Chrysler Repair: 00 Sebring stalling while driving., chrysler sebring coupe, spark plug wires

Question
Hi, I have a 2000 Chrysler Sebring Coupe LXi that has been stalling while driving for the past few months. It started out very innocently, stalling once right after I'd started it but starting up again right away. I thought it was a one-time-only thing, but from there it's gotten worse and worse. I don't drive very often, but it's stalled on me at least 4 times since and now it will crank and crank but not turn over after it's stalled. Frustratingly enough, as soon as the tow truck arrives, it starts up no problem! I still have power when it stalls (lights on, radio on) so it's not the battery. I took it into the Chrysler dealership after it stalled one night and they scanned it but didn't find anything. They also had it running all day and couldn't get it to stall, so they just gave it back to me as-is. Needless to say, it kept stalling so I took it to a different mechanic, who also scanned it with no results and took it for an hour drive and it didn't stall once. He thought that it might be the fuel pump, so we replaced that and it ran fine for a few days, but stalled again a few days ago. It's now back at the mechanic's, but he hasn't been able to get it to stall yet! It seems to me that it's some kind of short that happens when the car gets hot, but once the car cools down, it starts back up again. What do you think this could be? I don't have the money to keep throwing needless new parts at it, so need to get to the bottom of this. Any advice you might have would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Sarah,
You need to test for the presence/absence of spark to the spark plug wires when the engine has stalled and won't restart. All you do is open the hood, pull off one of the spark plug wires (pull by the rubber cap not by the wire itself) carry along a long screwdriver with a plastic handle, then insert the tip of the screwdriver in the cap that you removed so the tip goes all the way down to touch the wire at the bottom of the hole, then hold the cap and the screwdriver by its plastic handle and position the assembly 1/4" from a nearby part of the engine, such as the metal top of the engine called the cylinder head. Get anyone around to help you by having them try to start the car, and while they are cranking the starter see if you get a blue spark to jump across the 1/4" gap or not.
You could also go to a parts store and buy a spark plug-like device that you insert into the cap that you removed, and you clamp it to the cylinder head (a bolt or something metal on the engine), and then have a helper crank while you watch for the spark to jump across the gap of the 'spark plug test tool'. The screwdriver approach is a little less elegant but is free.
The reason for doing all this is that if you don't have spark then you would suspect that one of the two engine position sensors has failed (temporarily due to its getting hot) but not so badly as to set a scannable fault code. Then you can go on from there to determine which one to replace.
If you do have spark, then it has to be something related to the fuel mixture, but at least you will have focussed the issue.
If this is a 2.5L V-6 it may also be the case that the part inside the distributor called the rotor is similarly failing when it gets hot and that you could test as well with a volt-ohm meter, or by simply replacing it (not too expensive a part). This is less likely but I wanted to mention it.
Those engine sensors tend to fail in just the way that you describe the symptoms. Usually they set a code, but there is a failure degree threshold that has to be met.
That is my suggestion. You could try to test for spark when the engine will start, just to test this out and to prove to yourself that you can tell if the spark has failed the next time it happens.
Roland
PS you can write back via the "thank/rate" tab if you want to ask any further questions without having to wait for me to be "available".

Thank you so much for the info! I think I might get one of my guy friends to do the whole screwdriver thing, as I'm scared I might electrocute myself if I try it, but I will definitely get someone to do it. Thank you for getting back to me so fast, I really appreciate it. The sensors you mention are they the crankshaft and camshaft sensors??


Hi Sarah,
Thanks for the nomination. The trick is that the test has to be done when the engine is in the "stalled" condition, so unless you plan to carry a guy friend with you on all your trips it would be good to be able to do the test on your own. You will need to recruit a local to try the starter for you, while you observe for spark. So the little spark plug with clip might be the answer as it is "hands off" with no risk of a jolt.
Yes the sensors which fail and then spontaneously recover are those two sensors. And of course when either one does that is the end of the spark, temporarily. The crank is under $100, but the cam can be from $300-800 depending upon from whom you buy it. So you don't want to 'throw' these parts at the engine in hopes... If you center in on the spark as the cause, then you can test each sensor with a voltmeter to see which one is not putting out a good enough signal at that time.
If you can put up with the failures, sooner or later a code will be set, if my theory is correct.
Roland