Expert: Sean Halliday - 10/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbo... It was running perfectly on the freeway when I felt it a little shaky as it slowed down.  I pulled it to an exit and saw that it was a little warm.  It was low on oil.  Once it cooled down I tried to restart it but it would just turnover. There does not seem to be any water in the oil.  The plugs are new and there seems to be no electricity coming out of the spark plug wires.  What would you recommend I check next?

ANSWER: No spark at the plugs means the electrical system(ignition)will have to be checked.What do you mean by a little warm?Was the temp in the red?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: No.  It was not in the red, just a little over the average but there seemed to be smore coming out from the engine.  It does turn over and the oil seems fine. How do I check to see if it is the rotor, distributor cap, or the computer?

Answer
As this car is a turbo,the fact that smoke came out of the engine is not good.There is a high possibility that you have damaged the turbo and hence the car will not start.You will have to determine exactly which component is faulty either gas or spark and there is a set procedure for all components and there are many in this car.My advice to you is get a manual and start from scratch and go through the complete ignition system and see if you are getting no spark with a proper strobe light.It will most likely not be a fault in the computer as these rarely fail.The rotor and cap are straight forward to inspect by removing them and looking to see if they are burnt or damaged.The most likely cause could be the ignition module or crank sensor but then again its no good guessing and best to test every item one at a time.The Haynes or Chilton manual cost $20 approx and well worth it if you are to repair this car yourself.I cannot say exactly whats wrong with it as i would need to do what you will to establish what component is causing a no start situation.The smoke from the engine and then the car shutting down is a indication that the 2 are connected so try to find where or why the smoke was coming from.All electrical parts can be tested as shown in the manual and it would take me way too long to go through all the procedures here so best to get the book and go from there.