2001 Stratus 3.0L V-6 Refuses to Start
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2001 Stratus 3.0L V-6 Refuses to Start
I'll make this as brief as I can:
Car has had code P0403 for the duration of this entire story.
Initially, the alternator failed on this vehicle, confirm tested, and was replaced with a rebuilt alternator. Fully charged new battery was added at same time. Four weeks later, alternator dies again, confirm tested. Replaced again with refurb, along with battery, again. Battery charged before being placed in car.
After second alternator replacement, I am driving the thing from my parents place, where we did the work, to mine. This is about 5 miles at highway speeds until I get into town. After dark, so headlights on.
I get into town, slow down, turn right at an intersection, and car sputters and quits. Wouldn't turn over again, but accessories and head lights were at full brightness. The battery light did not come on until the car sputtered and quit (meaning, basically the light came on like there's an alternator problem, but only a moment before the engine died. I was observing gauge cluster directly when this happened)
I brought another vehicle down and attempted to jump the car. Wouldn't turn over. Left the cables on for about 10 minutes with jumping vehicle running. The car then started and got it a mile up the road and it died as it rolled into my driveway. Would not turn over, again.
It sat for approximately 4 months in this state.
I just had the alternator tested (the one that was in the last time it died on me). It's good. I bought yet another battery, charged it overnight, and installed. Smelled the 1/4 tank of gas to see if it was bad, and it smells like it does right out of the pump at the station (not really a reliable way to check, but call me old fashioned).
Cleared the check engine light from P0403. The car will now turn over full blast, but will not start. It doesn't even act like it wants to start. Observed things are this:
1) Turning the key to the "on" position does not turn on the fuel pump. The relay in the PDC doesn't switch on.
2) Code P0403 produced again, just by turning the engine over
3) Manually pinching the relay in the PDC turns the fuel pump on. You can hear fuel running through lines when this happens. However, attempting to start vehicle with relay manually switched on produced no results (again, it didn't even act like it was about to start). I did not give the engine any gas via peddle during this whole process.
4) All fuses are fine
This is a jigsaw puzzle that probably constitutes a trip to the dealer, but I thought I would ask on here.
1) Why did two alternators go down? Bad luck?
2) It appears that the alternator isn't charging the battery, but the battery holds a charge when placed on a charger
3) Previously, when the battery was charged, the thing would at least start and run until it died. It literally now behaves like I'm trying to start a car with no spark plugs. Did I get the alternator issue corrected, only to have something else involving the fuel system now fail?
At this point, I can't even state that the alternator is or is not charging the battery.
My original plan was to put in a new battery (fully charged), start the car, and drive it around my neighborhood with accessories on to see if it would die on a dead battery, again. Now, I can't even test that because the thing just doesn't want to start.
Car has had code P0403 for the duration of this entire story.
Initially, the alternator failed on this vehicle, confirm tested, and was replaced with a rebuilt alternator. Fully charged new battery was added at same time. Four weeks later, alternator dies again, confirm tested. Replaced again with refurb, along with battery, again. Battery charged before being placed in car.
After second alternator replacement, I am driving the thing from my parents place, where we did the work, to mine. This is about 5 miles at highway speeds until I get into town. After dark, so headlights on.
I get into town, slow down, turn right at an intersection, and car sputters and quits. Wouldn't turn over again, but accessories and head lights were at full brightness. The battery light did not come on until the car sputtered and quit (meaning, basically the light came on like there's an alternator problem, but only a moment before the engine died. I was observing gauge cluster directly when this happened)
I brought another vehicle down and attempted to jump the car. Wouldn't turn over. Left the cables on for about 10 minutes with jumping vehicle running. The car then started and got it a mile up the road and it died as it rolled into my driveway. Would not turn over, again.
It sat for approximately 4 months in this state.
I just had the alternator tested (the one that was in the last time it died on me). It's good. I bought yet another battery, charged it overnight, and installed. Smelled the 1/4 tank of gas to see if it was bad, and it smells like it does right out of the pump at the station (not really a reliable way to check, but call me old fashioned).
Cleared the check engine light from P0403. The car will now turn over full blast, but will not start. It doesn't even act like it wants to start. Observed things are this:
1) Turning the key to the "on" position does not turn on the fuel pump. The relay in the PDC doesn't switch on.
2) Code P0403 produced again, just by turning the engine over
3) Manually pinching the relay in the PDC turns the fuel pump on. You can hear fuel running through lines when this happens. However, attempting to start vehicle with relay manually switched on produced no results (again, it didn't even act like it was about to start). I did not give the engine any gas via peddle during this whole process.
4) All fuses are fine
This is a jigsaw puzzle that probably constitutes a trip to the dealer, but I thought I would ask on here.
1) Why did two alternators go down? Bad luck?
2) It appears that the alternator isn't charging the battery, but the battery holds a charge when placed on a charger
3) Previously, when the battery was charged, the thing would at least start and run until it died. It literally now behaves like I'm trying to start a car with no spark plugs. Did I get the alternator issue corrected, only to have something else involving the fuel system now fail?
At this point, I can't even state that the alternator is or is not charging the battery.
My original plan was to put in a new battery (fully charged), start the car, and drive it around my neighborhood with accessories on to see if it would die on a dead battery, again. Now, I can't even test that because the thing just doesn't want to start.
Amateur
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
How many doors are on your Stratus? Please clarify that, and in the future mention it immediately. This is because the coupe and sedan are COMPLETELY different and only truly share the name, I'm quite certain even the dodge emblem's are different. If it's a coupe I can try to help, but if it's a sedan it's completely different ballgame and someone else will need to help ya.
All Star
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 807
Likes: 9
From: Raleigh, NC
How many doors are on your Stratus? Please clarify that, and in the future mention it immediately. This is because the coupe and sedan are COMPLETELY different and only truly share the name, I'm quite certain even the dodge emblem's are different. If it's a coupe I can try to help, but if it's a sedan it's completely different ballgame and someone else will need to help ya.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
That is correct, 3.0 is a coupe. The 3.0 is totally different. IE: The thermostat is on the lower hose. Only real issue I've ever had is the egr valve, had to replace that at least 4 times since 01. Everything else has been regular maintenance. Car still looks good and the engine still growls.