QuestionI have a cold start problem with a 93 galant LS 2.0 SOHC MPI fuel injection. Car will crank and start normally when warm, but it will take several minutes to start cold.
Narrowed it down to what the dealer calls, the Servo kit, online it seems to be called the Cold Advance Solenoid or Idle speed control unit. Anyway if I have the hood up while the problem occurs, the car will crank but not start, if I wait long enough with the key in the on position, I will eventually hear a noise, sounds like something revving up, this noise comes from below the throttle body itself. After doing some research I believe it’s the cold start solenoid activating. Once I hear this noise (sometimes need to wait up to 5 min before I hear it), the car starts right up.
New part from the dealer (complete unit) is 360.00. Online I have found one for get this 657.00!! Holly crap! Anyway I doubt the whole unit is defective, probably just the valve or electrical sending unit. Does anyone know if I can buy parts for this separately? The mitsu part number for the unit is md614620. Also is it worthwhile to take this thing off and fix it myself, maybe something is sticking? Final question what gives this thing the signal to power up the solenoid anyway, is it the ECU? Could that be my problem?
Thanks in advance
AnswerShaun,
The Idle Speed Control (ISC) unit is a pricy little component. It's job is to regulate the idle speed of the engine when the car is running and at a stop. However, it should not come into function when your engine is cold. With a cold engine, the ISC is bypassed to allow the most amount of air to enter the engine to help warm it up quickly. And typically if the ISC is the problem, your idle would bounce from high to low as the ISC struggles to figure out where the idle speed should be; which you did not mention if you were seeing this issue.
I have seen this problem before, and actually had this exact same problem on one of my cars. It turned out to be a bad starter motor and weak battery. When the starter motor goes bad, it tends to have problems starting the engine. Once warmed up, it begins to engage and crank the engine enough to start it.
But there is a chance your ISC is the actual problem. The ISC gets its signal and is controlled by the ECU. The ISC is not a typical part that can be serviced, and in most all cases I've dealt with a bad ISC, you must replace the whole unit. I wouldn't attempt to fix it. But some dealerships offer discounted parts. You can search for Tallahassee Mitsubishi, Rockville Mitsubishi, and Norco Mitsubishi. You can search on Norco here:
http://norcomits.com/
But you may want to check your ECU itself. Read this article for more information:
http://www.90gsx.com/eclipse/cap/caps.htm
If the ECU is malfunctioning, you'll have all sorts of problems and will make working components appear to be broken. Your ECU should be one of the first things you check before buying any new parts.
Good luck!
