eclipse has the green car with a key flashing and car will not start

 green car with a key flashing and car will not start

This issue was asked by one of our customer

What is the light on the dashboard that shows a car on an…

what is the green light on the dashboard that shows a green car on an Mitsubishi Eclipse 2002 ? I went to get some food and turned off then about 10 minutes later tried to started and it wouldn't go, there is good battery and and a full tank of gas and oil and everything !

The solution for this issue is as follows:

The green light on the dash is the immobilizer light. This is indicating a malfunction in the immobilizer system which will prevent the engine from starting.

As long as that light comes on, the immobilizer system is in protected mode and your fuel injectors will not work (preventing the engine from starting).

Did anything change from the last time you drove the car? Did you use a different key, or have another vehicles key on the key ring? Do you have any electronics near the steering wheel area (navigation, cell phone, etc)?

that is the immobilizer active fault light; here is how the system works:

The ignition key has a small RF chip inside it that send a weak radio signal.

The ignition housing has an antenna around the end of it that reads the RF signal from the key.

The immobilizer ecu receives this signal and then sends it to the PCM.

The PCM then compares this signal to the stored pattern it has saved in it from when the key was programmed.

If the light is on, this is indicating a malfunction occurred in the process. While trouble codes can be read on this (with a full scan tool, not a code reader), there are really only 3 general faults that would come up:

Incorrect key

Key read error

Communication error (implying between immobilizer ecu and PCM)

The reason I asked the questions about changes to scenario is that the most common causes for this are trying a different key that hasn't been used in a while and is either not programmed or lost programming, or interference from nearby electronic devices that emit radio frequencies... for example putting a cell phone on the top of the column to rest can cause issues, as can a GPS device too close, a RF key from another type of car on the same keyring, etc.

If none of these has occurred and there is no other bits to the story (for example just installed a radio between the time it ran and didn't run), it is most probable that the key simply lost programming somehow. Unfortunately at that point you are in the same position as if there were an other component fault; you need to get the vehicle to a dealer to further diagnose. From there they will attempt to program the key to determine if the key has failed. If it programs, it is likely the key memory was lost or the key failed.

If the system will not reprogram the key, there is a failure in the system that will need further addresses (key hard failure, immobilizer or PCM ecu failure, wiring issue between them).

Realistically, if there are no outside influences like we discussed, it is likely the key has failed. While it isn't extremely common, it does happen with some frequency.

Yes that would likely do it with the aftermarket key. They are well known for premature failure... and of course if the aftermarket key was never programmed that would be an issue as well.

On the subject of the latter point, it is important to know that the RF signal can be read for about 2 inches from the ignition housing, so if you had both keys on the same key ring, they would most often both start the car even if only one was good (or only one was programmed).

If the keys were on separate rings and one worked for a while and then just stopped, it is likely just a failure of the key... again not uncommon on aftermarket keys.

CUSTOMERS REPLY WITH IS SOLUTION AND HAPPINESS:

 i went next morning and started the car, no problem, took it to the shop then i realize i have been using an after market key, strange, ... but we verified that by starting the car with both keys one original with transponder? and the other( the aftermarket one) so it started with both but then it went off again with the aftermarket one, so i used the original one and went to mitsubishi and got me a brand new one. I have the impression the car seems with more power and the engine does not hesitate, as it sometimes did, ... i am a happy man the car works great previously to going to the mitsubishi dealer the car was serviced and runs like it should ( a little plane ). Thank you for your help. Question why was it working with a different key ( not a mitsubishi one ? ) 

This conversation should do some help to someone facing same issue.

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