Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

My 2005 3.2 DI-D A/T started hunting when standing in gear at a traffic light. This only happened when warm. I took it in to the local Mercedes dealer who professed to still have a Mitsubishi experts on board. I was phoned and told it was the diesel filter, which surprised me as the one on the vehicle was replaced 2000km ago just before I towed a caravan from Gauteng to CT.

When I phoned later in the day to collect the car, I was told it would not start at all. I went to the dealership only to find that they cranked it to the point that the battery was discharged and the started brushes were done. They repaired the starter at their expense. After replacing the starter, the vehicle started. It now developed the hunt whilst idling in neutral as well.

The dealership conceded that they had no idea what the problem was. I drove the car away and took it to another workshop with an owner that has worked on Mitsubishi for many years, professing to be a specialist.

3 months down the line, I now have a vehicle that would not start at all and will be towed back to me.

This is my summary of the events:

1. Vehicle initially hunted when warm and in Drive or Reverse. The moment I put it in neutral the hunting stopped.
2. After replacing the filter, apart from having great difficulty to start the vehicle again, the idling now hunted both in drive and neutral.
3. After testing numerous issues, the vehicle now suddenly does not get diesel through at all. It is almost like there is a cutoff valve on the pump that is not activating.

The technician tells me now it is the pump. My question is how come I still drove the vehicle into his shop and just before that towed a caravan all the way down from Gauteng with no problem at all.

Is there anyone that can give some more light on this and perhaps any idea where to look for the probable cause?

Hello!
What happened is similar to my Pajero Full 3.2 16v, year 2004 here in Brazil. It did not give a start nor by strong prayer. I ordered the trailer to go home. A solenoid on the Zexel VRZ injection pump...... It was defective and cut off the fuel. They condemned the injection pump, but not convinced, I decided to tamper myself and replace the solenoid valve and returned to normal. Solenoid code: Zexel 149900-0220. I hope it helps.

Hi Hercules,

I have a 2005 3.2 DID LWB Diesel, and have a similar problem. My problem is intermittent, and when the Little ENGINE light on my dash comes on the trouble starts. It idles ROUGH, does not allow the revs to go over 2000, and if I try rev it is SMOKES like heck. This first caught me in April 2017 on holiday. It cost me R45,000 to have a second hand Reconditioned DIESEL PUMP put in, and I still have the problem 5,000 kms (18 months) later. It spent 4 months with a Mistubishi Specialist in CPT as then 3 months with an Auto electrician. Then sent to Mitsubishi Cape Town. NO help as the problem did not rear its self while in their hands. I am trying to see if its related to me putting the AIRCON on. Winter seams to be NO PROBLEM. I am stuck with a vehicle that cannot be sold nor repaired yet. So any help would be appreciated.

Greetings - see my JohnP post on similar issues (Gen3 engine cuts out); it could be as simple as replacing the wiring harness connecting your diesel pump to the main wiring loom; as per my post, the man to speak with is Bradley Leach at Alan Black in Springs, Gauteng (011 815 3732). Cheers !

Yaswaer wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 6:11 pm Hi Hercules,

I have a 2005 3.2 DID LWB Diesel, and have a similar problem. My problem is intermittent, and when the Little ENGINE light on my dash comes on the trouble starts. It idles ROUGH, does not allow the revs to go over 2000, and if I try rev it is SMOKES like heck. This first caught me in April 2017 on holiday. It cost me R45,000 to have a second hand Reconditioned DIESEL PUMP put in, and I still have the problem 5,000 kms (18 months) later. It spent 4 months with a Mistubishi Specialist in CPT as then 3 months with an Auto electrician. Then sent to Mitsubishi Cape Town. NO help as the problem did not rear its self while in their hands. I am trying to see if its related to me putting the AIRCON on. Winter seams to be NO PROBLEM. I am stuck with a vehicle that cannot be sold nor repaired yet. So any help would be appreciated.

Did you manage to fix this issue? I have exactly the same, was told the pump is gone. Vehicle will not rev over 2000 rpm and smokes profusely. If you do manage to rev it above 2000 rpm, it pulls strong when driving it and the smoke disappears. Maybe you found your issue and can point my in the right direction?