Am looking for a fix to a 1993 montero SR (210K) hot start problem.
After the montero is driven enough to warm up the engine and is shut down, it will not turn over. Once the engine has cooled down for about 20 minutes it will start and run normally. I ran a LED lead to the starter solenoid and there is no power to the solenoid when it hot. Some sensor that is temperature sensitive is telling the engine control module to not allow power to the solenoid. May also be a relay?
I replaced the ECM temp sensor but that didn't help. I also have the factory manuals I & II for a reference.
I wish I had a clue what's up with this. Any ideas?????

 

I have the exact same problem with my '98 Montero (base model, non-sport) with just 76k mi. when the truck is hot, it wont start. Neither new battery, battery terminals OR starter have helped.

... I have looked for the starter relay, I have not found it yet.

Probably will keep posting if I find a solution, I saw several posts with the same problem.

 

Do you hear the fuel pump energize when you turn the key to "on" position?

Does the car crank when you try to start it when hot?

 

The car does not crank when I set the ignition switch to "start" position. At that point it only does a single "click".

I replaced the battery, and cleaned the battery terminals really well, and its doing marginally better. Today was a 97F type of day. So far, it started right up at the point of origin when it was hot out, but the car had been off for ~7 hrs. I got home after ~20mi drive, turned it off and let it sit for 10-15 minutes with the hood closed. This is usually the worst case condition. When I tried to start it, it just went "click", but on a second try, it started right up.

I'm suspecting the real culprit is the "remanufactured" starter from NAPA auto parts.

 

BTW, has anyone had luck with a "new" starter from Mitsubishi in this type of situation?

 

The 'click' is the starter solenoid. That means the starter is stuck, and likely needs to be replaced.

 

Here's what I've tried, and no luck!

> replaced the solenoid on the starter with a Mitsubishi OEM solenoid - No go
>>> the car did not start at all,

> replaced the starter with another "NAPA" starter - also using the OEM solenoid - no go
>>> the car started after a jump start, and it did OK for a couple days, but then fell back into its old habits - would not start. This time it did not start even with a jumpstart.

> replaced the starter yet again, keeping the NAPA solenoid - no go
>>> started OK a few times, then refused to start. Later it started OK, but obviously it is still not "reliable".


I've heard something about ignition switch causing a problem - that's next.

 

Ok,
I got a hold of an ignition switch at "O'Reiley Autoparts" of all places (it used to be Kragen's). Just ask for Mitsubishi Montero ignition switch, it was $34.

I replaced the ignition switch, and the car started up like a champ 5 times in a row. Will try it over the next week - tomorrow is *really* hot, so it should be a good test.

The replacement is *really* easy!!

0 - disconnect negative terminal of battery (not sure if this is absolutely necessary, but I did...)
1 - Remove 5 screws holding the steering cover column cowl/cover.
2 - take off the bottom cover.
3 - disconnect the connector to the ignition switch
4 - unscrew two small screws that hold the ignition switch in place - the ignition switch will slide out really easily. The trick here, is you gotta get a supper short screw driver - I used a Phillips type socket (Phillips to hex) with the appropriate size socket. The screws were not hard to break lose.
5 - install the new switch - making sure that the new switch is set to the same orientation as the old switch.
6 - put it all back together.

I wish I had done this before screwing around with the starter so many times! This was a 30minute job even including the fumbling around with finding the right tools.

Hope this helps someone out there.

 

...the ignition switch was not the problem. The truck will start fine sometimes (and it starts with Authority!), but other times it just will click.

So I went truck shopping, got sticker shock, and figured I'd spend some more time debugging the problem.

EUREKA - I think I really found it this time.

I took apart the center console, and disconnected the transmission harness. The ignition wire (goes from starter switch to the solenoid) is black with a blue stripe. So I measured the resistance between this wire and the connector at the solenoid - which essentially includes the park/neutral switch and any connectors in between. Here are some rough results:

• meas1 3.3ohm - car was in park and I had not moved the shift lever in a few days
• meas2 9 ohm - switched from park to reverse and back to park
• meas3 200 ohm - switched from park to neural
• meas1 2.8kohm - switched from neutral back to park

What I noticed was that the resistance would go down over time - starting at say 2.8kohm, and working its way down to 2.5kohm over a minute or so.

The park/neutral switch is really hard to get to - it is sandwiched between the tranny and the tranny tunnel on either side, AND it sits just above the exhaust where the right and left bank pipes merge. Has anyone changed the park/neutral switch on a 98-2000 montero?

So what I'm going to do is to bypass the park/neutral switch, and have a push button switch that I'll use in cases where the car doesn't start - eventually I imagine it will have to be used all the time. - c'est la vie.

 

nice work debugging the problem. I think a bypass switch a good idea, but might confuse the computer.