1995 Chrysler Sebring Car will not start

Tiny
ETSQUARE2
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 CHRYSLER SEBRING
  • 120,000 MILES
Just had my fuel filter replaced a month or so ago because of slight hesitation. I still have a slight hesitation but now car will not start (turns over though). This has happen before. I am thinking I have a bad fuel pump? Since the pump is located under rear seat, how much should it cost to repair at a shop in FL Panhandle vs. DIY?
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 AT 8:00 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,859 POSTS
There's a lot of things that can cause a crank, but failure to start. Don't start with the least common and most expensive one. Also, other than on a diesel truck, you will never solve a running problem on a Chrysler product by replacing the fuel filter. They typically last the life of the vehicle unless they get so old they start to leak from rust.

What do you mean by " this has happen before"? Do you mean sometimes it won't start but sometimes it will, meaning we're looking for an intermittent problem, or you had a crank but no-start before that was diagnosed and repaired? If so, what was the solution?

You should hear the hum of the fuel pump for one second after turning on the ignition switch. If you do, the pump is working and is not the cause of the no-start. Have you checked for spark while cranking the engine? Have you checked for diagnostic fault codes?

We don't get involved with repair costs here because there's way too many variables. We don't even know what is needed yet.
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 AT 8:22 PM
Tiny
ETSQUARE2
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Sorry for insufficient info caradiodoc, Yes, this is an intermittent issue and no repair has been done. The problem never stays. Last time it happened, I let it sit and the next day it started up. Another time I was driving to class and it just went dead (it wasn't idling well either, sorta spurting). Left it park and walked to campus and came back and it started right up. Mechanic says he can't repair it since the problem hasn't been duplicated when in the shop. Lastly, the car was bought from a seller in IL, and the car is a little rusty under the hood leading some mechanics to not want to work on it. If I can get it to a shop while inop, maybe it will be a bad relay or something.
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 AT 8:42 PM
Tiny
ETSQUARE2
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Also, I did get a mil code of 21 (heated upstream oxygen sensor). I replace one senor that I could see Pic enclosed. Check engine light hasn't come on as much. It has been off for sometime.
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 AT 8:59 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,859 POSTS
Hahahahahahahahahaha. Ohhh! Sorry; let me catch my breath. I've heard of mechanics in Washington who would not do a brake job on a car because there was a little surface rust on the gas tank, and they had never seen that before. I live in Wisconsin, the road salt capital of the world, and my daily driver is an '88 Dodge Grand Caravan that is so rusty there's barely anyplace left to lift it on a hoist without the body folding up like a road map. I love this van and would never give it up for anything newer. I just got back from a road trip to Detroit, Ohio, and Indianapolis and on that entire two-day trip I only saw two vans like mine still on the road. Even those in a salvage yard I visited had less rust than mine had ten years ago. I'd love to see a mechanic in your area move to Wisconsin and be told to work on a car like mine. If he thinks your car has a little rust so he won't work on it, he wouldn't work on anything here except one-year-old cars. I'd love to head south and find a van with "a little rust". We call those "like new" up here.

One of the things you can look at is where the two smaller battery wires bolt to the under-hood fuse box and to the body. Be sure both of those are tight.
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 AT 9:43 PM
Tiny
ETSQUARE2
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Will try that. Btw, I did hear the fuel pump engage. Also, the majority of the time I have this issue is after a rain. It doesn't always happens, but sometimes. I just never know when it will not crank. It can go months without a problem. Thanks again for your help. If a good mechanic finds out what the issue is, I'll post it. Good night.
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2013 AT 10:40 PM

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