Chrysler Repair: 2002 T&C Chrysler Van stalls, restarts after a few minutes, state sensor, engine controller

Question
During the past year, the van engine totally dies while either at iddle or while driving.  The RPM needle goes to zero.  The electrical seems to continue to work.  I can restart after a couple of minutes.  Any ideas on the cause.

Answer
Hi Robert,
The die then restart after a few minutes is a characteristic of a failing solid state sensor that handles the spark timing by looking at a the camshaft and the crankshaft. That is an 'electrical' issue, but unless you have verified that you have spark when it refuses to start I would not dismiss this as the cause. The balance of the electrical can be OK, but if you have a failing sensor it means no spark.  It is possible that a fault code has been recorded by the engine controller. If there is an Autozone Parts store near you go in for a free readout of the memory of the engine controller and try to get any 4-digit fault numbers and what they say it means. Then write back and we can go from there. Other than that, the egr valve might be sticking, but that generally produces rough idle or inability to start.
So try and get a code readout, and if you have a spare spark plug on board and a helper to try the starter, you could pull one of the spark caps off a spark plug the next time this happens, put the spare spark plug in the cap and hold the assembly by the rubber insulator with the threads of the spark plug touching the cylinder head (for an electrical ground). Then have the helper crank the starter while you watch the gap of the plug to see if you do or don't have a spark that lasts for 5 seconds of cranking.
Roland