i bought a 96 neon with a sohc motor. it had sat for about two years before i bought it. however it started and drove onto the trailor. when i got it home i had to replace the spark plug wires since once was missing. the car started and drove good for about ten minutes, so i decided to drive down the road. well it made it to the end and but not back.


my q: what should i check? i know i am getting spark and air, but i believe its a fuel issue. i put a gallon or so of fresh gas in, a quarter can of seafom before i got it running. then it stopped.

i thought it was a fuel pressure issue, i hear the fuel pump start but it doesent hold the pressure on the line. is it supposed to? whats the deal. thanks

 

If you don't have one, get a ODB-II readout at a local parts store. Not all codes light up the CEL. You can also do the key dance to get any two digit error codes that may be in the computer. The sticky note thread at the top of the 1st gen forum explains how to do it and what the codes you may get mean.

Make sure the air filter and air box are clean. If you didn't check them and it has sat up for 2 years, you could have rats in the airbox (or who knows what else). Check the hose going to the throttle body too. Again, you could have almost anything gumming it up. Check all the vacuum lines as they have a tendency to dry rot and get holes after sitting up so long.

See if you are getting fire to the the plugs. Use a spark checker. That is easy and cheap. If you are, then you know you don't have a camshaft/crankshaft position sensor problem or a Fuel pump/ASR relay problem. If you have spark, then try also replacing the plugs with just a plain ol' set of Champion copper resistor plugs (usually about $1.25 each). This is a cheap way to exclude old gummed up plugs as the problem.

You can then pop off the line connecting to the fuel rail and putting a plastic jug over the disconnected end, turn the key to on and see if it is pumping gas to the fuel rail. If not then you have an issue somewhere in the tank or line. The pump and regulator is in the tank. If you do have plenty of gas, then the injectors could be gummed up.

Do a compression and leak down check. Again, easy and cheap if you borrow or have the tools. After sitting up so long, I hope you did change the oil and filter and even put a little WD-40 (or something similar in each cylinder and then manually turn it over to unstick the rings and give it a chance to free up a little.

Clean the intake and throttle body. I would also take off the fuel rail and clean it out as well as the injectors.

After sitting up so long, you could have a lot of gummed up gas in the system. It may take a couple of really good tanks of 93 octane gas and several more shots of SeaFoam to really get it all out. That, or you can drop the tank and clean it out - a messy job, but it will also give you a chance to clean off the sending unit too - which could also be plugged up.

HTH and Good luck.

 

Use the -4 an line on the fuel rail to test for fuel. It should be 47-50 psi. Make sure you timing isnt off. There is something called a fuel rail cleaner, not the kind you dump in the tank. It only works if you can get the car running. Yes the fuel should hold on the line. It sounds like to me you have a fuel pressure regulator problem. Be sure if you change the regulator (which is on the fuel pump) to change the fuel accumulator in the process.

 

well i came to the conclusion it was the crankshaft sensor... so i got one from autozone to get home to realize the harness was different... so i boogered it all up and nothing...

my question is.... what order are the wires that go into the clip for the crank sensor? how do they go, looking at the plug with the wires pointing up in the air (the way it would be if it was mounted)

this is an early model 95 neon, with the different factory crank sensor plug (round pins) . i boogered up the job, now need to know what order the wires should go in... thanks

 

You can easily do one of two things

1) Go to your local junkyard and find any 1997 - 1999 neon that still has the rear wiring harness and cut off the connector for the Crank sensor and splice it into your wires.

2) Go back to your local parts store and see if they sell the sensor and connector pair and if they can sell you just a new connector. If they don't, go to O'Reillys parts because they do. That is where I got mine. Again, splice in the new connector.

The 1995 (and some very early 1996) model years used similar connectors and round pins, but they switched connectors and pins to the flat ones. Almost ANY 1995 connector will have to be replaced with an updated connector, so be prepared for that. Whenever you go to your local junkyard, get the connector along with the part and you will save yourself a lot of headahes in the future.

Most part stores know that the 1995 model year needs an updated connector, so be sure to ask about it for future sensor replacements. I personally know that the battery temp sensor, VSS, camshaft position sensor, and AC wet switch connectors are different and will need to be changed out.

 

i have the harness, but have got the wires out of order. anyone know what order the crank sensor wires go? i have an ORANGE, GREY W GREEN, GREY W BLU. holdin the plug w the wires pointing up, what order do they belong ? plz help.

 

my wires are grey with black, Black with Blue and Orange from left to right looking at engine with it plugged in to sensor