Chrysler Repair: 98 Sebring LXi will die after a few seconds., sebring lxi, chrysler sebring

Question
hey. i have a 98 Chrysler Sebring lxi. It's had many problems, but mainly most of them have been fixed. We've had a transmission, battery, distributor, starter censor, and who knows what else. haha. well i was about to leave for school the other morning, and it cranked up, like normal, and about 4 seconds or so later, it cut off? and it does that every time it cranks. it'll crank up right now then cut off so many seconds later. what could it be?

Answer
Hi Kasey,
That sounds like the anti-theft system wasn't disarmed the last time you got in the car. It could be that the wire between the door lock and the body computer is "open" for example. I would try to lock, then unlock the passenger side door. Usually there is a small light on the dash that tells you the status of the system. There are also other components that may be faulty but unfortunately I have the '2000 manual which may not be identical to your '98. But let me know what happens.
Another possibility is a problem with the mixture or spark. Try turning the ignition key "on-off-on-off-on" and leave on, doing that in 5 seconds or less. Then watch the odometer window on the cluster to see if it changes to show a four-digit number(s). If that doesn't work, try holding the trip reset button in, then insert the key and try to start the car. Then releast the reset button and again check the odometer window. Let me know if you get any numbers.

Roland