My 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse will continue running when the key switch is shut off and the key is actually removed. This occurs intermittently and the dealer can not give me a cause for it!? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Is your Eclipse a Turbo? If so the prev owner installed a turbo timer on the car to cool the turbo.
Unless the type or running you are referring to is like when an old car “diesels” this is caused by overheating and too much timing advance on the distributor… But in your case that is HIGHLY unlikely… My first guess is probably spot on… Tell me if your eclipse is a turbo… My guess is that it is a Turbo as they were common and FUN…if thats the case you have a turbo timer on it…and the dealer should have told you about this unless you bought it from a dealer who has no friggin idea what systems are installed on the car…and didnt they think it was odd that the car continued to run? Didnt they mention this…a MASSIVE dealer oversight not to tell you about a turbo timer…DUH… That would def be something to mention.
Ignition timing issues can cause your car to run on after you have shut the car off, even after you remove the key, which doesn’t turn the car any more off than just turning the key to off position. This was actually a pretty common symptom, back when cars had timing chains rather than belts, which was usually found to be the result of a loose timing chain or a missing tooth on the timing gear. What would happen was the chain would skip one gear position and be secure in that position. The car would start immediately but would fail to shut off right away when the ignition circuit was opened.
I don’t know enough about the effect of turbo on ignition to comment on Honda Blackbird’s response, and your car has a timing belt rather a timing chain. The belt in your car is much more likely to simply break than slip, but it happens.
If you are overdue for a timing belt change, get the belt changed right away. If you are overdue for a belt change and do not have a turbo, have the car towed to the shop rather than drive it. It’s worth it to change the water pump as the same time.
The over run is not caused by timing…not on this vehicle… The OP MUST answer the Turbo question…if it has a turbo…he has a turbo timer installed unbeknownst to him… Very common on Turbo vehicles with knowledgeable owners The turbo timer is doing its job the only problem is…no one told the OP.
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TURBO PLEASE
Guess this isnt that important to the OP
It’s fuel injected. There’s no fuel to ignite for dieseling.
There’s either a delayed shut-down timer somewhere, or there is a problem with the ignition switch.