Hi. This happened 3 times to my 1999 Stratus 2.4 in the past month and needs to be addressed. Hopefully someone has some insight to the problem. Occasionally, the car will stall out about 30-45 seconds after it's started. When it happens, the car will then crank fine but not start. After sitting a few hours, the car will start right up as if nothing was ever wrong.

This would be hard for a mechanic to diagnose since it's intermittent. At the same time, the car really can't be driven until I resolve it, because this problem can occur at any time.

Any ideas? Thanks...

 

The Crank Position Sensor is what leaps to mind, but I would expect a code to be thrown and the CEL to turn on.. Can you get any stored codes pulled with a scanner without too much difficulty?

 

Hi Douggro. Thanks for helping me again. I was thinking maybe the crank position sensor as well, although it's only 1 1/2 years old. I had to change it last year because the old one was causing the car to go into limp mode. Also, as far as codes, I've had 0442 evap leak for a few years. Wouldn't be that. I came up with a 0401 EGR System code a while back, but it went away and hasn't returned. I checked this week for anything new, and I only get the 0442.

What I did not do when it stalled is I didn't listen to see if the fuel pump was turning on, which would have helped rule some things out. I may have to wait for it to stall again to help narrow things down.

Is it safe to say that I can rule out the crank position sensor if I'm not getting a code for it?

 

I've had experiences with other Mopar motors that would do something similar because of a replacement cam position sensor that wasn't installed with the spacer shim. There was also a thread on one of the other Dodge forums about a van doing something similar and it turned out to be the fuel pump, even though the pump was audibly engaging - but not providing enough pressure to pass the injectors cleanly.

A fault with the sensors should throw a code or set the CEL. Emphasis on should..

When it drops into the no-start mode, check for spark - an old inductive timing light works well enough for this. Then move to fuel if you're getting spark on all cylinders.

 

Thanks, Douggro. Much appreciated. I'll report back after it repeats the episode and let you know what I find.

 

Hi guys. I have an update, including all the times the problem presented itself from the beginning for this 1999 Stratus:

* Last month: Had an occasion that the car would not start, but cranked. 1 hour later, the car started normally.
* Oct 23: Car shut off 30 seconds after starting. Car started back up normally.

Note: Car has not been driven since this episode.

* Oct 24, 4PM: Car shut off after 30 seconds and would not restart. Did crank. Still would not start at 7PM. Did crank. It DID start normally the next morning.
* Car started normally multiple times since
* Nov 5, 10AM: Car simply would not start. Did crank. I VERIFIED THAT THE FUEL PUMP DID TURN ON. Tried also starting with the remote starter (which we never use). Still no start. Car started normally at 7PM as if nothing happened.

My confusion, obviously, is: What condition existed at 10AM that no longer existed at 7PM? What changed between 10AM and 7PM?

Hopefully this narrows it down a bit as to possibilities and where to start with this? Thanks!

 

We can safely assume that the remote start unit is aftermarket, right? It's now a prime suspect. Aftermarket remote start units have proven to be a major source of unreliability, especially as they get older.

Be that as it may, you could still have a fault in the wiring or the PDC that's causing the crank/no-start condition. These are absolute buggers to track down when they are sporadic, as in your case. Something is de-energizing the RUN portion of the electrical to the ignition system - figuring out what it is, oiy!

 

Indeed, Douggro. I would actually prefer if the car would remain in a "no start" condition for a better shot at diagnosing this. I can't drive a car that at any unknown time will not start for a few hours.

Someone else labeled the remote starter as a prime suspect. I don't know if it's aftermarket, as I am not the original owner. I always assumed that it came with the car. We use it only to lock and unlock the doors. For whatever it's worth, it's a Viper.

Many years ago I had a similar intermittent problem with a Grand Am. It turned out the coil packs needed to be replaced. Or the ECM...I forget which. Does the 1999 Stratus even have these components?

 

The 2.4L does indeed have a coil pack. Coil packs generally fail in one of two ways: a hard-fail where the unit just flat-out dies and is non-functional, or they drop to a degraded state where they don't generate enough power to fire the plugs efficiently and you have runability issues. I'd put coil failure as a low-probability cause for your issue.

The PCM is mounted right next to the PDC (fuse center) under the hood. It's rare that these fail, but it does happen. But I'd still rate this as a low-probability with your condition and hold off replacing it until it becomes a last-resort proposition.

Viper is an aftermarket alarm/electronics vendor, so the remote start is indeed not original equipment. The car most likely came already equipped with the RKE (Remote Keyless Entry) and they tied that into the Viper system to have a unified remote for the door locks and remote start function. Given the complexity of the electronics already present in the car, it (the Viper unit) is a prime suspect.

Do you have the electrical diagrams for the car? I have the factory CSM diagrams if you need them.

 

Thank you, Douggro, for being so thorough. I have the factory service manual, and I'm fairly certain I've seen the electrical diagrams in there.

Would you recommend having the Viper completely disabled? And how difficult would that be to do?