FTO AUSTRALIA

Hi everyone,
I am facing a no crank issue with my car.
I originally suspected it was a starter motor issue and performed the following tests:
1. Checked the voltage of the battery (12.6v)

2. Checked the direct battery positive feed to the starter has voltage; it does however I did not record the voltage so cannot comment currently (will perform this test tomorrow)

3. Checked that the starter solenoid (S terminal) is receiving voltage once ignition is turned; 10.3v was registered which is within “normal” even though a 2.3v volt drop seems excessive (more on this later as something odd happened with this test)

4. Checked for voltage from the solenoid directly to the actual starter motor while turning the ignition on; 0v registered. At this stage I thought “Ok, problem is with the starter solenoid”

Odd behavior in test 3:
The voltage would go up to 10.3v when I tried to start the motor at the starter solenoid. Then when I stopped trying to crank the motor and just left they key at “on” in the ignition the voltage was at 9.5v (I was expecting unless I am trying to crank this should be 0). Finally when I turn the key to the off position the voltage takes about 3-5 seconds to slowly drop
At this stage I removed the starter motor thinking it needs replacing and while out I bench tested it directly with the car battery. The pinion spring up and the starter motor started spinning very quickly, so it seems the starter motor and solenoid are fine.

What could my problem be?
Starter motor relay?

Tomorrow I will reinstalled the starter motor and try to connect the solenoid S (ignition/crank) terminal directly to the battery live feed that goes to the starter solenoid.

Any other tests I should perform?
Any ideas of what this could be?

If it is the starter motor relay, is this a common part on other Mitsubishis that are more easily found at wreckers?

Could still be the starter.. sometimes they crank on a bench test but fail with added load from trying to spin motor.

I reckon the battery has dropped a cell (those voltages are too low) and you've got a bad earth. Re-seat the car earth & chassis earth points.

Quick question is this the same car that doesn't have an ECU installed lol

The battery is from my 6G74 powered Verada and it has no issues cranking/running so I doubt it is a battery issue. The 13.8v test is usually when the car is running.

Yes it is the same car with no ECU but I ended up connecting the wires and clipping in the ECU.

What about the voltage not dropping at the solenoid S terminal?
This seems really odd as I would expect as soon as I let go of the ignition it should stop giving out a voltage, otherwise the starter would still be triggered to spin?

Is the starter motor relay number 12?

Connecting the starter solenoid S terminal directly to the positive feed got it going.
So there is some kind of fault somewhere between the ignition barrel and the starter motor solenoid.

I am not sure what can be in the middle of these 2 points?

The car has an alarm, how does the ignition kill switch work on alarms if anyone knows?

Usually the ignition kill is the ignition wire sliced in two and fed into the ecu, so try remove that split and join the wires back up?

I ended up removing the aftermarket alarm system on it and it now starts without issues.

So faulty alarm/immobilizer was the problem basically

spetz wrote:I ended up removing the aftermarket alarm system on it and it now starts without issues.

So faulty alarm/immobilizer was the problem basically

That doesn't surprise me. I'm loathe to get one for my car though I technically need it for insurance lol.

bjk wrote:

spetz wrote:I ended up removing the aftermarket alarm system on it and it now starts without issues.

So faulty alarm/immobilizer was the problem basically

That doesn't surprise me. I'm loathe to get one for my car though I technically need it for insurance lol.

I pulled one out of my red car a while back. Fortunately the crayon-eating redneck that installed it, left all the wire labels on, so I just cut it out & reconnected a new one

Bennoz wrote:

bjk wrote:

spetz wrote:I ended up removing the aftermarket alarm system on it and it now starts without issues.

So faulty alarm/immobilizer was the problem basically

That doesn't surprise me. I'm loathe to get one for my car though I technically need it for insurance lol.

I pulled one out of my red car a while back. Fortunately the crayon-eating redneck that installed it, left all the wire labels on, so I just cut it out & reconnected a new one :lol:

Did you leave the labels as well for future replacement?

Vectose wrote:

Bennoz wrote:

bjk wrote:

spetz wrote:I ended up removing the aftermarket alarm system on it and it now starts without issues.

So faulty alarm/immobilizer was the problem basically

That doesn't surprise me. I'm loathe to get one for my car though I technically need it for insurance lol.

I pulled one out of my red car a while back. Fortunately the crayon-eating redneck that installed it, left all the wire labels on, so I just cut it out & reconnected a new one

Did you leave the labels as well for future replacement?

Nope, quickest way to have it bypassed, leaving them on.

Easier to bypass when it fails

Vectose wrote:Easier to bypass when it fails

Bah, just whack 12v into each line & you'll end up knowing what's what

maybe I'll just have a kill switch like Tim suggested and leave it at that. Nobody wants to steal an FTO anyway lol

bjk wrote: maybe I'll just have a kill switch like Tim suggested and leave it at that. Nobody wants to steal an FTO anyway lol

I have one of them as well, does the fuel circuit

Bennoz wrote:

bjk wrote: maybe I'll just have a kill switch like Tim suggested and leave it at that. Nobody wants to steal an FTO anyway lol

I have one of them as well, does the fuel circuit

But do you need it? You could plaster a pic of your beanie and cigar photo on your shed and it would keep away the thieves.

NFC ignition. My setup is so complicated they couldn't bypass it.

Vectose wrote:NFC ignition. My setup is so complicated they couldn't bypass it.

No F****** Clue ignition

Have had that issue before too.

Alarm brand was "HUGE-SUN-1"