My 95 Neon has 121K miles and is an automatic.

With the lights on, the starter will turn the engine over and over, but it will not start. With the lights off, the engine will crank for a second and stumble, then die.

I've spent 2 weeks tracing a short in the system and have about given up. If the headlights are on and are bright, not dim, the car will crank and run fine for several minutes, then shut down. When the short is in effect, I've found that the driver's headlight will not come on sometimes, while the passenger headlight will come on dimly.

Also, when the short is in effect, I've found the that there is continuity between the negative and positive battery cables.

I would appreciate any suggestions. I've replaced the PCM, various sensors in the engine bay and in the car and exhausted all resources.

Thanks, Dan

 

That one is very bizzare! I could only speculate! Have you eliminated your Key Switch?

I deliberately busted out the steering lock so my car no longer need key - I race my neon and don't every want the risk the steering wheel locking on me.

However when I busted out the Key Lock - I could not get my Neon to run smoothly until I disassemble and re-assemble my Key Switch - I think mine was shorting out in the Key Switch itself - since then I have not had that sympton again!

Greg

 

What a pain..... I had similar symptoms with an bad ignition switch as prior post suggested. Next I'd make sure the engine/body/battery ground connections are all in place and solid.

Also, have you tried a different battery? Some of this behavior can occur if there is interal shorting in one of the cells.