1- chill run down his spine
2- car engine died
 
You don �t give a complete sentence containing these idioms, so it is possible that some readers may misunderstand the grammatical constructions.
 
1a.  As he enters the mortuary, a chill RUNS down his spine.  (Present Simple Tense)
1b.  As he enters the mortuary, he feels a chill RUN down his spine.  (Present Simple Tense, using the verb  �To feel �)
1c.  As he entered the mortuary, a chill RAN down his spine.  (Past Simple Tense)  
1d.  As he had entered the mortuary, a chill had RUN down his spine.  (Present Perfect Tense)
 
2.  The car engine spluttered and then died.  (Past Simple Tense)
 
Oxford Dictionary of English:  �chill � a sudden and powerful feeling of fear: a chill ran down my spine.
 
 �die � (of a machine) stop functioning: three toasters have died on me.
 
I hope that this helps you.
 
Les