Hey, another question ... my neon is always hard to start when the engine's cold ... it'll take up to like three or four seconds to catch, and it vibrates and rattles a lot while it's starting. When the engine's warm, it's fine. My haynes guide has five different causes for this, three of them are sensors, I assume it's not them because a break in the circuit there would trigger the check engine light. The other two possibilities are that it needs a starter or the fuel injectors are leaking. Now, here are the questions; which problem is it more likely to be, starter or fuel injector, how do I test the starter if that's the problem, and does the excessive vibration when it's trying to start mean anything? It's not just a little vibration, it really shakes pretty hard, you can feel it inside. Are there any other problems that could cause this?
Thanks in advance ...

 

Where do you live? I know my car would occasionally have a harder time starting during the winters when I was living in New England. Pretty much went away after switching to full synthetic. Read up on the pros and cons of switching over on a higher mileage car before making a decision though...

Still could be a sensor issue. If they are getting old, they might still be reading in band, but incorrectly. It's not super common, but often enough to mention.

Don't forget to have the battery checked. If it's not getting full voltage, it'll be harder to start. Just because your lights come on doesn't mean the battery is good. Most parts stores will test it for free.

You can pull the starter and take it in to a parts store and have it checked out (also free). Replacements are not all that expensive, maybe $60-80. I went with an Autozone store branded unit (same manufacturer as the stock part, just cheaper) with a lifetime warranty. I've replaced it once since, for free.

You can pull the fuel rail off to get to the injectors. There are small rubber seals on both ends that should be in good shape. If they are not, the dealership sells an injector gasket kit for under $10. The injectors themselves are quite sturdy. Mine are past the 240k mile point now. I sometimes wonder if a good cleaning (professional) would help, but I'm not going to spend the $25 per injector since I'll be getting rid of the car soon. You could try the fuel injector cleaner gas additive. I'm not real big on any additives personally, but it's not likely to hurt anything.

Best of luck!

 

I live in Ohio, but I'm not sure I was clear about the problem ... what I mean is the engine is hard to start when it hasn't been run for like a day and it's cooled off. Once it's been run a little while it starts great. I charged the battery a little while ago, so that's not the problem ... I guess I'll just check all the other stuff until I run into something that looks like it's screwed up. Thanks for the help ...

 

A charged battery doesn't necessarily mean a good battery though. The starter is a huge draw, and if you don't have at least 10 volts while the starter is engaged, you'd be lucky to get it turned over. Once the car is running, the alternator charges the battery again. I'd say it's either a bad battery that isn't holding its charge very well, or you have some sort of draw that is draining it while the car is sitting. Don't know if you have any accessories (amp, alarm, etc.) wired in somewhere, or anything plugged into the cig lighter (phone charger, etc.), but that could do it.