Question1996 CHRSYLER SEBRING LX. V6 2.5 24 VALVE 102,289 MILES... ENGINE CUTS OUT IN MOTION.THEN NO SPARK,OR INJECTOR PULSE.WAIT A WHILE,THEN STARTS. LIKE IT HAS TO COOL? COIL? I CAN HEAR THE FUEL PUMP TURN ON BUT NO SPARK.IT SEEMS IT TAKES LONGER NOW TO START THEN LAST WEEK.THING IS ON THOSE CARS,WELL ALEAST MINE YOU HAVE TO GET THE WHOLE ECM.. ANY THOUGHTS?
AnswerHi Mark,
The lack of spark and injector pulse tells me it is not the spark coil (which is built-in to the distributor) but rather something more fundamental, such as the crankshaft sensor that is flakey and is failing when it gets hot, then recovers with cool down. That is a common sort of failure symptom for these solid state units. You can check for whether the ecm has detected such a failure as corroboration: The most useful thing to do would be to try to get the fault codes that may stored in the engine controller memory to readout. Try using the ignition key: turn it "on-off-on-off-on" and leave it "on" (doing this quickly, no longer than 5 seconds). By "on" I mean just the normal position when the engine is running, not the cranking position. The 'check engine'light will remain on when you leave the key in the "on" position with the engine still not running. But then watch the 'check engine' light to begin flashing, then pause, flashing, pause, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause and keep track of the numbers. Repeat the readout and verify the counts are correct. Then group them in pairs in the order that they came out, thus forming two digit numbers. You may notice that the pause is shorter between the digits of a given number, and longer between the numbers themselves. Then send me a 'follow-up' question telling me the results of your readout. By the way, 55 will be the last number (two groups of 5 flashes each) and that is the code for "end of readout". The code for the crankshaft sensor signal being absent is 11.
I have the troubleshooting manual for the '95 Sebring and we can look up the possibilities of what is wrong based upon what fault codes you show. There is also an essay on fault codes at the site:
http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
which gives the meaning of the code numbers. But then you need to get specific info for what exactly might be the diagnostic tests or parts to replace to complete the repair.
So that is my initial suggestion. It could be the ASD relay or something else in the circuit that powers both the spark and the injectors, but the main suspect is that crankshaft sensor. It is possible also to check the output pulsing of the sensor using a voltmeter with the ignition set to run and using a socket and ratchet handle on the pulley bolt to turn the engine over by hand. The voltage on the black/green (or black/gray) wire should pulse between 8 and about 0.3V if the sensor were working. But if you get a code 11 that will be definitive.
Let me know if this is not helpful and we'll try some other tests. But if it hasn't been coded the tests will have to be done at the time the engine is shut down and refuses to start.
Roland
