Hi all. First post here. I've been a lurker for awhile and decided to join. Now, I have a 1998 Dodge Neon R/T 2.0 DOHC 5 spd sedan which I just bought. Here's what is happening. I can start the car and it will reach operating temp within a couple of minutes, which the other Neon's I've owned have shown to be the norm, and it will sit there for about 5 minutes and the temp gauge will start to climb. It will get to about 3/4 up and the fan will kick on and it's at that point that the gauge will pin itself on H. It will of course cool down to operating temp and if I let it just idle, it will remain there 95% of time. If I move the car even 4 inches, it will peg at H, the dinging starts and have the appearance of running hot. I've also noticed that there is a strong possibility that a bump will trigger this as well. I will not drive this car as I'm not 100% positive that it's really NOT overheating, but I'm inclined to believe that it's really not. I've changed the thermostat and the coolant sensor. If allowed to idle, the fans coming on and off are sort of a hint to me that the computer is possibly getting a different reading then the gauge. I drove the car home about 25 miles after buying it and I heard the warning dinging sound BUT the needle was not on the gauge ... it had fallen off so I had no idea what the warning was for. I put the pointer back on when I got home and started to do a few things to the car ... and that's when I found out what all of the dinging was ... the gauge going to H. I mention this driving because the previous owner drove the car thousands of miles and never knew what the warning sound was as the pointer was off the gauge when he got it. Anyways, when I got home, and ever since then, the car doesn't present any signs at all of overheating. No bubbling noises, no steam, no leaks and it appears to cool at about the same rate as my other Neon's when turned off. So .. I ask you ... has anyone run into an electrical issue that only caused the gauge to be inaccurate while the computer is getting different information? The fans will kick on and off .... many times, not always, when they do ... the gauge will immediately go to H. Other times ... the gauge reads close to what I would deem correct BUT .. then it's off to the races again as soon as the car moves. I've tried the bleeding of the system as well to no avail. Everything is the same. I see alot of people say that the radiator could be plugged. Although I highly think that is not the case, seeing as how fast the gauge will return to normal operating temp position, is it possible or do you think that this is an electrical issue pertaining to the gauge only and giving false readings?? The car runs and drives great ... all except for this potential false reading which is keeping me from driving the car because ..... I don't know whether to trust that reading. I'd rather err on the side of caution at this point even given the history of the car and it not presenting any damage like a head gasket/cracked head nor any other sign of being overheated.

 

So ...I found the issue. It was a broken main negative battery cable. It was broken down by the starter. I replaced the cable and all is well.

 

God must love me or something, because I was just about to post this about mine and I seen almost word for word what was going on with my car. in all my years of going on Forums & shooting the breeze about Neon's I never heard about this or had this issue until I bought my R/T. Heck I never seen any of my issues top of the list ever on any forum. Kinda cool

 

Glad it may be of some use to ya. I couldn't find anything out there about this either. I'm suspecting alot of head gaskets were changed and even more radiators to try to remedy an electrical issue.

 

Thank you


Fixed my "overheating" problem today, it was the ground wire that comes off the battery negative and grounds by the drivers side top radiator support bracket.


Now all I have to fix is my gauge cluster lighting, the previous owner installed a new faceplate with optional green & blue LED's and they like to come and go as they please, but my stock cluster itself stays illuminated but you can only see the gauge needles cuz the aftermarket faceplate covers the stockers, so I just have to see where the electrical gremlins are for the aftermarket Cluster illumination LED's and I'll be a happy camper.