I bought this 98 Dodge Neon R/T thinking it was a good little car. It ran pretty good for about 5,000 miles then I had to replace the Timing Belt. I put everything in just right and now I still get the Service Enginge light. I have tried to clear the codes by disconnecting the battery and pulling the 20amp fuse to the fuel pump. It works for about five minutes. I went and had the pcm read and it states that it is a ignition problem or is missing, which I can tell just by listening.Sparkplugs have been changed, tested the wires, And the rest of the ignition system test, all is showing good. Does anyone have any other ideas other than taking my Neon to the Dealer to get the PCM Reprogrammed? Any help would be great.[&:]

 

What is the P code its giving you?

 

P1390
Manufacturer Contrl
Ignition system or Misfire

 

Did you replace the valves or check the compression before installing the timing belt? When the belt snaps, 99% of the time it will bend the valves on the neon, interference engine.

P1390 is Timing Belt Skipped Tooth, so your timing may be off as well also. I hope you changed the water pump and tensioner pulley as well.

 

The timing belt did not snap, I got lucky there. I noticed a noise coming from the timing belt housing so i just changed it to be safe. The water pump checked out ok; I replaced the Idler Pulley and inspected the tensioner pulley (OK) along with the hydraulic tensioner. The Timing marks are on point and the crank pulley timing mark is 1/2 a notch back as stated in the book. Thanks for the help, if you think of anything else let me know. I will post the fix to this problem once I figure it out. Thanks again das.

 

Looking at the water pump and assuming its OK is a bad idea. If it seizes, you will be doing it all over again. How many miles on the car?

The error code is telling you the timing is still off.

 

Got it. I will verifiy that the timing is correct one more time. Oh boy!!!!It just hit 99,000. As for the water pump there is no howling or noise coming from the waterpump and the vent holes were not leaking. Would you say replace it anyway? If so, how much do you think I can get one for? Do you have any additional pointers on setting the timing beforeI break back into the engine. Where do you put the crank timing mark? The book say 1/2 a notch. Do you think that is correct?

I was a mustang guy before and these sideways engines are throwing me for a loop.

 

Yes, change the pump anyway...$40 is cheap insurance.

 

I just got the Check engine light for that same code P1390, but i dont feel anything unusual while driving. What are you supposed to feel when that code lights up? is it forcefully the timing belt or can it be something else?

 

Have you replaced the ignition coil, I had mine tested at Autozone and Oeilly auto parts and it was "good" but I still had that little miss in the motor, so I bought a new one for 78.99 with a lifetime warranty..