codes from the ECU.

i am actually having the exact same problem right now. last time this happened to my car, we ended up letting it sit for two weeks just to figure out what was wrong with it. came to find out, there is a fuse on your battery that you have to replace usually. make sure to check that, most lancers have it these days and im hoping that is my only problem at this point. but check the fuse on the batter. its called the alternator fuse or something. its under the red cover on your battery.

"lancerprblm" wrote: > I have a Mitsubishi Lancerwith 74,000 mls on it. I have taken > very good care of it, oil changes regularly, i just had a tune > up a month ago. i was driving down the street the other day > and my radio went off, and my digital clock went so dim it was > almost not visable. I got to where I was going and it > wouldn't start a few minutes after parking. I assumed it was > the battery because after awhile we went out to try it again > and it started. I went out and bought a brand new battery and > 2 days later the same thing happened i drove it for about 1 > minute and when i went to start it again it wouldn't workand > this time it didn't start after awhile of waiting. We had the > alternator checked out at 2 different places and they both say > that the battery and the alternator are charging fine. > Anything... Anyone know what could be wrong?