Is it the key or the alternator?

Asked by Dustin Dec 19, 2014 at 09:11 AM about the 2001 Mitsubishi Galant LS

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Recently our car has been shutting off right after we crank it up. Sometimes it will
come on and will run fine. Most the time it will just shut back off. It has also shut off
while we are driving. In all of these instances all the lights, windows, a/c, etc are still
on and running. It just won't crank up. We had the original transponder key that came
with the car but my lovely wife lost the key. She had a locksmith come and make a
new key using the trunk lock. It worked fine for a couple of years and now this is
happening. After troubleshooting a bit we think it is either the key or the alternator but
we can't figure out which. And now, the car will not crank up at all. Once again, all the
lights (interior and exterior), etc will come on fine. Has anyone ever come across this
problem?

4 Answers

30,465

The engine dieing when it's on the road is not supposed to happen with a VAT (key) ,However... the shutting off after starting does ... You can't just simply make a new key because the key must be programed after cutting it ~~ it's not the alternator.

1 people found this helpful.
2,325

Not an alternator problem but you can go to the salvage yard and get the entire steering column from an exact car and do away with the problem like i did and at a cheaper cost

1 people found this helpful.
2,060

You can go to the dealership with your vin number id and registration they will create you an exact duplicate. . . At least that's what they used to do for a hundred bucks it may cost up to $500 these days but let the dealership resolve your issue so you don't have on going problems that could have been resolved the first time. I would go to the dealership and tell them the key all of a sudden began to malfunction see what kind of solution they come up with. Leave out the details. Then resort to plan b.

20

Same problem is happening with my car (starts that shuts off) . Found out today that it is not happening with the factory made key only with a chip key that was programed at a hardware store. The security light came on the dash with the $80 chip key, so mechanic suggested we try the factory key...then it started and keep running. Why would a programmed key work for a year and suddenly stop working properly, or is there more to this problem than the key???

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