Stops running sometimes won't start!
 

2000 Neon ES. This is my daughters car and have not seen it happen but she told me that while she was pulling up to the house the car quit running and she coasted into the parking spot. Everything inside the car turned off. When she had it parked she tried to restartit but nothing happened....no clicks. Then tried again later and it started. She stated that once before she turned the key and nothing happened but when someone tried it workd. Any Ideas? Right now it works so I can't find anything wrong. Anyone else have/heard about this problem. Where should I look first?
Thanks
Doug

i would check the battery terminals to make sure they're not worn or loose. i don't know much about these cars but i'm sure darth has much more insight than me.

They are clean and tight. I wouldn't expect battery terminal to make the car quit running?

Thanks
Doug

Is the battery itself good? What voltage is it at while the car is off?

I sometimes have the same problem and I've noticed that when this happens there is no fire from the coil pack. Trying to locate another one to see if that changes anything

Don't confuse no start vs. no crank.

If you turn the key and the engine does not crank over, a very common failure is the starter solenoid contacts.

If you turn the key and it cranks but doesn't start, 2 common failures are a bad crank sensor (no spark) or a bad fuel pump (no fuel pressure)

I would start at the battery and work your way up from there.

It hasn't done it in a couple of days. I will let everybody know if it happens again.

Today I got a call from the daughter because the car will not shut off! When I get there I banged on steering column hoping it would jiggle something and let it shut off but I ended up pulling the Fuel pump relay out to get it to turn off. What I noticed was that even if I turned the key to start it didn’t activate the starter. I can shift gears when the key is in the run position but not the off position. The radio never turns off. Is it possible that just the lock cylinder can cause this or do I have to replace the whole ignition switch?

Thanks Doug

After looking at the wiring diagram I wonder if it could be the PCM? ANy Ideas?