My 92 Stealth TT has developed a problem where it is though it is completely cutting out for a split second every few seconds. Not electrical though, doesn't appear to be fuel related either. No backfiring. Most noticeable in low gears where the whole car shakes when it balks, in higher gears the momentum of the car minimizes the feel of it. It occurs more frequently in a cold engine but never quite goes away regardless of how long it is running.

The best way I can describe it is picture losing all power to the driveshaft for a tiny split second, then having it come back. For that moment, the car slows slightly, then it regains power, jerking the whole car.

Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this? My hunch is turbos, but I don't really understand them well enough to say.

 

Hey, bud...
You know, I am currently having the same problem with my 91 RT/TT...I have about 40K miles on it...the car loses power for a split second, as you mentioned, then everything is fine...I went to www.3si.org and posted there and several guys said that I have spark plug blowout...I just ordered some iridium spark plugs w/ 8mm wires...they say that this will fix my problem...
Do you have a boost controller? If so, have you overboosted or set your controller too high? This could be a problem as well...my controller was set incorrectly when I purchased the car and as soon as I changed it to a safe level, I noticed improvements...
Hope this helps....

Regards,
Kevin

 

Hey, thanks Kevin!

It's all factory original, so not sure about the boost controller...honestly that's a new term to me! Very uneducated with turbochargers (assuming that's related). Let me know if you have any luck with the plugs & wires, I might just wait to see if that does the trick for you.

Just curious, where's the boost controller and how do I make adjustments to it?

Chris

 

Sup again, Chris...
I should hope to have the plugs/wires installed on the car possibly as early as this weekend. I'll post to ya right away to let you know if that did the trick...
The boost controller is an aftermarket part that you would have to install. I have a Blitz electronic boost controller. It basically lets you regulate the amount of air going into the combustion chamber. If you set the controller incorrectly and you overboost, that could mean disaster for your engine. Right now mine is set to 14 psi - a fairly safe level. If you do not have a controller, no need to worry. The factory setting is, of course, safe, and I believe it is set to around 8 psi.
I'll keep ya posted on my car....Take care...
-Kevin

 

Sweet! Yeah, good luck, lemme know how it goes...
Chris

 

Hey, Chris...
Finally finished installing the new 8mm wires and Iridium plugs....
To my dismay, the problem did not go...the new plugs and wires did seem to help a little though...the problem doesn't seem AS bad, but it's still there...
I did try turning my boost down to 7psi...this also seemed to help a bit, but not all the way...
I searched on 3si.org and found a bunch of related articles...
Some other things that I'm going to try include: checking timing, gauging fuel pressure, checking for faulty injectors, and checking for exhaust leaks to name a few...
Has your car been running any better?
When I start my car, the RPMs drop very low and the car just about dies...from then on, I still get a few little pops coming from underneath the car...when I really get on it and boost the turbos, everything seems just fine...it's a very peculiar problem...
Let me know if you've come across anything else...thanks, and best of luck!
-Kevin

 

Holy crap! That is the EXACT problem mine has had, really for about 3 years (much worse in warm weather). After spending over a grand at a Mitsu dealership they told me they couldn't even reproduce it. Typical....

Here's how I reproduce the problem: run the car for a while...15-60 minutes (a typical commute). Then stop for anywhere from 30-90 minutes. Try starting it. Sputters and everything. I have to feather the gas pedal ever so gently and after a minute or so of embarrassing parking lot lunging and stalling it pops and then seems to run fine. Baffling.

The balking thing though is a newer wrinkle for me, where it seems worse on a cold engine (though it might be unrelated) and is a heavier issue in terms of how hard it shakes the car. This balking though, doesn't threaten to stall the car whatsoever. Seems unrelated to the plugs or electrical system.

 

I don't know if this will help. Try putting an inductive timing light on each spark wire and see if you are getting consistent spark. I did this to mine and found 3 to 4 are erradic. Unfortunetly I can't find the cause. John

 

hate to say it guys but it sounds to me like the infamous ecu problem... you need to go to www.3sxperformance.com and check into their ecu capacitor kit. replacing these capacitors in your ecu should solve your problem... and I hope it does.

 

Just posting to see if this problem has been resolved on your car...
So far I changed the stock plugs and wires to Denso iridium plugs and Accel 8mm wires...still had the sputtering/stalling problem...
Pulled the ECU and checked the capacitors...no leakage, smells, etc. In fact, the ECU looked almost brand new...
Currently my car is up on stands and I am changing the timing belt...my dad thinks it may be skipping time b/c my belt was WAY too loose...
I will keep posting my findings, and I hope others who are having similar problems will do the same...thanks!
-Kevin