Engine shut off while driving and will not start

Camshaft position sensor is a common cause. It is on the driver's side of the cylinder head. Very often they start to work again for a while after they cool down. When the Check Engine light comes on, it means there is a diagnostic code stored in the Engine Computer related to something that could have an adverse affect on tail pipe emissions. Many auto parts stores will retrieve those codes for you for free. They will lead you to the circuit or system with the problem, not necessarily the defective part.

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A fast way to tell if you are on the right track is to connect a test light or voltmeter to either of the small terminals, (plugged-in wires or two small nuts) on the back of the alternator. You can also use the dark green wire with orange stripe, I believe, to the ignition coils or injectors. All of those points will have 12 volts for just one second after turning on the ignition switch. That's when you might hear the fuel pump run for that one second. What is important is that voltage should return as soon as you crank the engine. The voltage is supplied through the automatic shutdown (ASD) relay which is turned on by the Engine Computer when it sees engine rotation, (cranking or running). The computer knows the engine is rotating by the pulses it receives from the camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor. The crank sensor does not cause much trouble. The cam sensor has caused a lot of trouble. The replacement might have a different plug than your old one. Redesigned sensors normally come with a new plug that must be spliced into the circuit.

If you find the ASD relay is not turning on during engine cranking, the stored diagnostic fault code will tell you which sensor is not sending pulses.

Also be aware that this is an "interference" engine. That means serious engine damage will result if the timing belt breaks or jumps a few teeth. To reduce the chance of that happening, the Engine Computer watches the relationship of the pulses from the two sensors to determine if the belt has jumped. If it jumps one tooth, the computer will turn on the Check Engine light and set a fault code related to "cam and crank sync". If the belt jumps two teeth, the computer will shut the engine down to protect it. You would have noticed poor performance. At three teeth, pistons will hit the valves and bend them.

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Has the check engine light ever come on?

If you lost both and there are no codes, start by checking the ASD. If bad, it will shut both down.

I do not like the fact the ASD is getting hot. It checked out okay though you said. My guess is the ASD is failing under a load or there is a ground problem. The crank sensor would neither cause the ASD to get hot nor the fuel pump to shut off.

It is hard to determine a cost because it is all based on how quickly they are able to find the problem. As far as the scan tool, it helps identify open circuits which should point them in the direction of the problem.

Which engine 2.0 or 2.4 liter?

Check the dark green and orange wire on the coil pack do you have power if not check and test the ASD relay.

Dunno which one in the power distribution center but its there -sorry no pic