my car wont run anymore. it died on the interstate

[Master ACiD]

so i have a 96 dodge stratus. everything was going along just cricket and then it lost all power. no abnormal noises, it just lost power. i pulled over and the engine was dead. it wouldnt start, but it would crank.

spark is good. compression is good. put 2 gallons of gas in the tank to rule out a bad tank gauge or sending unit.

i figured out its a fuel issue because if i pull the fuel line off the injection rail, it just spits out AIR with a few drops of gas. but mostly air. i checked the pressure with a gauge and it goes up to 40psi, but its only air in the fuel line. how weird... i put a few more gallons in and it still spits out only air with a few drops of gas.

so im thinking the fuel pump strainer must have gotten knocked off somehow. or something else messed up inside the tank.

what do you guys think? drop the tank and have a look see?

 

[Master ACiD]

strange! i just went out there and tried to start it. it fan fine! i even drove around the neighborhood got up to 35. it fan perfectly normal. check engine light isnt even on.
earlier on the interstate it wouldnt even start. i had to get it towed 60 miles home.

 

[hone eagle]

heat affect on fuel pump,just a wild guess-low fuel gets hotter than a full tank?
Iam old enuff to remember vapour lock.

 

[Chris142]

I 2nd the fuel pump

 

[K-Man]

Check anything that acts to filter the fuel in the system. Chrysler products the age of yours have issues with fuel filters. When I worked in corrections, we had a number of mid-'90s Dodge vans for transporting inmates, and more than once we had two at a time dead because of clogged fuel filters.

Being able to start your Stratus after it sits tells me it's more likely to be the filter than the fuel pump itself, as after sitting a while, debris will settle temporarily in a clogged filter and allow some fuel flow again—at least briefly, until the junk gets stirred up again. I'll bet you won't be able to drive it too far before it dies again. That will confirm it. Usually if a fuel pump fails, that's it—it doesn't work again, even briefly. (A bad connection to the pump might be a different matter, but check the simple stuff first.)

 

[Master ACiD]

it could be a filter, the pump i just dont know. the cars got 180K on as far as i know the original filter and pump.

tomorrow ill drop the tank and have a look.

i did check for a bad pump connection when i was stranded on the road. i removed the fuel pump relay and jumpered the pump on with a paperclip. i could hear the pump kick on and stay on. even with the pump running continously, i couldnt get the engine to start.

and that doesnt explain the air in the fuel lines.

 

[mechtech2]

Could have been a vapor lock of some sort, but the pump or pickup should be looked at.

 

[PRND3L]

If it's not your fuel system, I vote check your alternator & battery.

 

[bar1]

Does that car have cam and/or crank hall effect sensor?
They often fail when hot and work again when cold.

 

[Rickey]

Often enough giving the fuel tank a sharp lick with a piece of wood or other suitable object will get a worn out in tank pump started again.
This trick got me home once.

Rickey.

 

[alanu]

If you jump the relay and the pump runs I'm banking that theres an autoshutdown relay in the newer dodge product. I can say since I dont have my mitchell shop program at home.

On many dodge products if theres not crank or cam signal the ASD will not turn the fuel pump and ignition system. I wonder if a fusible link has fried.

I've had the same car die intermittently before and the computer on the drivers front side was NFG. Replaced it and it worked like a charm. Problem with dodge is that theres ____ body computers and engine computer. If the body computer has a factory alarm system it must be matched with the proper engine computer.

sometimes heat will cause the crank or cam sensor to fail. This is when you spray cold water on it to see if you get a waveform again.

Get the car scanned before you start being a parts swapper.

 

[ThirdeYe]

My mom had this happen to her car not too long ago and it was indeed the fuel pump.

 

[Win]

Fuel pump is shot.