QuestionHi, looks like you're "the man" on chryslers.
SO..it's a 2.5L 6cyl 96 Sebring.
While driving, it shuts off, guage lights go on, cranks fine but won't fire up. Then after 5 to 20 min. it starts back up. We took it to the dealer to check codes, it needed an upstream oxy sensor (neer $250 for diognostics, part & labor) but it diddn't help. Probably an unrelated problem? They say that's all the eng code diognostic showed and they can't help.
Thanks for your help, Kevin in So Florida
AnswerHi Kevin,
The typical approach to a 'no start' is to determine if you have a spark at the time the engine dies. Take a phillips head screwdriver with a plastic handle and insert the metal tip of it into one of the rubber caps that you can remove from a spark plug (don't pull on the wire, just grasp the cap itself, rotate it back and forth while pulling to free it from the spark plug). Once the tip of the screwdriver is put into the cap so as to touch the wire clip at the bottom of the cap which normally touches the tip of the spark plug, hold the 'assembly' via the plastic handle (for insulation purposes) and position the shaft of the screwdriver about 1/4" from the cylinder head or other metal part of the engine which is in contact with the head or block of the engine which serves as a ground. Then have a helper crank the engine while you observe whether a spark jumps across the gap from the screwdriver shaft to the metal ground point during a 5 second cranking period. See if you get spark for 5 seconds, 1-2 seconds or not at all. Then we can take the next step in diagnosing the no start.
It may be your spark coil or the crank of camshaft sensor, the distributor cap or rotor, but first check whether you have spark. The breakdown then recovery upon cool down is more typical of a solid state detector (like either of the sensors) though a coil can do that also, as can a rotor.
You might also want to re-check the engine controller for any faults it may have observed and stored as two digit code numbers. Try using the ignition key: turn it "on-off-on-off-on" and leave it "on" (doing this quickly, no longer than 5 seconds). 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".
I have the troubleshooting manual for the engine 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.
Roland
