Hi,
I have a 1998 Dodge Avenger ES and I am having some really bad problems. I am 16 years old , I go to school and work and it's hard to do without my car... ANY suggestions are appreciated. I have had someone replace my fuel pump and fuel filter. I have a good battery. My problem is that while driving down the road or while Idling it will just shut off on me... It loses RPM's.Sometimes when it shuts off it will crank back up by itself that is if im going down the road. Once it goes dead sometimes I have to let it sit for like 10 minutes or more but then it eventually cranks back up, but sometimes it goes dead again after that. If I let it Idle and it goes dead I can crank it right back up!!! I dont have any idea what to do about this. If anyone has had the same problems or knows what to do about it then I would appreciate a response. One time when it went dead at an idle i was able to check for spark at the plug wire it had no spark but before i could continue checking things it started sparking and started up. At this time it wont die long enough to check the distributor or other electrical components.
Thanks,
Scotty

 

You may be having a crank postition sensor (CPS) issue. A lot of Avenger/Sebrings have this issue at some point
..and it looks like this..

Be careful of how it is installed though. The paper spacer is very important and it can determine whether installation is successful or not.
Price for the CPS ranges anywhere from ~$50-$100+, all depending on where you get it. You just have to shop around the internet and local autoparts stores.

Please check everything else first...spark, fuel, power. Check your fuses, relays, and connections. On the firewall, there are a set of relays that can also affect start or no start. Your fuel pump relay and ASD relay are on that set of relays. I would suggest getting a Haynes/Chiltons manual also.
Turn your key to the ACC position...can you hear the fuel pump prime? How hot is it where you are? is your thermostat getting hot looking at the gauge?
Do your normal quick and easy checks for fuel and spark. I'll post more when I think of more and/or find more info for you, but we'll start there.


...and welcome to DF.

 

Last thing you'd want to replace is the distributor because it's a pretty penny for one. Do check the points and the rotor though. The points on a distributor can be taken care of and the rotor is inexpensive. Again, check the three possibilities first and work out from there.

 

Oh yeah. Do the key dance to get any troublecodes too.
- turn ignition to the ACC postition 3 times and on the third time keep it on ACC...immediately look at where the check engine light (CEL) is and count how many times it blinks. It will blink and give you two sets of numbers....it will blink for the first, then pause, then blink again for the second. It may repeat, in any case, jot the numbers down. The last set will be a set of fives = 5, space, 5 or 55 which means it's done pulling codes.

I think I need to make a FAQ with this info on it.

 

Can't key dance a 98 ... have to take it in to Autozone or such.

 

Oh yeah...damn you DCX.
If you plan on keeping the car, you may want to invest in a decent code reader too. They aren't as costly as they used to be, but they're still not cheap either. They are still worth it though if you plan on keeping the car.

 

OK i have the same problem except it is in a 99 avenger. same V6 tho. I have replaced the TPS, the ECM and the IAC valve. I have also checked almost every other sensor in the area and basically torn down the throttle body to try and figure this out. The car ran fine forever until one day on the ride home from work it kind of bucked when i let off the gas going down a hill. after that i noticed it everyday. A few months later the car stalled going throgh a parking lot and has been a complete pain ever since. The last thing my mechanic did was remove the IAC weather it be the motor or the valve and place tape over it and test it. The car didn't stall at all. We then thought we figured out the mystery so we got the iac valve today and replaced it and the car didn't stall on him when he finished working on it or when he dropped it off to me. Then of course as soon as I leave work tonight to bring a buddy of mine home wouldn't you know it it stalls in front of his house....... Please help if you have any other ideas. I have read in other forums that it can be the CPS(crank possitioning sensor) but how would that work considering the car starts and idles fine and only stalls when accelleration stops, wouldn't a flaw in this sensor make the car run offf at all times???? Thanks again.. Please help!!!!!!!! I just got my car back today after a month and a week without it and it is back on the disabled list....

 

Also secondly as no one has posted earlier the car doesn't spit a code out or a check engine light. Another wierd thing is that the handheld computer, i think its an alldata? when plugged into the car while driving acts normal and reads but once the car starts to stall it goes blank like it isn't plugged in. wierd huh?....... Nest the hand held is "unable to communicate with the EGR and the IAC, thus making us relace the IAC which temporarilly fixed the problem. Another wierd thing i noticed is that when accelerating now that this problem has come out is that when you take off it feels like you are holding the brakes at all times too. This makes me want to look into the transfer case modules, which in a sense could be slowing the motor on deceleration thus confusing the car by hitting the brakes from inside the tranny connections causeing the motor to bind up and shut off. Please help if anyone has any ideas or I may just have to bring it to dodge and have them rape me to probably not tell me anything.

Thanks for your time and please help if you can

 

well i replaced the distributor and that didnt help at all grrrr l...... but i hadnt drove it for about a mont hand today i got in it and it drove a little and it didnt go dead at all .

 

The descriptions of your problems sound exact to what I’m experiencing. Did anyone ever find resolution for this problem?