In fact, I'd never even properly heard the second 'click' until Dave from the Mainland came by to pick up the rear bumper I was selling. He told me how he'd had the complete ignition system re-worked and now it started up fine. Upon demonstration, I heard a second click I've never heard before.
And so began the investigation. It turns out my 'second click' didn't happen until 12 seconds after the key was switched to START. Didn't matter whether the engine was cold or warm--always 12 seconds.
Moon Machine was also having some trouble with the alternator: the three start-up lights (battery, fuel filter or the 'acorn' light, and the A/T TEMP lights) would flicker from time to time, usually when the engine was under load, and always when wet (in the rain). Scouring this forum and the UK forum led me to believe it was an alternator problem.
So, I made the trek to CCAutos to have the alternator changed. Yes, it cost me a half-tank of gas, but the cost was still cheaper than having the Mitsubishi shop in Vic change it. Read in three columns the estimates:
Item/Victoria Mitsu Shop/CCAutos
Alternator/275$/175$
Hourly rate/96$/70$
Time/2.75hr/1.5hr
In the end, I felt the half-tank of fuel still was a cost saving over having the repairs done locally, and in the end my assessment was correct. Turns out the temperature sensor which adjusts the timing of the firing sequence (based on the relative heat of the engine) was fried and needed to be replaced. Also, the ECU in Moon Machine was for a manual transmission instead of an automatic, so the timing was probably all screwed up due to that also.
But, even after that, Moon Machine still had a difficult time starting when cold. When warm, the clicks would be one right after the other, and it would start up fine. But when cold, it would turn over and over and over and then belch out a cloud of smoke enough to choke a camel. I suspected the glow plugs (partly because that was all that was left), and after getting a set of Mitsubishi glow plugs sent down from Coombs, Moon Machine is starting up fine in the morning. Now all I really need is a really cold morning so I can hear the series of rapid clicks after it's started to know that the whole thing works as it should.
I've included some pictures to show the difference between what was in the block and what new plugs look like:
The old plugs. Note the small tips.
- Original NGKs.JPG (51.19 KiB) Viewed 3901 times
- New Mitsubishi Plugs.JPG (45.26 KiB) Viewed 3902 times
- Comparison of elements.JPG (83.47 KiB) Viewed 3902 times
- Temperature sensor.JPG (68.72 KiB) Viewed 3902 times
And this last image is the four glow plugs replaced, the bus bar brushed up and everything ready to go! The last thing to mention about the repairs is that the Mitsubishi plugs don't thread all the way down to the shoulder (the green part)--some of the threads are still showing, but Glen assured me this is normal.
- Cleaned busbar and reinstalled.JPG (110.82 KiB) Viewed 3901 times
Many thanks to Glen and the guys at Coombs Country Auto; thanks to Marty in Vancouver for a phone call verification of something I was puzzling over at the last moment; thanks to delica 304 for driving down the plugs in the LANDMASTER; and all around thanks to those on this forum, MDOCUK and DelicaClub Australia for all their experiences and thoughts which allowed me to think/figure this one out for myself.
Hopefully my next experience will be modifications and not repairs!
"I could be just around the corner from heaven, or a mile from hell." -- Jackson Browne, "The road and the sky".