Hi All,

I've got a '98 Neon that will not start. It's been acting up for teh past couple of weeks where I'll try to start the car, and there will be nothing (dashboard lights dim, but engine does not crank). I would try turning the key a couple of more times and it would suddenly start up with no trouble. This would happen once every 10-15 starts. Well, it happened again thsi morning and I was able to get it going and get to work, now it will not start no matter what. There is no sound from the starter motor when I try the key. I checked the charge on the battery with a voltmetre - it is fine, but the power windows and power locks barely work. All the dash lights come on, but it takes a long time for the clock to light up on the radio, and for the fasten seatbelt chime to start dinging. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated....



J

 

your symptoms sound just like a bad battery. go to walmart and get yourself a replacement and see if that works. a bad battery may have enough juice to power some acc. and slightly turn a motor over. a bad cell in the battery is a problem. you may want to check that the battery cables are tight and in good condition. a loose ground wire to the battery can mimmic a bad battery. if all else fails, look for a shorting wire. good luck!

 

Define "fine" for voltage... The starter takes a good chunk to crank. Another possibility is corroded connections - the number one reason Neons have for hard/no starting. A good cleaning with a wire brush every now and then never hurts. With no sound/clicks, you might want ot check the starter fuse in the box under the hood. You should also try swapping the starter relay with one you know works, like the horn relay. Battery is a reasonbly safe bet, but you may end up having to pull the starter and get it tested...

Best of luck!

 

try the starter solenoid if it wont crank at all it could only be that.......a burnt out starter.......or a dead battery and well u got a little juice so try jumping it off another car battery. Sometimes you can hit the starter w/a hammer to get it going. But not exactly the best approach.

 

the battery voltage reads 11.91 V on my voltmetre. The connections are clean and tight. I tried boosting from another car yesterday with no luck... even when hooked up to a running car I still could barely get the power windows up. I'll try swapping the relays as you suggest and see if that works. Thanks to everyone who's posted so far. Much appreciated!

 

" I tried boosting from another car yesterday with no luck... even when hooked up to a running car I still could barely get the power windows up. "

you most likely have a bad ground somewhere, probibly on the starter, check the starter wires for corrosion and check where your ground wire bolts to the motor by the starter, that wire is most likely the culprit and gone bad. bad ground=very little power. unhook the ground wire shine it up and put it back on and you should have all kinds of power when hooked up to a running vehicle.

 

I'm gonna tend to agree with everyone else that you probably have a bad ground somewhere. I will however add that 11.91 volts is not "fine". Battery voltage should be well over 12 volts, this doesn't absolutely mean your battery is bad as a ground issue may also affect your charging system, but I'd defineately have the battery checked. I've had a case where boosting my truck with a bad battery wouldn't help as all the juice was going to the bad battery and not the starter (shorted cell I think).

 

Typical battery voltage is closer to 14 vDC. Check voltage while trying to turn the engine over. If it's less than 10 vDC, you don't have enough...

 

OK everyone Write this down....

Fully chaged battery is ~12.68 Volts
75% charged is ~12.45 Volts

Under max load should not fall below 9.6 or you computer stuff will turn off. IE No computer no run even if it is turning over at the time.

PS.. Yeah I know you turn you car off and you got like 13 and change. But the above specs are for after dissapatting the surface charge. So turn you lights on for like 2 minutes then check.

First you need a battery charge or replacement. If you have a shorting battery I have seen cars not even run untill you disconnect your old battery and leave it out of the loop momentarily. So disconnect you existing batery and try jumping again. If all is well (Car running no longer attached to other car) you then probably just need a battery. If you are running and you have less than 13.5 volts you probably have a problem.

Since you have a multimeter check you battery - to a chassis ground on Volts and Ohms. Should be less than .3 Ohms and .5 Volts indicated. If higher than this you have a problem. Voltage reading needs to be car running. Also do this to the Alternator (Big cable) to Battery + witht the same specs. Then alterntor case to battery -. Then indicated voltage from B+ on alternator andalternator case and across battery terminals should be very close. Also if you can get there do the same with the starter both + (B+ or big cable from battery) & - (starter case)side. This will tell you alot. There is more but start there.

As for cleaning at home. A little baking soda and warm water goes a very VERY long way.