Multiple problems with my gf's car.....

[MetalMat]

My GF drives a 2001 Mitsubishi Gallant and it is having some problems right now. I was wondering if any car experts on ATOT could help me out on this one.

(fixed, bad battery)1. Car has a hard time starting up, and sometimes will not and have to wait 5 minutes. I am thinking it is either the battery of the starter. The starter seems to barely turn and the car turns over slowly.

2. Steering wheel shakes alot while driving, especially at high speeds.

3. There is some sort of crazy electrical problem. The front left headlight always goes dim, even when replacing the light bulb. When she turns her car off and back on, the odometer always resets, and your have to always turn the cd player on and put the factory code in.

4. The cigarette lighter and inside light does not work.

5. Recently the cd player started to refuse working, when you turn it on it just says "off" on the display and turns itself back off.

I will bring the battery to Autozone to get it checked out this afternoon, and will also check all the fuses. This car sucks

Oh, and it is a salvaged car. I believe it was acquired from New Orleans after Katrina and "fixed". I never said I hated Mitsubishi, it is just that *every* Mitsu cars I have owned or my friends have owned have had problems. I owned a 1992 mirage that came to a weird end back in 2003 (pulley came off, ruined crankshaft. Happened while driving).

 

[jhayx7]

Yup, sounds like bad battery and possibly a fuse for the cig lighter and light. Sounds like you have a wheel off balance that is causing the steering wheel to shake at high speeds.

 

[mcvickj]

Sounds like you have a lemon on your hands. It seems like once a car starts showing electrical problems things only get worse.

Maybe you have a tire that is out of balance? Or maybe a bent rim? Front end alignment?

 

[CrackRabbit]

Here is the problem, 2001 Mitsubishi Gallant ditch it now, it will only become worse.
If you insist on fixing it...
Try changing the battery, and checking the terminals for corosion. I had a car do some rather wacky stuff when the terminals were coroded.
As for the wheel shaking i could be a couple of things, tire that is no longer round, alignment has gone out, or ball joints going bad. Check the tires first followed by the alignment.

 

[DougK62]

I think the problem is she bought a Mitsubishi.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
Yup, sounds like bad battery and possibly a fuse for the cig lighter and light. Sounds like you have a wheel off balance that is causing the steering wheel to shake at high speeds.

Yep....a new battery may fix a lot of your electrical problems....even with the cd player and odometer. For the cig lighter, check for a blown fuse...

 

[j00fek]

1. new battery

2. get the tires rotated and balanced

3. maybe a harness problem (not worth fixing get a new car)

4. not that important

5. same as 4

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Here is the problem, 2001 Mitsubishi Gallant ditch it now, it will only become worse.
If you insist on fixing it...
Try changing the battery, and checking the terminals for corosion. I had a car do some rather wacky stuff when the terminals were coroded.
As for the wheel shaking i could be a couple of things, tire that is no longer round, alignment has gone out, or ball joints going bad. Check the tires first followed by the alignment.

Her dad got her the car from some dude before he left the states for work. I sure as hell would not have gotten her a Gallant either, I hate Mitsubishi. However, this is what she has and we gotta work with it.

 

[hoorah]

Originally posted by: MetalMat
My GF drives a 2001 Mitsubishi Gallant and it is having some problems right now. I was wondering if any car experts on ATOT could help me out on this one.

1. Car has a hard time starting up, and sometimes will not and have to wait 5 minutes. I am thinking it is either the battery of the starter. The starter seems to barely turn and the car turns over slowly.

Sounds to me like a fuel pressure problem. Usually, when the fuel pressure regular or the fuel return line seals leak, it drains the fuel pressure back to the tank on startup, causing long crank times. The reason it may take awhile is that you have to rebuild pressure in the system. When the car is cold, check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail with a pressure gage (or have a mechanic do it). If the starter is turning over slow, it may be the battery, but if that were so, theres no reason it would start later. It is not the starter, and probably not the battery.

2. Steering wheel shakes alot while driving, especially at high speeds.

Shakes side to side or up down? If up/down, its most likely a wheel balancing/bent rim problem. Get tires balanced or swap tires from front to back and see if the problem moves. If side to side, its a suspension problem, usually ball joints or tie rods. It MAY be an upper motor mount, but that wouldn't shake the steering wheel, it would shake the whole car.

Ok, now a lesson for you and everyone else. ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS DO NOT CAUSE VIBRATION!! Seriously, I don't know where people get this from.

3. There is some sort of crazy electrical problem. The front left headlight always goes dim, even when replacing the light bulb. When she turns her car off and back on, the odometer always resets, and your have to always turn the cd player on and put the factory code in.

Sounds like you have a short in your main power cable to the accessories. That would explain the dim low beam (voltage drop) and the odometer and radio resetting. If the main power wire is shorting, then when the car is off, the voltage to the car is too low to maintain settings.

4. The cigarette lighter and inside light does not work.

Fuses

5. Recently the cd player started to refuse working, when you turn it on it just says "off" on the display and turns itself back off.

Don't know off the top of my head, but if I were in your shoes, I'd fix my power wire short circuits, fuses, and charge the battery, and see where that gets me.

You'll want to get the shorted wire fixed fairly soon, that will be draining your battery. Hmm, now that I think about it, if the voltage in the whole system is low, your fuel pump might be operating slower than usual, causing hard cold starts. Hmm....

Fix the wire first, then re-check symptoms.

What engine does it have in it? I'm fairly familiar with the mitsu 3.0L V6 that I work on in my eclipse GT.

I will bring the battery to Autozone to get it checked out this afternoon, and will also check all the fuses. This car sucks [/quote]

 

[TuffGuy]

Sounds like a dead battery (5 years old) and an out of balance wheel. Check to see that it's not something serious like a bend rim.

Is she the original owner, and has the car been in any accidents?

EDIT: Does it have an aftermarket HU (radio) or anything else that has been modified?

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: TuffGuy
Sounds like a dead battery (5 years old) and an out of balance wheel. Check to see that it's not something serious like a bend rim.

Is she the original owner, and has the car been in any accidents?

EDIT: Does it have an aftermarket HU (radio) or anything else that has been modified?

She is not the original owner, I believe it has a salvaged title. Nothing has been modified.

 

[TuffGuy]

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I believe it has a salvaged title.

Ouch. Do you know why? Accident, flooded, etc?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy
Sounds like a dead battery (5 years old) and an out of balance wheel. Check to see that it's not something serious like a bend rim.

Is she the original owner, and has the car been in any accidents?

EDIT: Does it have an aftermarket HU (radio) or anything else that has been modified?

She is not the original owner, I believe it has a salvaged title. Nothing has been modified.

I'm willing to bet that there is a short somewhere that is causing most of the problems, except for your out of balance tire. Good luck getting rid of it.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: TuffGuy

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I believe it has a salvaged title.

Ouch. Do you know why? Accident, flooded, etc?

I think it was flooded from the whole Katrina thing in New Orleans.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy
Sounds like a dead battery (5 years old) and an out of balance wheel. Check to see that it's not something serious like a bend rim.

Is she the original owner, and has the car been in any accidents?

EDIT: Does it have an aftermarket HU (radio) or anything else that has been modified?

She is not the original owner, I believe it has a salvaged title. Nothing has been modified.

I'm willing to bet that there is a short somewhere that is causing most of the problems, except for your out of balance tire. Good luck getting rid of it.

Well, I checked the fuses out and they are fine. I will take the battery out and have it checked out. I also think the same as you, a short *somewhere* and that will take some time and $$$ to fix

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I believe it has a salvaged title.

Ouch. Do you know why? Accident, flooded, etc?

I think it was flooded from the whole Katrina thing in New Orleans.

This information didn't seem pertinent to the original post? Elecetrical problems stemming from a flood are to be expected. At best you are in for a long, expensive road to fix it. You'd probably have to pull out all of the wiring and redo it to fix all of the corroding that occurred.

 

[DainBramaged]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy
Sounds like a dead battery (5 years old) and an out of balance wheel. Check to see that it's not something serious like a bend rim.

Is she the original owner, and has the car been in any accidents?

EDIT: Does it have an aftermarket HU (radio) or anything else that has been modified?

She is not the original owner, I believe it has a salvaged title. Nothing has been modified.

I bet the salvage title is your problem. Car could have gone for a swim for all you know. You should look into this more.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I believe it has a salvaged title.

Ouch. Do you know why? Accident, flooded, etc?

I think it was flooded from the whole Katrina thing in New Orleans.

This information didn't seem pertinent to the original post? Elecetrical problems stemming from a flood are to be expected. At best you are in for a long, expensive road to fix it. You'd probably have to pull out all of the wiring and redo it to fix all of the corroding that occurred.

Well, I dont really have the resources or time to do it right now. How much you think it would cost to get it done at a mechanic? 1k?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I believe it has a salvaged title.

Ouch. Do you know why? Accident, flooded, etc?

I think it was flooded from the whole Katrina thing in New Orleans.

This information didn't seem pertinent to the original post? Elecetrical problems stemming from a flood are to be expected. At best you are in for a long, expensive road to fix it. You'd probably have to pull out all of the wiring and redo it to fix all of the corroding that occurred.

Well, I dont really have the resources or time to do it right now. How much you think it would cost to get it done at a mechanic? 1k?

More than the car is worth. The problem is that water gets in there and shorts the multiple pin connectors, but you don't know which is it is. It's probably on the same line as the cigarette lighter, CD player and headlight switch, since those are causing problems.

 

[Zenmervolt]

1) Dead battery.

2) Out of balance wheels/tires.

3) Dead battery.

4) Blown fuse.

5) Dead battery.

Low voltage will cause havok with electrical systems. If your battery is dead and has a short in one of the cells, it will cause voltage drops to everything in the car. Put a new battery in the car, check the fuses, and have the tires balanced.

Problems 1, 3, and 5 are all caused by low voltage. Most likely culpret is the battery, especially if the car has been working fine previously.

ZV

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: TuffGuy

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I believe it has a salvaged title.

Ouch. Do you know why? Accident, flooded, etc?

I think it was flooded from the whole Katrina thing in New Orleans.

This information didn't seem pertinent to the original post? Elecetrical problems stemming from a flood are to be expected. At best you are in for a long, expensive road to fix it. You'd probably have to pull out all of the wiring and redo it to fix all of the corroding that occurred.

Well, I dont really have the resources or time to do it right now. How much you think it would cost to get it done at a mechanic? 1k?

More than the car is worth. The problem is that water gets in there and shorts the multiple pin connectors, but you don't know which is it is. It's probably on the same line as the cigarette lighter, CD player and headlight switch, since those are causing problems.

So I am assuming that it is probably better just to sell the car off and get her something else. At the very least, I would like to get the car able to start better than it is. She can live without the cd player and cigarette lighter for right now.

 

[iamwiz82]

Try a battery first, but being a flood I wouldn't hold out much hope. I've had A LOT of experience with flooded vehicles

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: hoorah

Originally posted by: MetalMat
My GF drives a 2001 Mitsubishi Gallant and it is having some problems right now. I was wondering if any car experts on ATOT could help me out on this one.

1. Car has a hard time starting up, and sometimes will not and have to wait 5 minutes. I am thinking it is either the battery of the starter. The starter seems to barely turn and the car turns over slowly.

Sounds to me like a fuel pressure problem. Usually, when the fuel pressure regular or the fuel return line seals leak, it drains the fuel pressure back to the tank on startup, causing long crank times. The reason it may take awhile is that you have to rebuild pressure in the system. When the car is cold, check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail with a pressure gage (or have a mechanic do it). If the starter is turning over slow, it may be the battery, but if that were so, theres no reason it would start later. It is not the starter, and probably not the battery.

2. Steering wheel shakes alot while driving, especially at high speeds.

Shakes side to side or up down? If up/down, its most likely a wheel balancing/bent rim problem. Get tires balanced or swap tires from front to back and see if the problem moves. If side to side, its a suspension problem, usually ball joints or tie rods. It MAY be an upper motor mount, but that wouldn't shake the steering wheel, it would shake the whole car.

Ok, now a lesson for you and everyone else. ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS DO NOT CAUSE VIBRATION!! Seriously, I don't know where people get this from.

3. There is some sort of crazy electrical problem. The front left headlight always goes dim, even when replacing the light bulb. When she turns her car off and back on, the odometer always resets, and your have to always turn the cd player on and put the factory code in.

Sounds like you have a short in your main power cable to the accessories. That would explain the dim low beam (voltage drop) and the odometer and radio resetting. If the main power wire is shorting, then when the car is off, the voltage to the car is too low to maintain settings.

4. The cigarette lighter and inside light does not work.

Fuses

5. Recently the cd player started to refuse working, when you turn it on it just says "off" on the display and turns itself back off.

Don't know off the top of my head, but if I were in your shoes, I'd fix my power wire short circuits, fuses, and charge the battery, and see where that gets me.

You'll want to get the shorted wire fixed fairly soon, that will be draining your battery. Hmm, now that I think about it, if the voltage in the whole system is low, your fuel pump might be operating slower than usual, causing hard cold starts. Hmm....

Fix the wire first, then re-check symptoms.

What engine does it have in it? I'm fairly familiar with the mitsu 3.0L V6 that I work on in my eclipse GT.

I will bring the battery to Autozone to get it checked out this afternoon, and will also check all the fuses. This car sucks

For the love of God, do not take this person's advice.

Sheesh, fuel pressure causing the engine to turn over slowly... I just don't know where to start with that... :roll:

ZV

 

[DaWhim]

junk this POS. my family used to have a 96 gallant. The car only gave us problems.

 

[TuffGuy]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
junk this POS. my family used to have a 96 gallant. The car only gave us problems.

It has a salvaged title and it was flooded when Katrina hit New Orleans.