Various issues with my car
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Various issues with my car
Recently, I have been having a number of issues with my 2005 Dodge Neon SXT. I'll list them in order from oldest to newest.
1) Lighting. Half of my dash lights don't work (fuel gauge & RPM). I'm pretty sure the bulbs aren't dead, as a few weeks ago they started working for a week or two. Another issue that I have is the fog lights - they don't turn off regardless of the fog light switch's status. However, I believe that can be attributed to the HID fog lights that the previous owner installed (not totally sure on this one though).
2) Plastic burning smell. In the past few days, I have noticed an occasional smell that radiates through the cabin - to me, it smells a lot like burning plastic. I popped the hood and could smell it from that area as well. My initial guess would be the HIDs, but once again, I'm not sure.
3) Odd starts. Yesterday morning, I started my car and the RPM spiked much higher than it normally does before dropping back down to normal. This morning, the first start stalled - the RPMs just didn't get high enough to continue running. The second time it started, but the RPMs were still lower than normal during the start. Afterwards, the car ran fine.
Other information about the car
112k miles
Oil has recently been changed
Mods previous owner did:
K&N CAI
Dual exhaust (don't know brand)
HID Fog lights
Claimed that timing belt, clutch, water pump, and spark plugs have all been changed.
Mods I've done:
Sony stereo & Sony speakers
350W amp + subwoofer
1) Lighting. Half of my dash lights don't work (fuel gauge & RPM). I'm pretty sure the bulbs aren't dead, as a few weeks ago they started working for a week or two. Another issue that I have is the fog lights - they don't turn off regardless of the fog light switch's status. However, I believe that can be attributed to the HID fog lights that the previous owner installed (not totally sure on this one though).
2) Plastic burning smell. In the past few days, I have noticed an occasional smell that radiates through the cabin - to me, it smells a lot like burning plastic. I popped the hood and could smell it from that area as well. My initial guess would be the HIDs, but once again, I'm not sure.
3) Odd starts. Yesterday morning, I started my car and the RPM spiked much higher than it normally does before dropping back down to normal. This morning, the first start stalled - the RPMs just didn't get high enough to continue running. The second time it started, but the RPMs were still lower than normal during the start. Afterwards, the car ran fine.
Other information about the car
112k miles
Oil has recently been changed
Mods previous owner did:
K&N CAI
Dual exhaust (don't know brand)
HID Fog lights
Claimed that timing belt, clutch, water pump, and spark plugs have all been changed.
Mods I've done:
Sony stereo & Sony speakers
350W amp + subwoofer
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Northern California
The bulbs may not be dead, but perhaps they aren't seated in the socket all the way, or wiggled loose a bit? The plastic burning smell along with the fog lights not working correctly could be a melted MFS harness. You'll need to remove the steering column shroud and check it. It can catch fire.
The spark plugs were changed....with what plugs? Gapped correctly? Were the wires changed? The wires should be changed every other plug change.
The spark plugs were changed....with what plugs? Gapped correctly? Were the wires changed? The wires should be changed every other plug change.
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I checked out the MFS harness as you suggested.. and you were correct. The gray connector on mine is melted on the left side. But one thing I still don't understand - will replacing the MFS harness itself fix the issue? Because the melted part is the connector attached to the car.
As for the spark plugs - yes I believe the wires were changed as well. I don't know the answers to your other questions, however.
I took my car to a mechanic regarding the odd start ups. Of course the car wouldn't recreate the issue for him, given that it was already warm. The only thing he could suggest without me leaving it there with him overnight is to try fuel injection cleaner additive to my fuel.
As for the spark plugs - yes I believe the wires were changed as well. I don't know the answers to your other questions, however.
I took my car to a mechanic regarding the odd start ups. Of course the car wouldn't recreate the issue for him, given that it was already warm. The only thing he could suggest without me leaving it there with him overnight is to try fuel injection cleaner additive to my fuel.
Section Moderator
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Northern California
If any of the wires on the melted side go to the foglights, then yeah, that should fix the issue provided they are still wired up correctly. If not, perhaps that's why the MFS harness melted...
