Engine completely cut out while driving - won't start.

[mygalantwasfree]

Hey guys,

My Galant has been reliable and good to me for 3 years - has never let me down until now. Tonight, I was driving during heavy snowfall delivering pizzas, and my engine just completely died while driving. It was almost like I had just taken the key out.

I can turn the key, it will turn over but won't start. It won't even sputter, or "try" to start. The way it died leads me to believe that this is an electrical problem - either water got into the wiring harness at the front of the car or my distributor died.
I don't think it's a fuel issue, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow for them to tow my car back home to me. In the mean time, what do you guys think?

First thing I'm going to do is ground-out a spark plug and test for spark.
Your suggestions are appreciated as always!

[mko]

its either fuel or spark problem.

What year is ur G?

Could be the distributor for 94-95 or the crank position sensor and distributor for 96-98

[mygalantwasfree]

its either fuel or spark problem.

What year is ur G?

Could be the distributor for 94-95 or the crank position sensor and distributor for 96-98

It's a '97. Ahh, I was also thinking about the crank sensor as well! If it goes bad, is it an off-and-on sort of thing? Or does it just go out and not come back? And I believe that the ECU should throw a code if this is the case. Correct?

[mko]

yes the crank sensor goes on and off i.e represents the engine RPMs.

If some snow got under the t-belt cover it might have disturbed the work of it. And yes there should be a code.

Check if you t-belt is there. Remove the upper cover and look.

[mko]

check the ignition fuse too. its in the engine bay fuse box

[mygalantwasfree]

yes the crank sensor goes on and off i.e represents the engine RPMs.

If some snow got under the t-belt cover it might have disturbed the work of it. And yes there should be a code.

Check if you t-belt is there. Remove the upper cover and look.

I'm pretty sure that the lower timing cover + seals are in decent shape. I looked under there tonight and it looked pretty snug. The T-belt was replaced 20k ago. If the timing belt did go, wouldn't I notice a slightly different sound when cranking the engine? I would think the engine would both turn over faster and have a different sound to it. I could be wrong though

EDIT: I checked to make sure the ignition fuse was both there and seated properly in the fuse box. Looked intact. I also gave each of my relays a "tap".

[mko]

did you pull the spark plug and test for spark. you only need to do it for one cylinder and while its out check/smell for raw fuel in the cylinder.

[mygalantwasfree]

did you pull the spark plug and test for spark. you only need to do it for one cylinder and while its out check/smell for raw fuel in the cylinder.

Not yet. I'll do that tomorrow, once they tow the car to my house. I didn't have two people with me to do that. I usually have someone crank it while I ground-out the plug. But once I check that tomorrow, I should be able to tell if the ignition system is at fault or can be eliminated from the possibilities.

I really need to take the upper timing cover off before I check that though. If the cylinder head isn't rotating, I definitely won't get spark!

[silversurfer]

do you smell as when u crank it over? then if so its a spark problem. any noises could it be your belts? posy=t a video and crank it over , then we could help you out a little better.k

[mygalantwasfree]

Turns out I'm getting P0335. It is in fact the crankshaft position sensor. It just sucks because it means I'll have to remove all the timing belts and crap behind the timing cover to get to it. Outside in the snow, this is probably going to be a 7-hour job to fix.

[Galanttuner10]

check the ignition fuse too. its in the engine bay fuse box

when this happened to me last week it was only my fuse luckily

sorry to hear the problem man and i know that thing is in a horrible spot. good luck.

[microgalant]

Do you've balanceshaft belt?
Maybe the balanceshaft belt broke and broke the cranksensor..

[mygalantwasfree]

Do you've balanceshaft belt?
Maybe the balanceshaft belt broke and broke the cranksensor..

I guess it's a possibility, but I won't really know until I remove the timing cover. Does that scenario happen commonly with the 7G? If so, and if that did happen to me, I'm very lucky that it didn't break the T-belt as well.

[microgalant]

Not all the 7g's I think the one from 1996-1998 that uses the cranksensor at the crank.
When I got my 1996 galant the bs belt broke and broke the sensor.

[galantlvr34]

I guess it's a possibility, but I won't really know until I remove the timing cover. Does that scenario happen commonly with the 7G? If so, and if that did happen to me, I'm very lucky that it didn't break the T-belt as well.

yeah you are lucky that the timing belt didnt break,but i dont know if the balance shaft belt broke isnt there still a chance the valves could have bent still.

[mygalantwasfree]

yeah you are lucky that the timing belt didnt break,but i dont know if the balance shaft belt broke isnt there still a chance the valves could have bent still.

As long as the timing belt is completely intact, the valves are still in synchronization with the pistons and no valve damage will occur.

[galantlvr34]

As long as the timing belt is completely intact, the valves are still in synchronization with the pistons and no valve damage will occur.

oh ok so if that is what happened to your car then your valves should be fine.

[mygalantwasfree]

Do you've balanceshaft belt?
Maybe the balanceshaft belt broke and broke the cranksensor..

(MK0 also gets credit for this):
...Wow buddy you are either a genius or a psychic. But I don't believe in psychics so you must be really smart then. Guess what happened?

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7355/img4499l.jpg
You can see the BS belt's teeth in that photo, behind my T-belt. It's quite obvious from the photo that the belt is broken. It broke, took out my crank sensor, and stopped the engine.

I am very, very fortunate that it did not also take out my timing belt.
I'm working in 10 degree weather, with the sky pouring down snow and negative wind chill with a giant smile on my face. This could've been so much worse!

[galantlvr34]

...Wow buddy you are either a genius or a psychic. But I don't believe in psychics so you must be really smart then. Guess what happened?

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7355/img4499l.jpg
You can see the BS belt's teeth in that photo, behind my T-belt. It's quite obvious from the photo that the belt is broken. It broke, took out my crank sensor, and stopped the engine.

I am very, very fortunate that it did not also take out my timing belt.
I'm working in 10 degree weather, with the sky pouring down snow and negative wind chill with a giant smile on my face. This could've been so much worse!

so the balance shaft belt did brake.wow you are lucky that nothing else happened.

[mygalantwasfree]

I don't really understand why Mitsubishi couldn't get this thing right when they designed the engine. The repair manual specifies to change that belt every 100,000 miles or so. But in reality, this belt must be changed every 20,000 or less. This belt had around 20k on it, and it was changed along with the BS bearing. So I really don't understand why it failed.

Question: Since the crank sensor did not break on its own accord, is it possible that I can just fix the old one? Maybe put it back in place? I don't really want to install another BS belt. Would it be stupid of me to assume that the shaft stopped rotating with all the oil journals still aligned? I'm either going to A)Leave the balance shaft installed like it is. OR B)Buy a delete kit.

People: Remember that first thread I ever made about not installing the delete kit and leaving the BS belt in place? I will now eat my own shoes in embarrassment.

EDIT: The belt should be changed at 60k intervals. 100k is incorrect.