EvoInSoCal

iTrader: (1)

Ok, i've posted on here before about my stalling problems with my evo, and i've gotten a few replies, emails, and read other similar posts about similar issues concerning this. First off, sorry for the long post, but this can benefit everyone. here's the problem:
When coming to a stop, the rpm's drop down to about 0, then bounce back up to normal idle (no fluctuation during idle at all, normal great idle, just the one stutter and that's it), or when starting from a dead stop say in stop and go traffic for example, when you push the clutch in, the car's rpm's do the same (also instances involving part throttle driving when the clutch is pushed in to cruise to a stop etc...). The car has no issues with starting, re-starting after a stall or cranking over as some people have mentioned related to their turbo timer installs and harnesses. So it doesn't seem to be that either. My boost gauge isn't tapped into a fuel or crucial line either that would make something like this occur, as others have mentioned here and there (concerning boost gauges being tapped into fuel vaccum lines etc.).

I seemed to notice this problem a lot in very heavy traffic, and with the AC on, the higher the AC level, the more prone to this problem the car was. It's not a vaccum leak, hose leak, faulty wiring, bad intake, lose pipe or connection etc... At least not according to the dealership so far.

I took the car in today, since the problem is getting worse, but it is still a intermittant issue, where it is not occuring all the time, just every so often, and it's very hard to duplicate it, the car does it whenever it wants it seems. THe dealer's service manager took a ride with me in the evo to see if the problem would appear and sure enough it did, and the car actually stalled in their service drive. So i have the manager on my side now too. They were completely dumbfounded, and had no clue as to what the problem could at all be. They did some tests, still nothing. The manager was on the phone with Mitsubishi engineers, regional reps, shops, and other higher up corporate sources, to see if anything such as this has been reported in the area with the same type of car, and to try and figure out a remedy. Still nothing. They are going to run more tests tomorrow, as it was getting late today. The manager tells me that it's for sure a warranty issue, not something to do with my intake or grounding kit (dealer option kit by the way) so that's at least posative news.

The car seems to be more prone to doing this at low voltage, on my greddy TT, the voltage was reading in the 11s today when the car died, and i know for a fact that it should be high into the 13s, close to the 14s with no AC on, and low 13s with ac on under a lot of load. So it seems to be an electical or charging system (IE: alternator) problem.

the reason i wanted everyone to check this out is because if you are having similar problems or issues, even intermitent as they may be, take the car into the dealership, and have it at least documented that you were concerned. THis issue started off very seldom with a completely stock evo, and has turned into a very un-reliable car, doing it constantly, so the problem is getting worse by the day it seems. So if you have similar issues, i urge you not to wait, this isn't a normal issue that us EVO owners are subject to.

Also, if you have had or continue to have similar problems, post them here, let everyone read your story, and possibly remeby if you have one, so that we can all get some sort of idea of what the problem could be. BUT AGAIN, I MUST SAY THAT THIS ISN'T A PROBLEM THAT IS STEMMING FROM IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF SOMETHING EITHER SUCH AS INTAKE, LOOSE HOSE, ETC...

I will keep posting replies here as updates to what i find out, so that anyone having similar issues can refer back to it. The dealership seems posative with helping me on the issue as well, so at least for now it seems like they are on my side, and not trying to pass off the problem on some aftermarket part or something that couldn't even be related.

But if anyone has any info, heard anything, or has a case, just post here, let us all read it.

Thanks for the look guys!

EvoInSoCal

iTrader: (1)

oh, forgot to mention, i never once got a check light of any sort, no warning lights at all, and the car has been properly serviced by the same dealership for it's 4500 miles of life.

ishi

Sounds like your alt. is going...try this:
turn everything on...AC (full, stereo, wipers, headlights..etc) and see if the car maintain idle.....
ps. turn AC on last.... don't drive just let it sit for full min.
the only other thing I can think of is faulty ECU...

EvoInSoCal

iTrader: (1)

yeah, see, that's what i think it is too, somethin to do with the alternator, grounding system, or ecu, although the ecu part seems unlikely at this point anyway, it's still in the back of my head.

NRG

iTrader: (2)

Now that you mentioned alternator and electrical, I have came across several times where I would be in neutral waiting at a light or even just parked with the car on and all of a sudden I see my interior lights dim and light up again. I am now wondering if our alternator is strong enough for this car.

EvoInSoCal

iTrader: (1)

my friend made an interesting point today, concerning the alternators on our evo 8s. I'm not sure if it's true at all, but it's just an idea. He said that the alternator on our cars are different than the ones used in the evo's in other ountries/markets, due to the stringent US codes and regultions we have here. Also, there are a few missing electrical systems from our car such as the AYC, and ACD systems. I'm not sure if this is true, but it wouldn't surprise me that something like this might have occured during the bringing of the evo over the ocean.

Mad_SB

iTrader: (8)

Same here, noticed that yesterday. I thought it was the fan kicking on, but it was not and no lights, radio, or ac were on at the time. Almost seems like an intermitant grounding problem.

jwtodd60

It hasn't stalled on me yet, but I do get the occasional big drop in revs when I put the clutch in. This seems to happen only when the AC is on; it may have happened other times too, but I'm not sure.

Car has about 4,500 milles on it and is bone stock except for a K&N drop in filter & baby seats...

JW

ishi

just sidenote info: is also in the electrical appliance business too. they suck...notorious over here(Japan) for bad TV, frig, washers etc. So I'm not too suprised if does in fact turn out to be alt.

mayhem

iTrader: (9)

That symptom reeks of a bad altenator. Get that checked out. They should be able to check the power output of the current alt with what spec is.
I've had probs with alts in other cars in the past so I've put the Evo to the test already. Luckily it's just fine. LIke Ishi said, at night time I had on the lights, a/c, radio, defroster....and when coming to an idle no diming occured. Good sign.

I hope you guys get everything taken care of quickly and cheaply if not free.

2Cool

I have my Escort Passport 8500 set to read out voltage, and never see anything under 13.0, even sitting at idle with the AC on. So yep, sounds like something screwy happening with yours.

BlueByYou

I dont know if this is related or not, but I have noticed that the lights on my car, I mean all of them from headlights, to the interior lights back to taillights are significantly dimmer than when i first for the car.

speedtrip

If the stalling problem only happens with the AC engaged try having the techs look at the fast idle circuit for the AC. When operating correctly it bumps up the rpms when the vehicle is idling with the AC on. FWIW I experienced the same stalling problems on my maxima and I traced it back to the fast idle circuit on the throttle body. The failed fast idle circiut did not throw a code either. I hope this helps.

EvoInSoCal

iTrader: (1)

NEWS from the dealer:

They say the car is ready, and i can pick it up. They said they found a lose bolt holding in one of the grounding cables, the one tha bolts to the side of the fender wall by the air filter or air box. There are about 7-8 other wires grounded out on this as a factory grounding point, so i do think this could be the problem for the car's sudden loss of voltage yesterday at the dealer, and the car's stalling while there yesterday. However, i accidentally stripped that hole about three days ago, then re-tapped it, and thought that it was holding with a new bolt but i guess not. this answers the sudden problems that occured at the dealer, but since the bolt only had issues for the past few days, It's unlikely to be the true cause of the entire problem that i've been having since the car was practically new. I'll take it back, drive it, and see how it's doing, but the second the rev's drop back to 0 and up again, it's right back to the dealership.
They said the alternator, batter, and charging system is fine, that it all tested properly, and of course it's all documented. Since i stripped the bolt out, it's not a warranty issue, which i don' really care about, i just want the car reliable, no matter what the cuase was. BUt i know it'll come up again, and again, so here we go lemon law if no solution can be found lol.
And yes, i've been noticing it more and more when the AC is on, when you push in on the clutch. It's kinda hard to pinpoint, since stock evos are having the same trouble, it's hard for me to look at my few mods and point at the cause there.

I thought of something during this ordeal as well. Alternators don't do well if they get TOO hot right? I mean, electrical parts can't be subject to tremendous amounts of heat without issue right? When i had a turbo on my honda accord (with prelude motor, so there was not a lot of **** at all anywhere), the alternator acted up like this when the engine bay would get extremely hot from very long drives etc.... I figured the problem to be HEAT SOAK or something along those lines because with the kit off, and before the kit, there were no problems, before or after the turbo was on the motor. Maybe some of our alternators are not liking the extreme heat the 4g63 puts out?

I'm just struggling to figure this out, and it seems odd since it's not normal car condition. Or mybe our AC system just puts too much strain on our power system, who knows.

Lastly, i'm going to buy an optima battery (or some deep cycle battery) for the car today. I swear by optima, so i'm thinking of going that route, but stinger and other companies make great batteries that i'll look at too. I'm going to see if this helps the problem at all, because a upgraded deep cycle battery might be able to handle the load our AC system puts on the charging system better by being able to give it more power without fluctuating as much. Surges in power like this is what deep cycle batteries were made to handle for stereo installs.

Again sorry for the long post, long read....
i'll keep posting here as any problems of solutions present themselves.

EvoInSoCal

iTrader: (1)

If a cicuit such as a fast idle circut was bad, wouldn't it occur much ore frequently? When i turn the AC on while the car is stopped at idle, it idles perfect, the rpm's go up a little as expected, then drop back down to almost normal idle give or take 100-200 rpms, normal for any car with AC. So it would seem as if the circuit i working nomrally. I wouldn't think that a circuit like that would throw a code anyway. It sucks that if the car doesn't spit a code out that the dealer doesn't know what to do really. They rely on the "codes" way too much IMO.