electrical / mechanical problem

Hey everyone... here is a unique problem... I have a 1990 GS eclipse with a 2.0 turbo and 5 speed. Been a great car. It has a problem though. Occasionally it will stall (when driving around 30-45 mph around town) when it does stall there is a clicking or a ticking behind the dash or console.... once I get it pulled over, the car is completely dead... no power to anything... (although I did notice the clock on the radio was working) I turn the key and no dash warning lights... just nothing... about half an hour to 45 minutes later there is another click (from behind the dash again), and power is restored... the car starts and drives fine (at least until it happens again!) The dealer cannot replicate this... I had the ECU changed about six months ago because of the same problem, (Mitsu wanted $1200, so I found a rebuilt unit online... even though I wasn't sure about the reliability.. I know the ECU is located behind the dash... could that be the problem??) Any help is really appreciated!

If you wanted to check the ECU to see if it is the problem, open the cover ad see if there is any evidence of a leak from the capacitors it will be a stain on the circuit board somewhere. That is surely why it was replaced the first time as it is a common problem. Though if it was rebuilt these capacitors would have been replaced. Where did you find the ECU? Ebay? I kind of sounds like a loose connection somewhere.(obviously that would be nice if it were that simple!)

I bought a remanufactured replacment ECU from www.ecudirect.com... It has a lifetime warranty for as long as I own the vehicle... They said that when they remanufacture units for Mitsus all of the original capacitors are replaced due to the potential leaking problem... This problem with the car started after the alternator was replaced by a dealer. After I picked up the car, the belts would squeal, it idled rough and eventually did the stalling/dead thing... one thing it does that is really wierd is that all of the power accessories work when the car is running, when the car shuts off there is very little to no power at all... it doesn't even have enough power to lock both door locks when hitting the drivers door lock switch... I picked up the car a little while ago from the dealer... they said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. All they did was adjust the belts and adjust the idle. It does run better, but still not great (It needs a turbo replacement, which is on it's way as we speak) Makes me think that with it running better they had forgotten a connection or something, since it does run so good now... I guess time will tell... I leave tomorrow for a week and when I get back they are changing out the turbo for a new one... I'll let you know what happens... Thanks for the help...

After reading your reply it sounded like the battery was either complete trash or, as you say they did not hook up something. Hope all goes well.

9498jl, who decided 6 months ago that the cause of your problem was the ECU? And how was that determined?

From your description it sounds like some kind of master circuit breaker is tripping due to heat - just like the overheat protection circuit on an electric motor. Gets hot, trips out, cools down, resets itself.

I don't know, but I don't suppose it has anything like that does it? Anybody know? Sorry, but I'm new to Mitsu's and I'm just theorizing here.

I'd agree Bob but for the location of the noise (behind dash). Usually CB's are in a spot with easy access, but who knows. It could be a relay tripping?? I here clicks behind my dash when I turn key off. If it's a relay is the relay bad or is the signal voltage failing? Problem with trying to solve these erratic electrical problems like this is most of the posters don't have wiring diagrams so even if you could tell them what it is, there's no way for them to know where it is.

id say its due to leaky capacitors, but pulling out your ecu and checking may not help because you cant always see the leak. Any 1g ecu should have the caps replacedbecause they will leak eventually. www.vfaq.com goes into detail. when they go bad the ecu resets itself and that is the clicky sound.

Supposedly he has a 6 mth old remanufactured ECU with all new capacitors.

missed that

Hey... Just got back and the car is still... in the shop... they thought they would have it done yesterday...

Got a few posts while I was gone, I'll try to touch on them all here...

The Battery is also brand new... got a diehard from Sears about two months ago... same time I had the ECU replaced. I replaced the ECU because the repair shop at home said it was bad... (not sure how they diagnosed this as being bad though) there was a code for a problem with the fuel pump relay which, as I understand it is an indication of the ECU problems... (it also has a new fuel pump replaced sabout nine months ago from this ECU code...) As I started to research the ECU, I found out about the ECU capacitor problem, so I bought a remanufactured unit and made sure they had replaced the capacitors...

The car has 175,000 miles on it, but is still in good shape in general. It does need a new turbo unit, and because of this it has not been getting enough boost, so it has been running rich... so not a lot of power, but still able to be driven... (I also had the exhaust replaced as it was still the original exhaust... thinking maybe instead of the turbo being bad, it was a plugged convertor... so that is also new too...)

When I left for my trip there was a pileup on the interstate and I was stuck in traffic... the car ended up stalling and I had to have it towed for 250 dollars (an hour away from where I live) Before it stalled it really started to run rough (I think the plugs were getting fouled from the stop and go driving, and the lack of boost, but maybe at the lower RPM there was less spark too??) Once it did stall there wasn't enough power to turn it over... so there is still something wrong electrically with it... Even without it being able to start and maintain ignition in the cylinders with severly fouled plugs it should still turn over, and the electrical system couldn't do it... (but maybe this could be a bad starter...)

It seems to me that the alternator is putting out power, but once the rpms drop to idle this power drops and the car must rely on the battery, which does not have the power to do it... like it's slowly discharging over time and not getting any power from the alternator for a charge... which is why when the car is running (and the alt is running) all of the electrical items (door locks, int lights, etc.) work... and when I shut off the engine, and its just on the battery power, these things do not work at all... As for the clicking behind the dash, I think a relay was tripped in the ECU by the screwed up mixture (bad turbo, fouled plugs...), as it has not done this since...

The day I had it towed was also the day the new turbo came in for it, so I took that down to the dealer that day and am still waiting to get it back as of today... I'm thinking they're still messing with the electrical system on the car, bacause the turbo replacement is not a three day job... So if amyone has any insights... leave a post... I really appreciate it! and when I get it back from the dealer, I'll leave a post on what happened and what they said was wrong... Thanks again!