Hello, I'm thomas. I live on a remote island in Alaska. My wife has a 2000 Plymouth Neon, hope thats okay. She drives about 2 miles per day. Needless to say, she just clicked over 8000 miles in the 10 years since we bought it new.

The OBD light comes on and then off. We've got no mechanics here that work in the computer age. I'm told I have to get a code reader and some paperwork that will tell me what they mean. The closest dealer is 350 airmiles away in Anchorage. To send the car in for servicing requires a trip on a cargo plane at about 4 grand each way. So, I will see what wrenches I can turn. I used to do this as a teenager, but that was 35 years ago. Any ideas where I can get a code reader for a 2000 Neon and the book that will tell me what they mean and what exactly to do to fix this problem? This thing is driving my wife crazy as this vehichle was her mother's day present and she really loves it. Thanks a million for any and all help and assistance. Thomas

P.S. We are having a heat wave! Light snow and 26 degrees; spring should be here in about 1 more month!

 

Welcome to DF tbsr! Ill move this post over to the 2nd Gen Neon Section! Those guys should be able to help you even though you have a Plymouth Neon. Thanks for joining the site and good luck!

 

well to start, what is the car doing? skipping? rough idol? exc? and codes would deff help us help u... code readers u can get online sometimes or i am not sure if u have a local auto parts store around but u can always check there.... give us alittle more info on what the car is doing and we will help u as much as we can....

 

There is a procedure, IIRC, that you can pull codes without a reader. Anyone?

 

theres a technique to it, u got to turn the key off and on off and on off and on like 4 times (without turning the ignition to turn on the car) and u should get a code, write the codes down and check the code sticky

 

Thank you for your replies everyone. My apologies for not listing additional information. Here's what I left out:
The car starts and runs just fine. I must say that in the 10 years we've had it, it's never been driven past 50 mph. The 50 mph speed only lasted for about 5 seconds once, since we only have about 3 miles of road with about a 5 second straightaway. The OBD light just comes on and stays on. It did this about 2 years ago. I'm not sure what the mileage was but our local "mechanic" disconnected the battery for about 10 minutes. That "cured" the problem for about 2 years until now. The light remains on until the engine is shut down.

I just read about the code procedure with the ignition key. I'll try it and see what happens. In the meantime, is there any other kind of electronic device I still need, to figure out how to keep this machine running? At the rate my wife drives, we could easily get 40 years of service out of this vehicle if only I knew how to trouble shoot the problems as they arose. Thanks again for any suggestions. P.S. Winter is back, it is now 4 below zero. Thomas

 

The code(s) will tell you and us what exactly the problem is, and since the check engine light is on, it has something to do with emissions.

Out of curiosity, for longevity's sake, what kind and weight of oil do you run in there? How often do you change it with all of those short trips?

 

yea once you pull the code well know exactly what it is.skrew 4 grand each way dude dont do that

 

that is what dodgeforum is for.... LOL

 

I did the inition procedure to pull the codes. Here is what happened:
The OBD light did not flash. I did the procedure several more times and the the OBD did not flash. Instead I got these codes from the mileage gauge:
P 1684
P 0138

These don't look like anything on the code list. Any ideas about what I might be doing wrong? Thank you guys for all of the help you've given me so far. All the best, Thomas