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1999 eclipse 2.4L, convertable. went to put top up and reached inside car to unlock door and tripped the theft alarm system. deactivated system with the key in the drivers door. went to start the car. lights in dash light up but car does not start. starter does not roll over engine and starter solenoid does not click. dash lights indicate when doors or trunk is opened. I can test theft alarm system and security light on dash operates as presribed in owners man. then deactivate theft alarm and disarm system. everything works "normal". have disconnected battery and waited better then ten minutes. reconnect, no change. all fuses and fusable links are good checked park/neutral switch adjustment and it is right on. bypassed starter circuit with a remote switch, it sounded like the starter was spinning but the engine was not turning?? I think thats all i got.

Submitted: 181 days and 16 hours ago.

Category: Car

Value: $30

Status: CLOSED

1999 Mitsubishi eclipse 2.4L

Already Tried:
tested the theft alarm system, opened and closed the doors/trunk contv. top. all dash indicators respond. tried starting car in neutral, no change. checked all fuses and fusble links, nothing blown. checked the park neutral switch adjustment, it is fine. using a remote starter switch to bypass the starter circuit the starter sounded like it was spinning, but what was weird was that the engine was not turning. this car has 89,000 miles on it. have not had to jiggle the ignition key to start it. have not had the starter do any click clicks before rolling over engine previous to this problem. it is like the theft alarm went off and now the starter circuit is permanently disabled.

Posted by rashawn 181 days and 15 hours ago.

Answer

If you went directly to the starter and bypassed everything. and heard the starter turn. the enginge should have been spinning theres nothing else in the circuit to make the starter engage the flywheel. that would mean a bad starter. Try that again.be sure it is in park or neutral brake on but this time leave the key on when you do that.

181 days and 15 hours ago.

Reply

if i can get the starter to spin when I bypass the starter circuit. why does the the starter not spin when i use the ignition key??? I just don't want to put a starter in this car and have it be in the starter circuit. and what makes me leary of the starter circuit is all this happened after the theft alarm went off, which has a starter circuit shut off. If the starter spun with the ignition key and with the starter circuit bypassed using the remote starter switch but the engine did not turn over I would say it is the starter. I guess I just need some type of answer as why the starter spins using the remote stater switch and not the ignition key. If it is the starter and not the starter circuit.

Posted by rashawn 181 days and 15 hours ago.

Answer

No not saying replace the starter. but if the engine does not spin with the starter engaged then the starter is not doing its job. ok no starter spin when using the key....is it an automatic or 5 speed

181 days and 15 hours ago.

Reply

automatic

Posted by rashawn 181 days and 14 hours ago.

Answer

check # 11 fuse i also found this. this car has several alarm options. this is one

When the system is armed, unlocking a door with the key will activate the alarm. To disarm the system in this condition, press the "1" button or simultaneously press the status indicator light and turn the ignition key and start the engine.
^ Arming: Press the "1" button to arm the alarm and lock all doors. The parking lights will blink and the siren will chirp. When the system completes arming, the parking lights blink again and the siren chirps again. A status indicator light will begin blinking.

^ Activating: If the alarm is armed, it is activated by either opening a door or by the motion/pressure sensor. The siren sounds and the parking lights flash. After a few minutes, the alarm deactivates and automatically re-arms itself. It the alarm has been activated, the status indicator light will blink faster, indicating that the alarm was previously activated.

^ Disarming: Press the "2" button to disarm the alarm and unlock all doors. The parking lights blink, the siren chirps, and the dome light illuminates for 60 seconds or until the ignition key is turned to "ON." To disarm the system without a transmitter, simultaneously press the status indicator light (which is also used as the alarm override button) and turn the ignition key to start the engine.

^ Panic Feature: Press both buttons "1" and "2" simultaneously to activate the alarm. Press either button to silence the alarm.

^ The dome light always illuminates for 1 minute after the ignition key is turned off.

181 days and 14 hours ago.

Reply

Rashawn, I bypassed the starter circuit again with the remote and the starter spun but the motor did'nt. then i tried the key again it did'nt roll over but this time after heariing something in the throtle body make some noise I turned the key slowly between IGN and START and I heard a faint click back and forth. I assume that noise was there before but I did'nt hear it. then I had my wife turnthe key back and forth while I tried to find what I assume is the starter relay. where do they hide the starter relay on these 99 eclipes??? It did not sound like it was part of the starter unit. As far as the #11 fuse it is good. don't know about the 1 and 2 buttons. only numbered buttons are on the radio.

Posted by rashawn 181 days and 12 hours ago.

Answer

throttle body noise is normal. I have to asume the starter works fine but you are energizing a different terminal on the starter making it spin but not engage.
here is a diagram. and location of the starter relay is k on the second diagram. if the security system has this turned off. Be sure the battery is fully charged in the car. 1st of all disconnect the battery negative terminal and start from scratch.

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181 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

Rashawn, the click i hear when the key is rocked from IGN to START is coming from the transmission ???, I had a stethescope with the rod on it for noises to find it. as far as the ignition wiring diagram, it shows a starter relay. but the relay on the K location diagram is labeled "theft alarm starter relay". Which I still have not been able to locate on the car. Below the K diagram is an M component diagram and it shows a "starter relay" which I think I found on the passenger side of the center console. thing is it does not click when the the key is turned to start. fyi, I have a Haynes manual for that car. it does not even have the component locator that you supplied me with. It reminds me of where I work, they show you a picture of a component but forget to show you where it is at on the machine. At any rate, should'nt yhe starter relay click when the key is turned or is this a solid state relay?

Posted by rashawn 181 days and 11 hours ago.

Answer

okay. Pull the starter relay. terminal 2 and 3 should have power (12v) in the start position .

terminal 1 should be a ground.
terminal 5 sends power to the starter solenoid

The theft starter relay stops power from getting to this relay

Yes relay makes sound but you cant always hear it . it possible you may feel it.

181 days and 9 hours ago.

Reply

Rashawn, pulled the starter relay and put a meter on one of the big wires on one side of the backside of the P/J, turned the key and i got 12v went to the other side turned key and got 12v. unpluged relay from P/J to see if i could make sure i knew if i was on the relay coil side or contact side. inside the the relay P/J it is marked coil on one side and COM and NO on the other side. so yes we have 12v comimg thru this relay. and you are right you can barely hear it click but i could feel the relay come down with my thumb on it. also while looking at the starter i finnally figured out that the small black lead which i thought was a ground is the starter lead, my remote was going from the batt to the armature lead. the starter rolls over the engine great when it is hooked up right. well looking at the wiring diaram there has to be an open between the starter relay and the starter?

Posted by rashawn 180 days and 20 hours ago.

Answer

If you have power on two terminals at the relay then the ignition is sending a signal to start the car. Now! on the other two terminals at the relay. if you unplug the relay again with the vehicle in park one terminal should have ground 0v. or with an ohm meter you should see some resistance and continuity between terminal 1 and chassis ground. I dont know what kind of test equip you have. The last terminal sends power to the starter lead. from what you are explaining It does sound like there is an open or bad connection. But you need to see if you have a ground at the relay. and when you turn the key to start position you will have power on 3 terminals with the relay connected.. you should be able to test from back of plug at relay.

179 days and 14 hours ago.

Reply

Rashawn, Thanks for the help in getting this problem resolved. It ended up being the theft alarm starter relay. I took the knee panel off underneath the steering wheel and thanks to the component locator you sent me I found what looked like the relay panel on the K illustration then I was able to find the relay and swap it with another one and then the car wanted to start right up. As far as the regular starter relay, I was on the wrong one. It had 12v only when the key was on not when it was on start. I started looking around for another possible candidate for the starter relay acording to the M illustration on the component locator, there was one relay behind the radio that looked good but it has a lot more wires then four coming out of it. Basically the Haynes manual left a lot to be desired. One more question. The check engine light is on now. I assume that is because I had the air temp/MAF sensor duct out of the car to access the starter, PCM was getting a bad read. whats the procedure to turn that check engine light off. after your reply I am going to hit accept. thanks again for the help.

Accepted Answer

BOY we sure tried dilligently , you are welcome

Accepts:
Expert:	rashawn
Pos. Feedback:	93.9 %
Answered:	5/27/2009

ASE Certified Technician

20 years in the industry A.S.E. master certified

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No not saying replace the starter. but if the engine does not spin with the starter engaged then the starter is not doing its job. ok no starter spin when using the key....is it an automatic or 5 speed

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automatic

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Accepted Answer

BOY we sure tried dilligently , you are welcome

^	Arming: Press the "1" button to arm the alarm and lock all doors. The parking lights will blink and the siren will chirp. When the system completes arming, the parking lights blink again and the siren chirps again. A status indicator light will begin blinking.
^	Activating: If the alarm is armed, it is activated by either opening a door or by the motion/pressure sensor. The siren sounds and the parking lights flash. After a few minutes, the alarm deactivates and automatically re-arms itself. It the alarm has been activated, the status indicator light will blink faster, indicating that the alarm was previously activated.
^	Disarming: Press the "2" button to disarm the alarm and unlock all doors. The parking lights blink, the siren chirps, and the dome light illuminates for 60 seconds or until the ignition key is turned to "ON." To disarm the system without a transmitter, simultaneously press the status indicator light (which is also used as the alarm override button) and turn the ignition key to start the engine.
^	Panic Feature: Press both buttons "1" and "2" simultaneously to activate the alarm. Press either button to silence the alarm.
^	The dome light always illuminates for 1 minute after the ignition key is turned off.

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No not saying replace the starter. but if the engine does not spin with the starter engaged then the starter is not doing its job. ok no starter spin when using the key....is it an automatic or 5 speed

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automatic

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Accepted Answer

BOY we sure tried dilligently , you are welcome

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