Hello I have a 2000 Dodge Neon with a 1.6l engine with a manual transmission. It has 160xxx miles. I recently purchased it from another person and have only changed oil/filter and tires. I had a shop do a "pre-purchase" inspection and they said rear struts and a small leak in the rack and pinion. Otherwise it seemed fine. The shop is a locally owned and operated shop that is highly reputable so I doubt the likeliness they did a poor inspection. I don't think they would have found this issue though.

Yesterday at a light I was at a red light, when I launched, my engine stuttered almost to a complete stall out and the check engine light came on. The light blinked once and then turned off. Just as soon as the light turned off the engine returned to normal operation. Since then the engine has a slight stutter during first and second gear but not beyond and only between 1500 and 2500 rpms.

I have an OBDII reader I connect to my tablet using the program Torque, so I have the ability to log my engine performance. The check engine code reader states no codes in the ECU log. I am not sure what sensors to start logging. I know that most people just replace parts and narrow it down but I would rather not since I don't have the budget for that. If I can use logging to find what the issue is I would much rather do that.

I have already done a lot of reading on these boards, other boards, and on Google in general. What I'm seeing is that the most common culprits are likely to be spark plugs, fuel pumps, fuel filters, or maybe the fuel injectors. I have not yet looked at the spark plugs but will likely be able to do that tomorrow (later this afternoon).

Any help that can be offered is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

I have a development in my problem. This morning I had the check engine light come on, it blinked 3 times then turned off. System check says P0301 cylinder 1 misfire. I have yet to look at my plugs but I'm thinking It would likely be my problem.