Distance to empty
#1
03-28-2017, 01:30 PM
Distance to empty
Recently I noticed that my distance to empty reading always gets stuck,it does change everytime I fill up. But once I start moving it stops working for no reason at all. I can reset it but same thing would happen. So what makes that dte work? Recently I got p0125 but a new thermostat cured that. Now I got a p0400 which I plan to deal with this week. Is the p0400 causing this issue with my dte? Is the dte vacuum related? I have a 2001 montero ltd. Thanks in advance.
#2
03-28-2017, 01:38 PM
Since I mentioned the p0400 here....if i put vacuum on my egr, the engine stumbles but if i pinch the vacuum line from the intake manifold going to the egr solenoid nothing happens. Does that indicate that there is no vacuum? Thanks again.
#3
03-29-2017, 09:20 PM
Just an update..fixed my p0400 code,turns out the ports on top of the throttle body was clogged and so was the vacuum hose with the white tracer going to the egr valve. Cleaned them well and the code is now gone.
Now my problem is with the miles to empty reading...did a reset and it did change the value but is just won't move anymore even after a few miles of driving.
Now my problem is with the miles to empty reading...did a reset and it did change the value but is just won't move anymore even after a few miles of driving.
#6
03-31-2017, 10:34 AM
A failed Fuel Level Sensor or open circuit would manifest as P0461. This signal runs through the Power Control Module.
#8
03-31-2017, 03:22 PM
Hi montymecrazy,fuel guage is working perfectly and it's only the dte that's acting up. Tried to reset it a couple of times but didn't work. It shows a dte reading but it won't go down as I drive. Decided to remove batteries yesterday to see if that would work...there you go,it worked again. 
#9
04-01-2017, 07:49 AM
I've had a chance to look at the circuit diagrams on this. In Mitsubishi speak the center dash display is called the "RV Meter".
In order to calculate the Distance to Empty the RV Meter needs to know how much fuel (fuel level) is left and your current MPG.
The Fuel Level comes from the Fuel Level Sensor that's in the gas tank (can be accessed through a service panel beneath the second row seats). This signal splits with one branch going to the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) and another branch going to both the Analog Fuel Gauge and the RV Meter. I think it's safe to assume that the fuel level sensor and associated wiring is good because your analog gas gauge reads correctly - although the RV Meter gets this signal from pin 3 on connector D29 and the Fuel Gauge gets it from pin 2 on D29 so you might want to check continuity between pin 3 on D29 (It's located driver side behind dash) and pin 33 on D07 (plugs into the RV Meter on right hand side as you face the dashboard).
The Fuel Economy (and I'm making a lot of assumptions here) might get calculated by the PCM and then the PCM sends this information to the RV Meter -- I believe that this is where your problem lies. Therefore my guess is that you have a faulty PCM or there's a problem in the wiring harness between the PCM and the RV Meter. This signal goes from pin 74 on connector D134 at the PCM, through connector E111 (pin 31) that looks like it's buried somewhere inside the center floor console and finally to pin 15 on connector D08 at the left hand side of the back of the RV Meter. So you might could check continuity between pin 74 on the PCM connector and pin 15 on D08 at the RV Meter. If continuity checks out on both signals coming into the RV Meter then you know that the PCM is not supplying or calculating the MPG correctly.
I should also point out that the PCM could be miscalculating the MPG because there's a problem with the signal it's getting from the fuel level sensor - which we know is working fine. I don't have the energy to trace that wire through the vehicle at the moment. Intuitively it seems like you would have more problems than this if the PCM wasn't getting a correct fuel level reading though.
Simple, huh?
I think I would just live with it
In order to calculate the Distance to Empty the RV Meter needs to know how much fuel (fuel level) is left and your current MPG.
The Fuel Level comes from the Fuel Level Sensor that's in the gas tank (can be accessed through a service panel beneath the second row seats). This signal splits with one branch going to the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) and another branch going to both the Analog Fuel Gauge and the RV Meter. I think it's safe to assume that the fuel level sensor and associated wiring is good because your analog gas gauge reads correctly - although the RV Meter gets this signal from pin 3 on connector D29 and the Fuel Gauge gets it from pin 2 on D29 so you might want to check continuity between pin 3 on D29 (It's located driver side behind dash) and pin 33 on D07 (plugs into the RV Meter on right hand side as you face the dashboard).
The Fuel Economy (and I'm making a lot of assumptions here) might get calculated by the PCM and then the PCM sends this information to the RV Meter -- I believe that this is where your problem lies. Therefore my guess is that you have a faulty PCM or there's a problem in the wiring harness between the PCM and the RV Meter. This signal goes from pin 74 on connector D134 at the PCM, through connector E111 (pin 31) that looks like it's buried somewhere inside the center floor console and finally to pin 15 on connector D08 at the left hand side of the back of the RV Meter. So you might could check continuity between pin 74 on the PCM connector and pin 15 on D08 at the RV Meter. If continuity checks out on both signals coming into the RV Meter then you know that the PCM is not supplying or calculating the MPG correctly.
I should also point out that the PCM could be miscalculating the MPG because there's a problem with the signal it's getting from the fuel level sensor - which we know is working fine. I don't have the energy to trace that wire through the vehicle at the moment. Intuitively it seems like you would have more problems than this if the PCM wasn't getting a correct fuel level reading though.
Simple, huh?
I think I would just live with it
#10
04-01-2017, 10:45 AM
montymecrazy,i just got a headache reading your post. Haha. Anyway,i think i'm more mechanically inclined,electronics make my head hurt.
It's working fine now,i think it has something to do with my p0400 code since it's vacuum related,no flow at all as vacuum lines are blocked. The computer must be getting an error while reading the mpg. My torque app says i'm doing an average of 25mpg mixed city and highway. Not likely to happen even on a brand new montero.
It's working fine now,i think it has something to do with my p0400 code since it's vacuum related,no flow at all as vacuum lines are blocked. The computer must be getting an error while reading the mpg. My torque app says i'm doing an average of 25mpg mixed city and highway. Not likely to happen even on a brand new montero.