2000 Chrysler Cirrus Intermittent Starting

Please elaborate on how you're hearing the fuel pump. Are your observations related to hearing the pump run for one to two seconds when turning on the ignition switch? It must also turn on during cranking. That can be hard to hear. Check for spark too. Before replacing parts, when it doesn't start, measure for voltage on the dark green / orange stripe wire in the coil pack connector. That one will also have 12 volts for up to two seconds after turning on the ignition switch, then again during cranking. If voltage is there for the initial two seconds, the circuitry is ok. If it doesn't come back during cranking, suspect the camshaft position sensor first, and the crankshaft position sensor next.

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I believe this problem has isolated itself to cold weather. I still haven't checked for spark or fuel pressure because the car hasn't had this problem for some time. The weather has warmed up. However, the weather dropped down recently, and like clockwork, the problem came back for three days in a row (the coldest days). Early in the morning I would crank the car, it would start/run fine, then after it warmed up I'd jump in and drive to the highway 1/4 mile down the road. At the stop sign, the car died every day. It seemed the colder it was, the harder it was to restart. The last day it did this, "no bus" showed up on the dispay on the dash. Also, once it did start, it was very limited to go, i would give it gas and it would put along for a few seconds. Does "no bus" mean no power? It cranked just fine, just wouldn't fire up.

Also, today I pulled the spark plugs out to check them, in the spark plug holes there were pools of oil. From what I read, this is the valve cover gasket. Also, some people say the voltage can short to the case through saturated/expanded rubber insulation. Can this be related to my intermittent starting problem?

I'm starting to find more signs of a POS/maltreatment. The tranny fluid was leaking, so I looked at the pan and all the bolts were two turns loose, I literally could have tightened them with my hand. Also, when going down hill or backing off the throttle, the car jolts around as the RPM's jump around. Any ideas?

"No Buss" refers to the data buss which is a pair of wires that connect to every computer on the car. It is how they send information to each other. The wires normally have 6 volts on them. If anything affects those two wires or the signals on them, the engine may not run. The 6 volts is generated in the Body Computer. A no-start condition can actually be caused by that Body Computer. It's main job is to control things like the power locks and interior lights.

The Body Computer can be accessed by the dealership mechanics with their DRB3 hand-held computer. It also communicates with all of the car's computers over the data buss. If their DRB3 will not communicate, there is an entire book on troubleshooting this problem. The trick is to catch it while the problem is acting up. The Body Computer can be replaced as a test, but I don't like throwing parts at a problem until the diagnostic tests point to it.

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