My DSM will not start after the car shut off.

[Milton]

My daily driver is a 1990 Mitsubishit Eclipse 2.0 N/T, it has anywhere between 70-80,000 miles on it. Automatic

I was driving for maybe 10 minutes, when I was getting off of the highway ramp. All of a sudden the car just shuts off at the exit. Before I got off of the exit I saw my coolant temp rising, so I turned the heat on. The temp decreased a little. But when I was comming to a stop the car shut off, and I had no control of it; it wouldn't turn on.

I get out of the car lift the hood, there is smoke everywhere, which smells like oil by the way. And my radiotor is steaming out coolant because of the holes that are at the top. The tricky part is that when I turn the key to "on" the check engine light fades away. So I guess there's nothing wrong with the engine. I tried putting water and oil, the car still will not start. So now I'm guessing it's the starter, do you think replacing the starter will get me going, or do I have worse problems.

 

[90_EAGLE_TALON]

Does the car even try to roll over?

 

[Milton]

Yes it does, I think me and my brother desided to rule the whole starter thing out because it does "roll over". And now we are looking at the fuel pump. Any suggestions when working with the fuel pump? have you ever taken one out. Is it a hard job?

 

[ivanr4g63]

If you have a haynes manual handy, you could see the exact location, but there is a fuel pump hotwire right by the battery, run that direct to the battery (+) and load your fuel line, you'll be able to tell if your fuel pump works, and see if the car starts right after that... if not, let us know what id did....

Also check your coil pack conections, if you said there was smoke all over the place, make sure all your wires transistor and coilpack and ignition wires are dry.

One more thing, you said that the lights on your dash (battery, check engine etc) fade off as you turn the ignition switch on, in that case, make sure you have a fully charged battery, check your alternator groundings and battery conections as well, something may be lose there and caused the battery to die and not charge correctly.

Let us know...

 

[Milton]

I can't do it right now, because my car is still like 3 towns away in a diner parking lot. I tried the hot wire and positive cable thing. That didn't work. Um, but I'm getting it towed to my brothers place tommorow. So I'll br able to check that stuff then, and just to make sure...what should I check before taking the fuel pump out. Is there anything else...

 

[Defiant]

Timing belt.

 

[Milton]

Haven't checked the timming belt yet. But if it is the fuel pump, if I take the fuel filter off and crank the engine there shouldn't be any fuel right? We did the sound test at the fuel filler cap and heard nothing at crank. How much fuel should I be expecting with the filter off? And I'll go to my brothers place and check the timing belt tommorow.

 

[casperfast]

that could verry well be a timming belt, you might have alot worse problems on your hands

 

[Milton]

My brother told me that it's not the timming belt beacause the car wouldn't crank if it was. Would there be a check engine light if it were the timming belt? I'm looking at getting the MSD fuel pump thats in the catalog for 90 bucks. But before I do that my question is, should the fuel pump work if there is no spark? That might be a stupid question but I had to ask, remember I'm still a noob.

 

[RSTurboFWD90]

From what I understand you to say, the car overheated quickly before it stalled. Did you ever find out why it overheated? Is the water pump drive belt OK? Maybe it's as simple as ivanr4g63 said. You have gotten coolant all over and soaked the ignition system. I'd be looking for the cause of overheating first.

 

[Milton]

Your right, a mechanic told me the same thing about finding out why my car overheats. It's two things that I know of.

First: The holes at the top of my radiator. From what I understand the coolant system is a presurized system, and therefore if there are any holes in that system the water pump will not work.(This is what I was told by another member.)

Second: My coolant is extremly dark. From what I've researched here, I have oil in my coolant. Not quite sure how that happens, but it's never been flushed. So it might be clogged.

So, pretty much I need a new radiator and a good flush and some new coolant to stop overheating. (I don't have the money for the radiator yet.) So while I'm driving, once I see the temp. gauge start to go past normal, I'll pull over and top it off with water.

Now back to the topic of the thread. Where is the ignition system located in the engine bay, is that where the coil pack and the transitor is? Coolant was leaking as steam, I believe the smoke was from oil getting all over the hot parts like the transmission.

 

[RSTurboFWD90]

First: The holes at the top of my radiator. From what I understand the coolant system is a presurized system, and therefore if there are any holes in that system the water pump will not work.(This is what I was told by another member.)

Second: My coolant is extremly dark. From what I've researched here, I have oil in my coolant. Not quite sure how that happens, but it's never been flushed. So it might be clogged.

So, pretty much I need a new radiator and a good flush and some new coolant to stop overheating. (I don't have the money for the radiator yet.) So while I'm driving, once I see the temp. gauge start to go past normal, I'll pull over and top it off with water.

Now back to the topic of the thread. Where is the ignition system located in the engine bay, is that where the coil pack and the transitor is? Coolant was leaking as steam, I believe the smoke was from oil getting all over the hot parts like the transmission.

The "holes" (read leaks) in the top of the radiator will not prevent the water pump from working. It's when all the water escapes that there is no liquid to pump. Running your engine without water, even for a few moments, can destroy it.

If you have oil in the radiator, it will be a brownish-white color and foamy. Dark coolant usually just means old dirty coolant. Constantly adding water dilutes the coolant and removes all the lubricating and corrosion preventing additives in the antifreeze. It will cause rust and make the coolant dark brown.

The coilpack and transistor module are located on the rear of the engine (driver side). Follow the 4 spark plug wires from the spark plugs and you will see they connect to the the coilpack (under the intake manifold). The transistor module is a bit below the coil, mounted near the engine block. You will need a shop light see them clearly as they are mostly obscured from direct view. If this area is soaked, then I recommend removing both for a thorough cleaning to dry all the connections. You may want to have them tested while they are out. Also, make sure your ignition wires are dry and use some electrical grease for reassembly to keep moisture out.

 

[Milton]

Hey sorry to bring this old thread back, I didn't want to start a new one. The fuel pump from my car was removed yesterday and the other half of the electrical connector broke off. Not the electrical connector, but the part that it connects to. What's the name of this part, and can it be welded on. Or do I have to get a new one? And what is the round part on the outside called...it what you take off to get to the fuel pump.

 

[Milton]

The picture of it is here....http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fuelpumplw3.jpg

 

[ktowntalon]

If it overheated quickly, and when you opened the hood it smelled like oil and coolant, you might want to check your oil. See if there is any coolant in it. If so you might have a cracked head. Does it leaking anything?
ktowntalon

 

[steve]

The picture of it is here....http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fuelpumplw3.jpg

That looks like you broke the hard fuel line. You either need a replacement fuel pump assembly or craft up a fix with AN fittings or such.

Steve

 

[Auto RS T]

This was in the Tech Articles.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98143

 

[BISHILVR]

Do everyone a favor and do a compression test on him asap.

 

[Milton]

Do everyone a favor and do a compression test on him asap.

Should I take it to a shop or what to do a compression test?

 

[BISHILVR]

Its something you can do yourself with a cheap ($20) autozone compression tester. If you are going to keep the car you will want to own one anyway (trust me).