Chrysler Repair: 1995 Chrysler Cirrus 2.5 engine V6 loosing power, chrysler cirrus, 1995 chrysler cirrus

Question
Ok NO ONE can figure this out so HELP PLEASE!  I have a 1995 Chrysler Cirrus 2.5 engine LXI 6 cylinder (Japanese model?) - from what I hear CHrysler did funky stuff with these cars in 1995.  I can be driving my car and at anytime (mostly when driving VS sitting still.. it will LOOSE ALL POWER -sometimes it will restart if I give it a while but sometimes it wont.. I just took it to a shop to have diagnostics test my car and he said it is showing my O2 sensor and he checked them and they are fine but it is not reading anything else... But my O2 sensor would not be making my car do that-- he said.  So he told me to drive it and it will just have to tear up before he can tell what it is..  It does not have to be hot to do this .. it can do it early in the drive or after i have been driving for 30 min. it doesnt seem to matter.   REPAIRS - My car has had a few things fixed on it this summer... water pump (?)(thermostat water) ... and since he had take off several belts, etc -- we decided to put on NEW what was taken off OLD...replaced timing belt. ac belt.. etc..-- then had a starter problem.. fixed that.. Then they replaced my fuel pump and filter...I am telling you this just in case any of these relates to my car problem now...  

Answer
Hi Lynn,
The 2.5L V-6 is not Japanese (that one was the 3.0L V-6). It was the first year of that 2.5L however. I don't know of anything funky though.
I suspect that your intermittant problem may be due to the ignition system, perhaps one of the two sensors that detect the position of the crank and the cam shaft so as to time the spark. But a problem with one of those would set a code (an 11 or a 54). Nonetheless, the best thing to do is to have a spare spark plug with you and then when the car dies to remove one of the rubber spark plug connector caps located on the valve cover closest to the front of the car (there are 3); turn the rubber boot 1/2 turn and pull straight back out of the cover. Once the connector comes out insert the spare plug and hold the assembled plug and rubber fitting by the rubber but positioned so that the metal threads of the test spark plug are firmly in contact with the engine head or similar metal surface of the engine block. Then recruit a helper to use the ignition key to crank the starter motor. You would watch to see whether or not you are getting a spark jumping across the gap at the tip of the plug. You would then know if the problem is likely due to the ignition system (no spark) or the fuel system (spark present). You should try this self-diagnosis procedure at home using an old spark plug that is for the car engine (or buy a new one specifically for your car though they are a bit expensive because they are supposed to last for 100,000 miles, mainly because the ones at the rear valve cover are a major effort to replace, unfortunately).
That way you can be sure that you are doing it correctly when the need arrises. When you remove the rubber cap, use a tool to get around and under it rather than pulling on the rubber wire which would likely damage the wire's connection to the rubber cap and internal contact.
The other thing to do is to regularly test the engine controller memory for the appearance of new fault codes. You can do this yourself with the ignition key:
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".
Let me know if anything other than a 55 is present or shows up and we'll take it from there. You will want to do the test of the engine with the spark plug when it won't start because that is very useful for diagnosing what could be the problem at the time it is actually present.
Roland