Heres the deal. I have mitz lancer 2002 OZ and i first noticed this problem 4 months ago. What happend while I was driving was that out of nowhere the car would turn off, as if it was a powercut in my car. Seconds later, it would turn back on, and driving will be smooth again. This started to happen every now and then.

Then, a few times it did it while I was stopped at a red light. Only this time, it wouldn't turn back on! And I couldn't even start the car again, (the ignition wouldn't even turn on). I realized as this started to happen, it could be temp fixed by opening the hood, and slamming it down. Soon I found that this lil thing in the engine compartment near the air intake manifold was making noise, and if you hit it a couple of times it would make that noise again, and then, the car would be able to start up again. Here is the picture of what component was making the noise.

Then I started to notice my car would hesitate, and the Check engine light came on. It told me to replace my ignition coils, and i went a few steps further and replacing my spark plugs, wires and a new grounding kit. The problem went away for a while but the turning off problem is comming back! its not hesitating anymore though.

Anyways, I think it has to do with that thing in the picture. Please tell me what that is, and if it could cause this problem.

It happens regurarly, but now its starting to just not be able to start when my car is been parked for a while. its getting worse like that.

Check engine light came again, but it was the catalac coverter, which im getting serviced soon. However i think its more of a electrical problem, like the car not getting any juice at some points.

And no, my batteries are fine (I have two of them!), and no, ground is fine (have a new 4 awg grounding kit) and NO the fuses are fine!

PLEASE HELP! IM CONFUSED AS HELL!

 

Dude i have the same car, only mine is white. That looks like the throttle body to me. Maybe a sensor is going funny or something. OR wires could be loose, what i would try before anything else is to go under the hood and then start checking all the plugins everywhere and see if they are tight. I have solved problems by doing that before. If you take it to a shop they're gonna do the same thing and charge you for it. I say try the wiggle test and then maybe some sensors in the throttle body. I don't know what else to tell you. I also have a problem with my car but its a rattle around 2000 RPM and the dealer won't fix it under warranty and they say there is nothing wrong with it. Sucks!

 

Correct! The object circled in your picture is the throttle body. I am not sure if you mean the "bell shaped" object located on top of your t.b. ; but that has to do with your cruise control, so chances are it is not that. I don't know if pounding on it is the best way to fix it=] Since it would work properly when you slam the hood, or bang on the throttle body I guess you should try to inspect everything involving the t.b. Go ahead and take your whole intake apart and try wiping the inside of the t.b. out ( with the motor turned off, of course) push down on the lever that attaches to the throttle cable. It is located on the front side of the t.b. and wipe off both sides of the "disc" plus everywhere it lines up with inside the throttle body walls. This may help the problem. Just be careful not to get ANYTHING inside the two little holes at the bottom inside the throttle body while cleaning!(You can't miss them) You could also look for somekind of obstruction inside the intake and on the "sensor box" ( the thing with metal mesh on it and wires coming off it.) If you do that and the "wiggle test" you hopefully can find the problem. This is all the information I can provide. It sucks when your car doesn't run right and you don't know why. I hope my research and help solve your problem! Good luck!

 

why havent you taken it to a dealer?

 

Also check the cable and connector to the starter.

Not sure if this will help you, but I discovered on my car it was something as simple as the terminals...

(I saw your battery reference, just double check the terminals and wires anyway)

 

This almost exactly describes a problem I had with my old Mazda 626. In that case, it was a loose connection to the Mass Air Flow sensor. The fact that shaking things up (hitting the throttle body, slamming the hood, etc) seems to support that also for you. The symptoms are the same though, the car going off on its own and sometimes not coming back on, the check engine light coming on for no reason, the hesitation and jumpiness of the engine, etc.

Just move your hands around the intake and make sure every wire you see anywhere is tight and you'll probably find something that just shook itself loose.
-N

 

Thanks for the help! I'm going to clean out the throttle body, and check the connections there too. And I was talking about the "bell"shaped thing, but i wonder now if it really was the problem, since you said it has to do wit the cruise control.

The mass air flow sensor might be screwed too, ill check that for sure.

And I took it to the dealer, but the dealer doesn't know whats wrong because it never seems to screw up when they have the car lol.

I tell yah how it goes. thanks.

 

For all intents and purposes, when hitting things to fix them, the bell shaped thing is your throttle body anyway. Technically, it's the cruise control, but it sits on the throttle body and controls the throttle body as it's method of cruising.

And check the connections before you go and clean out your throttle body. I doubt the throttle body would really be dirty and I doubt that even if it were, it would cause these kinds of problems.
-N

 

Better late than never -- I never did provide an update -- I fixed this problem a loooong time ago, before my car got written off. Months before this problem was happening, a Best Buy installer blew a fuse when they were installing a battery isolator. The guy told me to come back a few days later to get a new fuse (he put in a wire in its place). The fuse was the ignition fuse, and that HACK that he provided would get loose arbitrarily. Since the ******* forgot about getting a new fuse for me, when I called, I forgot about it... hah