Lumpy start up

[Danj]

Maybe this is me just worrying a little too much but im starting to think ive bought a pup!/Grrr
The engine seems to run really lumpy on start up as if there is a fuel blockage? After a few seconds it sounds like the car is almost stalling itself! Second problem is that whilst driving along in the pouring rain the other night my drivers window went down by itself and wouldnt come up again no matter how many times i pressed the button!
I resorted to physical violence and gave the doorcard a good bashing and the window finally decided to come up. Its not got the lock button pressed in but im knackered if i go to a carpark where i have to get a ticket as i go in as i cant close the window!
Any advice would be appreciated.

[Turbo_Steve]

Sounds like you have a little leak inside the door that got water into the switch.
It sounds like you've broken the switch, though, and the window regulator may now be burnt out if it's been pushing upwards all that time.

The engine fault.......hmm.
Does it clear if you rev the engine?
Could be any number of things: need a lot more info.
Could simply have 'colder' plugs in than it needs, and so fires badly until warmed.
Does it settle down and run more normally once driven?
Could be a stuck fuel reg, a wiring fault, an knackered idle controller...oh it's a long list :)
But, chances are, once you've found it, it's probably something simple.

[Danj]

Cheers for that Steve, well the engine settles once its been driven for a while but this seems like its an intermittant fault as it only happens 9 times out of 10 not sure wether it would be covered by my warranty as you know what some of these dealers are like!
Im hoping its nothing serious but its not a ideal start to legnum ownership especially as im getting the "i told you so" from the other half! Maybe i should`ve stuck with my 850R?

[Nick Mann]

IMO the Legnum should be the better car when compared to the 850R. I've never driven one, I'm just looking at the specs.

Mitsubishi are fundamentally reliable cars - it sounds like you have bought one that has a couple of ignored niggles. I would suggest that once you have got them sorted, the car should give you at least as many smiles as the 850R.

Sorry, you may have mentioned this before, but can I ask where abouts in the UK you are? Maybe someone who has had one for a while could help you look it over?

[Turbo_Steve]

I'd suggest it's probably a knackered coilpack / HT lead / sparkplug from your description.

Does it tend to happen on "damp" days?

[Danj]

Well in all fairness it only happens when i return to the car after going shopping! It starts fine in the mornings but its when its been driven and parked up for about an hour or so that it seems to do it. I have been told that they dont like regular fuel and i had to put reg fuel in when the local garage ran out of optimax! With regards to where i am, im in Ashford in Kent - have seen a couple of Legnums near me but wouldnt know if theyre on here?
Dark Green one in Ashford
Dark Blue in Faversham
Newer shape on a driveway in Charing ( Ashford)

[Turbo_Steve]

! That's a very specific set of criteria.

Is it possible that it gets extra hot after being driven into town, parked up for a short while, and then acts up? In which case, I'd definitely be looking at HT stuf, or Idle controller & wiring.

[Kieran]

Well in all fairness it only happens when i return to the car after going shopping! It starts fine in the mornings but its when its been driven and parked up for about an hour or so that it seems to do it.

That's quite a common thing, several members have had this to varying degrees of severeity. Not life threatening. It's almost like when you used to get petrol evaporation on a carbed car. We think it's because everything heatsoaks in the engine bay (they do get VERY hot) and then untill you've got a bit of air coming in again, it makes a mess of things. It's happened once to me, I found that cleaning the idle stepper motor assembly drove away the problem. I've only ever seen it on cars with pod filters too, so if you have one of those it's worth swapping back to the standard airbox too.

They don't like standard fuel. Consider 97RON a minimum. They will run fine on tesco 99 or Vpower.

If you've had normal fuel in there, it's worth doing an ECU reset too.... Get a couple of tankfulls of super unleaded through the car (won't take long!) then disconnect the battery for about 5 minutes. This resets the ECU and makes it re-learn the engine's characteristics, and it also resets the fuel trim and ignition settings. Be warned that when you do this the car will tend to misbehave for about 50 odd miles plus - it varies car to car. By 'misbehave' I mean that the engine will idle differently and if it's an auto, it'll make a right mess of gearchanges initially. It learns quickly but it could take up to 200 miles before it's completely settled down.

Good Luck!

[Turbo_Steve]

Heatsoak! That's the word I was after! Tip-of-my-tongue!!!!!! Don't you hate when that happens?


I've had cars do similar, and opening the bonnet and letting the wind blow through would sort out the nasty misfire in about 20 seconds. In the end was traced to a faulty coilpack overheating when parked up.

[unclepete]

I'm no expert but it just sounds like quite a simple problem to me (prob electrical as above) - I'd change the plugs, make sure you're using decent Super (mine hates BP for instance buy loves Tesco and occasionally Shell) and most importantly, flush the engine oil and get some Amsoil in.

The engine I got from Mo is nasty as at the moment but to be fair, it's obviously been sat around for some time, and will get its oil changed again in 500 miles (once I get it moving) to Amsoil after a flush. I'll also get some Iridium plugs while I'm at it.

No harm in doing all of the above anyhow, at least then you can be assured that it's done properly.