I have a 96 Neon that the enging shuts off because it gets too hot, although I have had the cooling system and fans double checked, the car doesnt overheat (meaning loss of antifreeze) the temp gauge shows its ok...but we have found that if we turn the heater on then the problem of the enging shutting off disapears, if we do not turn the heat on the engine will shut off and after it cools off we can restart, but only drive for about 10 mins and problem reappears...any ideas?

Thanks in Advance
MJ

 

Is it throwing any codes? It could be the thermostat is bad.

 

Ignore the bit about the effect of running the heater and it sounds more like an ignition related temperature problem.... say the coil pack or PCM is failing as it heats up. Not likely engine overheating if the gauge remains in the normal range and you're not hurling coolant.

Run it till it fails again, then check for spark. If no spark, debug as an ignition problem.
Otherwise it sounds like a great candidate for "Stump the Chumps" on Car Talk (http://www.cartalk.com).

 

Stump the Chumps - Thats great! [sm=icon_cheers.gif]