INTERMITTENT STARTING ISSUE IN GEN 2

[mcskibadee1]

Hey guys,

So I have 1994 Montero SR and noticed my starter is getting harder and harder to turn over. This happened when I first purchased the truck and a new ignition barrel fixed it as there wasn't a full 12 volts getting to it. It only happens after driving in traffic when it gets hot and it only starts once the car has had a couple hours to cool down. I can go this route again but I will have to do this every year or when the barrel wears out again and I would rather not be stranded somewhere. I know the starter cable runs along the exhaust and I am sure that is getting hot and losing voltage. I wanted to do the hot shot relay fix as I have had this happen in a previous car and this fixed the problem.

Has anyone done this before? Would anyone know which cable to tap in to for the ignition?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prf-30202

 

[Salonika]

I have a 98 Gen 2.5 so I'm not sure how similar the systems are, but if I were you I'd be looking for another problem. The ignition barrel should last a long time. I started having starter issues last winter on the original starter. It wouldn't turn over sometimes without two key turns. Plus I thought she was turning over very slowly so I bought a new battery. Battery didn't help at all. I bought a new starter thinking the relay was crapping out and while doing some planning for the job I noticed my positive lead to the starter was loose. I cleaned it and tightened it up and haven't had a problem since. She turns over fast now too. The starter I bought is now in my backup parts pile. I don't think Mitsubishi would engineer a starter wiring harness that would be affected by heat to the point of causing a no start. It's a big fat wire. I would clean battery terminals and check starter wiring. Good luck.

 

[Salonika]

I've also experienced intermittent starting issues similar to what you describe and that time it ended up being a crank position sensor. When I was going through that, turning the key a few times did nothing to start it. I'd just leave it for a while and come back to it and it would start right up. And it really seemed to be weather or temperature related, compared to my starter issue which was totally random with no pattern to it at all.

 

[Jay Ayala]

You guys may benefit from a relay. Check out how I solved my starter problem a few years ago.

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[Jay Ayala]

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123169
Twitchy ignition revisited, 1989 Montero 3.0 L

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[Salonika]

Jay, so did you install that relay as a bypass to your ignition relay? I'm not quite clear as to what it is doing. Thanks!

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

I would start with checking and cleaning engine grounds, the battery and starter terminals and checking the relay and fuses involved in the system, mostly because if those fix the problem, it's a cheap/free fix.

Otherwise, it sounds like the starter is starting to go out and the heat might be causing it to show the signs of failure before it actually fails.

I limped a dying starter for 4 months on an old montero before i finally changed it. (college life!) when it finally stops working, climb under it and whack it with a wrench or some other metal object and you'll usually get another crank out of it, i ended up carrying a wrench just for this until i had the time to change it.

 

[Jay Ayala]

Jay, so did you install that relay as a bypass to your ignition relay? I'm not quite clear as to what it is doing. Thanks!

No I did not bypass the ignition. I installed a relay.


1989 Dodge Raider 3.0L

 

[dieseltechJay]

Jay, so did you install that relay as a bypass to your ignition relay? I'm not quite clear as to what it is doing. Thanks!

I'm with Salonika, after viewing your diagram and writeup I can't quite see what you did or why? So you added a solenoid in addition to your starter solenoid? It seems like maybe you added a parallel to bridge a crappy wiring system?

As to the OP, start doing voltage drop tests where you can. Chances are something is loose, or corroded if your components are good.

 

[mcskibadee1]

OK, Thanks for all the replies! I thought this thread was going to go the way of the DODO bird.

So after debating going through the trouble of the relay fix I decided that $90 dollars would be a worthwhile investment in to a new starter before I did the relay. I installed a new starter and everything is working perfect so far. It would appear that this has fixed the problem but in reality heat soak of the starter and the cables is really the issue. As a previous poster stated I did the volt test and the starter was receiving about 12 volts. It should be about 12.7 from what I have read and running a relay or "hot shot relay" would fix the voltage drop.

I haven't done the relay fix as it is 90 degrees here in the valley in LA and i'm working so I might do this in a couple weeks. After taking off the steering column shroud and replacing the ignition switch I think I located the ignition wire so I can tap in to that for the relay. I am a lamen so this will be a trial and error and making sure I am tapping the right cable.


Jay Ayala did pretty much what I wanted to do but I don't see where you used the ignition wire to switch the relay on. I had a GMC Typhoon that had the infamous starter click or as we put it, the "purple wire" syndrome. A simple relay running a nice full voltage to the starter fixed this problem. The relay bypasses the long current that has to run from the battery to the ignition and back out to the battery causing dropped voltage. The better way to do it is run a relay that clicks on when you are cranking and have a new cable from the relay run directly to the starter. It is hard to explain but I believe this is pretty common thing to do in a lot of cars where the starter cable runs along the exhaust manifolds and there are starter issues.

Anyway, I have seen a lot of these problems in a lot of cars and a new starter always fixes the problem but it seems a lot of the time dropped voltage is the main culprit exacerbating the problem. If I had this problem I would replace the starter and do the relay and I would think you would be good for many miles on your truck.

Here is the schematic for the typhoon but pretty straight forward. If you can find the ignition switch it would be the same.