Chrysler Repair: Chrysler Cirrus dies out:, then recovers: 2.5L V-6, crankshaft pulley, pulley bolt

Question
have a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus.  When I am driving it will sometimes dies out, It tends to start right up, exept for 1 time that it took 5 minutes to start.  The check engine light has never came on.  The electrical power stays on.  The scanner reveals no trouble codes.

I've heard of possible camsensor problems, but mine is built into the distributor & costs about $1000.

Any ideas on how to track this down before dumping money into parts?

Answer
Hi Serge,
That sort of behavior is symptomatic of a failing ignition sensor but it would be good to know which one so you don't waste your money. There is a cam and a crank sensor on the engine. Next time it happens if you have a spare spark plug and a passenger with you try removing one of the spark plug caps off (don't pull on the wire, however) and put in the spare plug. Then hold the insultion on the cap and place the plug threads against the cylinder head while the passenger tries to start it. See if you get spark for a full 5 second crank or not. That would indicate whether the issue was or wasn't a sensor. You might also get a code readout promptly at a shop or even for free at an Autozone Parts store, because if this only happens rarely the code will self-erase after 50 or so successful starts.
You could also bring along a voltmeter and a wrench for the crankshaft pulley bolt,  and check for whether the sensors are putting out signals when the engine won't start. The tan/yellow wire on pin 3 of the six pin plug at the distributor is the cam signal wire which you can probe with a pin, and probe the black/light blue wire on pin 1. Then place a voltmeter between the pins and with the ignition in the run position turn the engine by hand and watch for a variation in voltage between 5 and 0.3V several times for each full rotation of the engine. Similarly check the crank sensor (gray/black and black/light blue wires) located at the rear of the engine near the seam.
There is a chance that the computer is set up to readout fault codes via the odometer window. So try the ignition key:"on-off-on-off-on and leave no" doing that in 5 seconds or less. Then see if the odometer shows any new 4 digit numbers. The crank sensor fault code is 0320 and the cam sensor fault code is 0340.
I hope that one of these approaches will help you verify what is the exact cause of your problem without having to throw money at parts.
Roland