Trev’s Tips

What’s that sound on the radio?

and

Gearless automatics

All you lucky readers this month are fortunate enough to have two tips revealed in this article courtesy of two of our club members.  Thanks very much too all the people who have mentioned good tips in recent times, I hope to get to them all at some time soon.

First tip comes courtesy of Keith Parker and has to do with an issue that seems to be quite bad in Pajeros but I know that many other cars also suffer similar problems.  It has to do an annoying static background noise that comes through the cars speakers when listening to AM radio stations.  The static noise level tends to vary depending on the revs of the engine.  I haven’t noticed this problem with my current car (probably because I have progressed to FM radio stations and didn’t realise that stations still broadcasted on AM) but I definitely had an issue with this on my first car (Subaru).  The problem is that as the car vibrates from engine harmonics and road shudder the bonnet builds up a static electricity charge the same as if you where to rub your feet on carpet and then touch a metal door handle.  This charge then interferes with the radio signal that is picked up by the car’s aerial which results in noise being transmitted through the speakers.

The bonnet is supported by rubber stoppers on the body of the car when it is closed which insulates it so there is no opportunity for the charge that has built up in the bonnet to escape to the ground.  Sometimes the charge can escape through the hinges that join the bonnet to the body of the car but often because these items are painted the connection between them is poor so the charge still can’t escape to the ground.

In my old car I fixed this problem very easily by putting a short wire behind one of the bolts on the bonnet hinge and connecting it to one of the bolts that hold the front side fenders in position.  This allowed the charge that built up in the bonnet to pass onto the body of the car and then to Earth.  This is what I would recommend trying to start with if this is an issue with your radio, however if this doesn’t work Mitsubishi has produced a part (static strap part number MB541402) which  does the same thing but may be more effective although is sure to cost a lot more than a bit of wire.

I’m sure I have mentioned this web site before but just to jolt your memory again, the Pajero club of Victoria has a forum on its web page that has discussions on this issue above and hundreds of other problems that people are experiencing with their cars.  It is a fantastic source of information for all Mitsubishi owners (and other heathens) that may be looking to modify their cars or repair a problem.

The next tip comes courtesy of Martin and could potentially save you hundreds if this event ever happened to you.  Martin recounted a story to me of a person who got his automatic Pajero stuck on a beach and after much driving forward and backward to try and compact the sand to get unbogged the auto suddenly froze and no gears could be selected.  This consequently meant that they had to call a recovery crew which cost in the order of $700 for the extraction.  Personally I would have left the car on the beach, gone straight to Mitsubishi and used the $700 as part payment for a good manual gearbox but that’s an argument for another day.

Anyhow back to the story.  The recovered car was towed to the Mitsubishi service centre for repairs but when the mechanics looked at it they found no problem.  Apparently after the transmission had been allowed to cool and have a short rest it recovered and began working again.  Story has it that Mitsubishi covered the cost of the recovery which I thought was generous.

This is something worth keeping in mind though that if your auto does ever experience a problem such as this let it rest for a bit (so long as you are not under the pressure of a rising tide) then try again after a few minutes.  Alternatively if you are ever hopelessly stuck and have to pay for a recovery crew to extract you, go to Mitsubishi and complain that your gearbox froze and hopefully they might repay the cost of the extraction.

Till next time have a safe and happy Christmas

Trevor

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.  Think about that before the next piston broke awards.