Chrysler Repair: ENGINE NOT FIRING, spark coils, engine controller

Question
MY 1998 SEBRING LXI 2.5 6 CYL. CAR DIED THE OTHER DAY A WORK, IT WAS RUNNING FINE GOING TO WORK BUT AT LUNCH TIME IT WOULD NOT START. IT SEEMS TO TURN OVER GOOD BUT IT DOES NOT SEEM TO WANT TO FIRE,IT HAS 97000 MILES ON IT, THERE WAS NO ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT ON. IT SEEMS TO ME IT MIGHT BE ELEC.

Answer
Hi Rick,
As my biography states I am not too familiar with the post '95 cars or their engines. For example when you sasy a 2.5L engine I think of a straight 4 cyl (like in my '89 LeBaron) rather than a V-6. I suspect though that there are enough similarities in their function that I may be able to help you. Chrysler typically has an on-board readout capability for the engine controller, and that controller will recognize faults that are causing the engine not to run or to run poorly. The common way to access the coded faults is to take your ignition key and go: off-on-off-on-off-on within 5 seconds, and leave it in the 'on' position which is where it would be if the engine were running normally. Then notice for the "check engine" light to begin to flash, pause, flash, pause, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause, write down or make a mental note of the numbers of flashes. The last two sets of flashes will be 5 in each. Then pair up the numbers as they came out to form two-digit numbers; thus the last set of numbers will form a 55, which is the code for "end of readout".
Either write me back, or go to www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html
for a list of the meaning of anyother codes that come out. You should repeat the readout to make sure you have the numbers of flashes exactly correct so as not to get a false code. The numbers should be in serial order.
That will give us a start on analyzing your no start situation. Tell me a bit more about your engine: does it have a distributor or does it instead have several spark coils and sensors built-in to the engine block near the flywheel? Often a no start is due to a loss of the signal from the distributor or rotational sensor which is needed to time the spark, and for safety against fires there is a relay (autoshutdown) that shut off the spark and fuel pump in that event.
A code 11 usually is the sign of that in an engine with a distributor, other codes apply to the other type of sensors.
So let me know what you find, and we'll go from there.
I won't be around for the first half of the afternoon (PST) so if you don't get back before I leave I'll respond later this afternoon.
Roland