1992 2.4L Mighmax Starting after warm and Distributor issues?

Hey Everyone! Ive owned this 1992 Mighty Max 2.4 since 1995 and two years ago we had the timing belt replaced and I replaces so many components under the hood , she ran like a dream. However , I was parked outside of someones house with the truck running after a day of driving and notice it starting to bog down and run funny , so I drove her home somehow around 15 miles and hours ... Going through the 3 Chiltons,haynes and other Motisubishi resources I became a parts changer and changed the fuel filter ,plugs ,distro cap ,rotoe an wires ( last year we replaved the distributor. Anyways this is what it does , let say I pull of the distributor cap and pop it back on it will start and run fine for a bit then die , I go back under the hood mess with cap somemore and it can run a full day no issues whatsoever. every morning or after she cools down for the last two weeks i go out to start it hoping i did something right and I still get no start and at times removing the distributor cap and simply popping it back on will get it to start again but 9 times out of 10 it will only be shorlived and run dfor maybe a minute then die. Yesterday I put the distributor cab on in a way where it was as tight and snug as ever , i ran it a full day and thought maybe i fixed the issue , today the no start hapopned so I did what I usually do but the time i tttok a wrench to the distributors bolt itseld and advanced the timimg ever so slightly and its running for now.... I am waiting for it to cool again so i can test to see if it starts.

Now after reading for hours and hours the last 2 weeks im kinda stumped why this is happening ? and even why it happned in the first place.. Can anyone shed ideas of maybe what i can do or what is causing this? much is appreciated and anything is wleocme . Ive had her since I was 16 and this just kinda has put a wrench in my game

Kyle

After I let her sit 2 hours , itried restsrating and would not turn over :) im not sure what I can do anymore that I havnt done??

Have you remanufactured the ECU yet or checked it for leaking or burned capacitors? Notorious issue with these trucks and can cause weird symptoms like those.

Thanks for the reply , Actually i have a fresh remanufactured one Pi purchased last week , I installed it then tried restarting it ( without messing with the distributor one bit) and still had a no start ..I then when back to the distributor cap and somehow got it as tight on as posibble thinking maybe the plastic gettes bigger when warm and slightly consitcicts when cool and it ran all day , I figured it must not be the ECU so i pulled it and through the old one and it ran for a long while .. Im thinking maybe the new ecu could have "learned" perhaps how this new running condition is? but I honestly dont know how these always work regarding that

Just to add I went back out there and fiddled some , tried starting it and it almost begun to but failed.. I di my Distributor cap trick 8 times and she NOW will not start :)

^^^ Sorry Didnt mean to add a smiley face

Have you checked the ignition switch and all of your grounding points? Might be worth it to check the plugs and grounds for corrosion or loose connections and clean any corrosion you see with a squirt of Coke and dielectric grease.

could also be the pickup in the distributor, or a bad coil wire

In the base of the distributor, under the metal cap is the cam angle position sensor, it feeds that signal to the ECU to calculate timing Info. I'm putting money on the wiring to that sensor being cracked and shorting out causing the intermittent failure, and "fiddling" with the cap moves the wire just enough to make it ok until it sneaks back to where it shorts out.

yours is the one on the right.

http://www.mmeierle.com/images/Max/T...S-Dist%201.JPG

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LSR Mike

In the base of the distributor, under the metal cap is the cam angle position sensor, it feeds that signal to the ECU to calculate timing Info. I'm putting money on the wiring to that sensor being cracked and shorting out causing the intermittent failure, and "fiddling" with the cap moves the wire just enough to make it ok until it sneaks back to where it shorts out.

yours is the one on the right.

http://www.mmeierle.com/images/Max/T...S-Dist%201.JPG

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[QUOTE=LSR Mike;42080]In the base of the distributor, under the metal cap is the cam angle position sensor, it feeds that signal to the ECU to calculate timing Info. I'm putting money on the wiring to that sensor being cracked and shorting out causing the intermittent failure, and "fiddling" with the cap moves the wire just enough to make it ok until it sneaks back to where it shorts out.

yours is the one on the right.

Thanks for all the replies everyone , its appreciated , funny about the wire that comes from the fiirewall to the back of the distributor where the wires to the pickup go , while i was un wrenching the distributor bolt I kept hearing the "clicking " of something around the motor and some vacuum type noise when my wrench would touvh the wire on the back or the distributor. You can mimic the noise I hear when fiddling with the distributor cap or simply unplugging and pluggin back in the distributor wire to the firewall.. I purchased the distributor 2 years ago and perhaps didnt snake the wire back good enough cause its a bumpy ride in the truck.

Again Thank You for all replies and suggestions I will try cleaning everything . And I bet there is no simple way of just replacing the cam pickup and wiring? I dont mind doing anything regardless of what it instills

I tried posting a reply earlier but something wrong .. when i was wrenching on the distributor bolt right by where the wires lead into the distributor for the cam pick up I heard the clicking and vacuum like noise a few times , just like if you were to unplug and reattach the plug from the firewall to the distributor wiring

Thank You all Very much for your help and advice Its much appreciated

I am going to clean every contact I can find imaginable and then go to the cam sensor wiring and see what If I can replicate the problem and so forth.. I do want to mention if it handles any weight is that the distributor itself Is tightened when Im fiddling with the dist cap itself to generally get it to start and if i lay the cap with the plug wires down close to the AC compressor I sometimes here spark noises

Mike, is that the Jay Racing CAS?

Noah, looks to me to be a 1990 DSM CAS

The one on the left is a junkyard donor CAS from a Turbo 4G63. I took it when I grabbed the throttlebody and dual coil setup when I switched out to the AEM EMS, It had to look like a Turbo 4G63 to the ECU. Turned out I didn't need it, the standard CSs in the distributor worked just fine. I did upgrade to a 24 tooth wheel to improve starting and timing accuracy.

this is what it looks like now.

Look Ma, No Distributor!

http://www.mmeierle.com/DTR3361.jpeg

^^^ Thats motor looks awesome! Anyways here is a update , I took everyones advice and I also went here http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin...ng+distributor
I had to purchase a new distributor and somehow took advantage of a online coupon and overnight from Orileys received the new distributor with the brand new wiring. Popped her in just as the books say and followerd LSR Mikes "roter compensation" from warm gears and I lined up everything and after timing it by ear and tons of research here I have her running , and she runs better than it has for the last 5-7 years .. I may be ahead of myself so fingers crossed :) after she cools ill go out and restart but I have a gut feeling I did everythign right and learned a thing or two about timing along the way.. Thanks everyone for your advice and ideas

Awesome man, I hope you got it all sorted out so you can enjoy your truck again!

glad to help. trucks will run forever with a little TLC and understanding.