Dashboard problem...

[KNAPPO]

GDay Guys.

Bit of a long shot here but im wondering if any one could posibly shed some light on a problem with my dash.

The car is a 99 Mitsubishi Lancer.

Yesterday my spedo, tacho & temp gagues all quit on me along with the digital odometer. I still have all warning lights, indicators, headlight and fuel guages working.
Ive checked all the fuses and they are fine, ive given as many wiring connections a look over i can access without pulling the car to bits and they seem fine.

This morning on its initial start it was a no go, then i shut it off and tried again and they worked but half way to work they quit again.
Im hoping its a loose connection somewhere but im a bit stumped and im thinking i am going to have to get a mechanic to have a look over the car. I can see this possibly costing me a bit in labour if they cant isolate the issue easily. Its lucky i only live 7 mins from work so i can live with it in the short term but with out a tacho at least its really hard to tell how fast im driving

Anyhoo, without the car i know its hard for you to pin point the issue thru a forum but if anyone knows of another area i should check before handing the car over it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers guys.

[Sambo]

Knappo,

I will ask tomorrow when I get into TAFE. There are ex Mitsubishi dealership mechanics\foremans there that will know what to do. Ill give you the low down when I get back after 5pm.

[ysu]

can't help but the wankel engine in your avatar is mesmerizing!

[wobblysauce]

I get a similar issue if the battery gets low.

[Bauer]

can't help but the wankel engine in your avatar is mesmerizing!

A great piece of mechanical engineering. Never owned one, never would but credit where it is due to the original designer

[KNAPPO]

I use to own an 4 door RX3 13B bridge port back in the day and a good mate of mine had an RX2 13B peripheral port!. Bloody awesome car and i wish i never sold it...

Was sick of the cops defecting it tho as in the late 90's they really cracked down on the rotas.

As for the dash, i wd40'd the loom connections and the gauges all behaved this morning. 3 restarts and the drive to work and all was fine. Hoping it stays that way over the next few days.

[VTRacing]

I lost my speedo once and it was traced to the speed sensor linked to the cruise control.

Sounds like a sensor problem if it's not a connector problem. I'd find a mechanic with access to a diagnostic tool and see if there are any faults logged.

[Sambo]

The dudes at tafe say that if the whole dash has failed it is likely to be a fuse or a problem with the whole cluster. But it is impossible to say without looking at the car.

Best thing to do is try and find someone with a scan tool (unlikely as only mechanics have them). That year lancer 'may' have the standard OBD connection but it also may not which means you will need special connectors to get it to talk to generic scan tools.

They said the labour should not be too much to replace the dash, the parts will cost you the most.

But first port of call is to get a wiring diagram and a multimeter then check all the fuses, relays and power.

The lecturers also said based on your diagnosis, and depending on how the car is wired check the ECU hasn't been knocked or kicked (sometimes it can get kicked under the passenger footwell, providing that is where it is.) The reason they say ECU is because if it didnt start then something isnt getting power\instructions, whether that's the injectors, plugs, pumps etc is hard to say but that + dash usually means computer related. Sometimes a little water can get into the ECU if its in the engine bay, that causes all sorts of problems and its why a lot of mechanics don't like to clean engine bays on modern cars with high pressure hoses.

So yeah, find the ECU make sure its connections are all good and check the relays. Easiest way to test relays is to use the continuity measure on a multimeter along with a 9v battery. The continuity symbol usually is found on the resistance side and looks like this --->|--- . (an an arrow pointing into a wall). You will need the 9v battery to run power across the relay (the schematic of the relay should be on the side) in order to test for continuity when the relay is tripped (you will hear it click when it trips).

Failing that, see your local Mitsi mechanic .

Hope that helps mate, I will ask again tomorrow with one of the other lecturers who is very switched on and wasn't there today. Again, I will let you know how it goes.

[KNAPPO]

WOW thanks Sambo.

It worked fine this morning but no love this afternoon. I wont have much time to check thru it till the weekend due to the bubs getting all my attention as soon as i walk in the door. But thanks a ton for the info dude.

[Sambo]

No problem Graphical Genius, happy to help .

[Rots]

I has finished eating a quarter pounder

[AstrO]

I has finished eating a quarter pounder

Well it looks like you made the most of it

[KNAPPO]

Its been a bit weird that over the last 4 days the dash items have worked in the morning but not in the afternoon.

[Sambo]

That sounds more and more like a wiring problem, might just be shorting on something, all you need to do is trace and isolate the problem and go from there!

[Enforcer-J]

I has finished eating a quarter pounder

Dammit now I want one!

[c.j]

Wish I could help you knappo... I start my electrical apprenticeship in Jan.

I am working for one now though, so any questions, ask away and I will see what I can dig up.

[Shaun]

knappo if you are looking for an auto elec i dunno how far away salisbury is for you but Franks Auto Electrics did my car when i had an electrical fault, they were very thorough and the price was good, i even got over a page of writing explaining what happened and how they fixed it, and they called when they said they would lol

[Rots]

I has finished eating a quarter pounder

Dammit now I want one!