98 stratus 4 cyl check engine light

[Dave2]

Hello,
I need some advice before I shade tree myself into a jam.
The check engine light is on in the car. I think I just need to reset it and drive until it comes on again (heard someone say that once), but not sure if I'll hurt anything.

My wife drives the car daily about 15-20 miles with about 5 miles being in town so uses about a tank (+/- a little) of gas a month. The temperature has fluctuated quite a bit since her last fillup and she's too hard headed to keep the car full, and I believe there is/was moisture in the tank. She said that just before the last fillup that the car was sputtering sometimes. Everytime I'd try it, it was fine. This went on until 2 weeks ago and it acted up a little for me, then was fine for a few days. We had to put it in the shop because of the oil seal on the camshaft and had the timing belt and serpintine/idlers replaced while it was apart. It sat for a week in the same type of weather. When we picked it up, the sputtering was a little more noticeable, so I figured it was the gas for sure (1/4 tank now). We filled a can with fresh gas and started on a drive with the idea of running the car completely out of gas and starting fresh.

Problem is, as we got closer to the bottom, the sputtering got worse. Just before we ran out the car bogged a little and the check engine light flashed a couple of times, it picked up and ran fine for a couple of miles and did the same thing. Then just before it was clear empty, flashed again and stayed on, and the car was out of gas.
Put the new gas in and the car started and ran fine, we filled up and it has been fine, but the check engine light is still on. Someone said once (about an older car) to disconnect the battery cable for a few seconds and it would reset the system, if there was a pronlem, the light would come on again and you should head for the shop.

Any suggestions? We just finished up a long trip with no problems.

Thanks,

Dave

[neon_rt]

You should have drained the tank and had a new fuel filter put in, instead of running it dry. Almost anytime you run these out of gas the fuel pump is damaged. The pump is in the tank and relies on the fuel for cooling and lubricant. Even if the car is running OK now, if you start having problems with stalling, failure to start or lack of power, I would have the pump checked out first. Running a tank dry until it quits can be a $600 mistake.

[Dave2]

Thanks. Got off easy this time. Turned out to be just the spark plugs. I took it to the same guy that worked on it last week and he proved to be an honest Joe (Fritz in this case). Cost me 60 bucks for parts and labor and runs great again.

Thanks, Dave