mitsu mirage starting problem

[morkinva]

mitsubishi mirage 2000
1.8L
100k miles

This is my buddy's car. About a month ago, the car would start but only with a jump, or charging the battery. Friend got a new battery, but it still wouldn't start. I came over and tried some things, attempting to restart after each: rewired the (+) cable to battery terminal aftermarket duhickey he had (the wires were corroded), cleaned terminal corrrosion, checked out the fuses, last thing tried was sliding shifter from park to neutral, and this is when it started. It started strong. Afterwards, there was no fiddling necessary with the shift interlock in order to start the car. There was no problem until now, a month later.

Now he's having the very same symptoms. There must be a short somewhere, as the battery voltage is over 13v when the motor is running. It seems the starter is impossible to get to without removing the upper intake manifold (it faces the firewall with the manifold above and crossmembers below, which might be welded. I'd love to take the starter/solenoid out and test it! Is it possible that something with the shift interlock is shorting? Doesn't that only get power when the ignition switch is 'on'?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[cprince]

Have you tested the alternator? 13V running is a little low.

 

[LTC8K6]

Does it crank but not start, crank slow, or not crank at all?

You mentioned shifting. If it won't crank at all perhaps it's the neutral switch in the shifter?

 

[jlee]

How far over 13v? Your alternator should be putting +/- 14v.

 

[morkinva]

Thanks for the responses folks.

It will not crank without external power. You'll occasionally hear a click from what sounds like the starter solenoid.

I'll call him in the morning to get an exact voltage at battery when its running.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah 13V is kinda low. Maybe the alternator is beginning to fail?

Could be something killing the battery quickly.

Maybe a large parasitic drain.

Maybe something like a bad brake light switch which makes the brake lights stay on...

 

[morkinva]

He said the mirage will not take a jump this morning; I told him it could be bad contact between the cables and the terminals (he's not very tech savvy) and he'll try again when the jumper vehicle has returned. It might be a few days before I can get over there to try it myself.

I just saw something on the internet regarding a power drain: with ignition off, remove one fuse at a time and put an ammeter across that circuit. If it's something more than 50mA then something's wrong in that circuit. I suppose I should try this, assuming I'm getting 13.5v or greater from the alt.

 

[morkinva]

Okay I have volt measurements over an 8 minute period:

It varies from 12.6 to 13.3, but it's under 13 most of the time. Is it definitely time for a new alternator?

 

[mirageracerx]

you have to remove the starter from underneath the car. removing the intake manifold would be a waste of time. 13v should be fine. it is a tad on the low side, but until it hits 12v the alternator is at least doing something. as for the shift interlock system, it is not live until you turn it to the "ON" position. if you cant get your hands passed the cross members to get to the starter you have some thick arms then.

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