95(?) 2.5L Stalls When Warm

[baumbr]

The engine runs fine until it warms up, and then shuts down. It can be restarted almost immediately and will run for a minute or so and then shut down again. Shut down appears to coincide with the radiator fan relay and the a/c clutch relay activating (both must activate for the fan to run, a really "duh" Chrysler idea). Sometimes it will continue to run if given enough gas.

Inspected sensor electrical connections, all appear good. Replaced primary vacuum hoses and T connectors (the plastic connectors broke when I was pulling hoses for inspection). Still have a vacuum leak in the heater/ac control that I'm trying to locate, I can hear a hissing under the dash near the driver's side. However this leak has never affected the engine before. Other vacuum connections look good. Re-gapped plugs to .035, replaced plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. New air cleaner and cleaned injector. New fuel filter and injector cleaner into the tank.

I suspect that something is activating the Automatic Shutdown Relay by going out of range when it gets warm. Likely suspects are the crank position sensor, the cam shaft position sensor and the distributor sensor.

Any suggestions before I go shotgunning parts into this thing? Is it safe to jumper across the Auto Shutdown Relay?

[baumbr]

I found the solution to the stalling problem.

In the 2.5L non-turbo engine only the ignition module (distributor sensor) has a direct influence on the auto shutdown relay. The Haynes manual has to be read very carefully to discover this fact. There is no cam shaft or crank shaft position sensor on this engine.

I replaced the ignition module (distributor sensor or hall effect transducer) which is located under the rotor in the distributor and all is well.

Cost: $55.00 at the dealer, $47.00 at the local Parts Plus store.

[baumbr]

OK, well it ran fine until this morning (8/23/05). New symptoms are: while driving at any speed it feels like the engine is going down to low idle and the transmission into pause/neutral mode. Sometimes, usually with enough momentum, the engine will rev back up and the transmission will kick back into drive. Many times after coasting in this low idle/neutral condition the engine will stall, even after manually shifting to neutral. After sitting for a minute it will usually, but not always, restart and run for awhile.

Any ideas? Injector? Fuel pump? Computer? Something wierd?

[theFREAKnasty82]

how old is your air filter? that could be clogged/clogging or you may have vapor lock in your fuel lines, common for an engine that gets up to temp especially if it's 90+ degrees outside.

[baumbr]

Thanks for the reply.
The air filter is new, only 4 days operation on it before the problem reappeared.
Fuel lines may be vapor locking, our temps in the lower valleys have been 90+, however the problem reappeared early in the morning at 7,000 feet (Park City, UT) and about 65 degrees outside.
To clarify the symptoms, even though this car is an automatic the sensation is very much like pushing in the clutch and letting off the gas and coasting with a manual transmission (except for the stallling part).

[baumbr]

Well, we can probably close this thread. I sold the car to a person who thinks his mechanic can sort it out. Just as well, we didn't need 6 cars around the house. We're now down to 4 after donating another one to the Lung Association.

Remaining cars? 80 Ford Bronco 4x4, 91 Chev S-10 Blazer 4x4, 92 Geo Tracker 4x4, 98 Ford Windstar Van with a blown transmission. (We live in snow country.)

So what is a car enthusiast anyway???