Hi. yesterday while driving, my stratus started sputtering pretty bad. i shut it off and it started right back up and would sputter if i gave it any gas. it ran and drove fine with out giving it any gas so i took it to a nearby shop who told me it needed plugs and an ox sensor. problem is i just did an entire tune up april of 2011. i went to pick up my car from the shop and now it wont start at all. it will turn over fine but wont start. any suggestions would be greatly appreiciated. thanks

 

Sounds like your fuel pump died on you. Its under the bottom of the rear seat

 

I thought that too.. How hard would it be to change that out, you think ?

 

Its a complete unit, and is secured with 4 bolts. Piece of cake.

 

You might give this a try!! Check the fuse for the fuel pump! Find the fuel pump relay if your car has one, place your finger on it and have someone crank the eng over, you should feel a click!! Some thing else you might try is have someone crank the car while you beat on the bottom of the fuel tank, sometime this will make moter brushs make contact that are worn out, and the pump will start spinning again!

 

Even easier, swap a relay with another one (they're all the same!). So you won't have wipers or high beams, but the pump will work if the relay is at fault. Than just replace the faulty relay. Assuming that it is a relay that's not working...

 

Thanks, im gonna try the fuse and relay first. hopefully one of those will fix the problem

 

You also need to make sure you have spark!!!! You just had all this work done, maybe those guys didnt plug something in tight.

 

Okay, so now im even more lost. I wen t to check the fuse and relay but then i couldnt find my owners manual to identify the rught ones. I have 2 fuse panels, one under the hood and one to the lefdt of the steering column and both are kinda vague. I called the dealer and he told me [it looked like] the relay[s] for the fuel pump are located next to the steering column and are numbers 1,2 but the panel indicator shows that 1 is for the radio and 2 is an enmpty spot. dead end. Also, more problems seem to have come some how. i put the key in and tried to start it and it wouldnt turn over, instead it just made a studdering, clicking noise. Also, when i shifted the car [without it running] in reverse and drive it made a high pitched buzzing noise that would last for almost 3 seconds. HELP NEEDED AND APPRECIATED

 

Also, does anyone know exactly which fuse and relay i should be looking for? Or does anyone know where i can download the owners manual for free? The car is a 02 status r/t 3.0