Electrical problem
1996 Dodge Neon 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 141000 miles

1996 dodge neon stalls after driving a few miles. Have to wait a minute or so then starts and runs. Stalls when put into drive. Did this many times. {Does NOT stall in reverse.} On Sat night finally BACKED UP to a gas station and into lot.
Sun morning, 11-16-08, walked 3 miles to car and drove it home. Later, stalled ONLY ONCE while driving which is puzzling. Usually after stalling, I have to wait till next day before being able to drive it home.
Had replaced gas tank, fuel pump and filter last month. Replaced gas lines in April.
Had replaced 2 oxygen sensors in Sep.
I am elderly and ex-Marine.

Being an x-marine, maybe a little c-4 will eliminate your problem. I'm x-101st AB, 1967. Anyway, what we need to do, when the stalled condition exists, is find out we're losing, spark, fuel pressure, or both. This will help narrow it down so I can help you better. Please advise.

Hello –

First, thanks for serving our country.

Next, is your engine a SOHC or a DOHC?

Please go to Auto Zone or O’Reilly’s and for FREE they can pull the codes to the car. Most important: Once they check your codes, if they find something and you don’t get it fixed and need to get back with us, please make sure you tell us exactly what the code was, number and all. Example, if the code was E0568 O2 Sensor bad. Then make sure you give us all of that. While there for FREE also they can bring their tester out and check your battery, alternator and starter.

It would be nice that next time this happens, pull a plug wire off of the spark plug and insert something into the end of it and have someone try to start the car and have the metal object really close to a piece of metal on the engine and see if you are getting a good strong popping blue spark. Don’t have your hands on any part of the metal!!! If there is no spark, then it is electrical.
I see you replace the tank, pump and filter, lines……(why did you have to replace all of these by the way) but want to ensure we are dealing with electrical and not fuel. If you are getting good spark then you need to get a fuel pressure check on the fuel pump to ensure it is putting out okay even though you just changed these things.

When was the last time you did a tune up…..plugs, wires etc?

Please take a spray bottle of water and with the car running spray water all over the plug wires while running and tell me what happens.

You might have a coil heating up etc…..so if you can do these checks and get back with me as soon as possible – we can get this thing back on the road and not you walking unless you want to for fun.

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Disappointed w/your answers. Why? Cause bad spark plug wires OR coill OR no tune up don't seem to be at issue since car starts up after a minute and drives in reverse.
Thought you might mention Ignition Module OR Torque Converter Lock up Solenoid.
Something seems to need to cool down overnight.

Anyway, send c-4. Peter

Peter, I'd send you a couple of sticks, but I'm running low and Target or Walmart don't handle it. After reading your last post, answer me this. When you start the car and put it in drive, does it kill the motor like you dumped the clutch on a manual shift??? Let me know ASAP, Jim.

Hello – Roy

Well Sir, no need for disappointment. Trust me, I’ve seen Mr Weizel work some magic – he’s pretty amazing and I have a little knowledge myself, not much but I think I’ll be okay.

Since we aren’t there, we don’t have anything to go on that one normally would. So we try to gather as much data as possible to get you back going again as quick and less expensive as possible.

You might have a couple of problems going on, not just one. We run into that many times.

It could be many things, modules, coils, relays, solenoids, the other day we had a bare wire shorting out as it bumped things once in a while after chasing rabbits all over. Believe me; he could have used some of your C4 and an airstrike.

Also, needed to know if your vehicle is a SOHC or DOHC to ensure we have the correct engine specs as we speak to you and advise.

The reason why I requested you to go to Auto Zone or O’Reilly’s is as you know the codes the car throws may be the quick and easy, this is the problem way to solve it. It throws engine codes and transmission codes.

So if you would Sir, pop over to Auto Zone or O’Reilly’s and for FREE they can pull the codes to the car. Most important: Once they check your codes, if they find something and you don’t get it fixed and need to get back with us, please make sure you tell us exactly what the code was, number and all. Example, if the code was E0568 O2 Sensor bad. Then make sure you give us all of that. While there for FREE also they can bring their tester out and check your battery, alternator and starter. The best thing I like about this is it is all free.

Next we are trying to make the connection ourselves about it dying in forward but not in reverse. I think you will agree, if a module is heating up it will heat up in drive just like it will in reverse. Also, if a converter is locking up it will possible make a noise or something in reverse or possible throw codes etc. So when we are asking certain questions it is to find the correlation between them all plus, some of the manuals we review ask the same questions during the troubleshooting that we are asking. This way we can get through many of the steps quicker to get you the results you need.

My other questions about why you replaced the tank, pump and filter, lines etc is to again, find out why this happened to see if there is a correlation. Any work done may be of value.

Not to long ago I worked one that had replace every fuel item on the car. After replacing the fuel filter 3 times it ran perfect.

So Sir, if you would run the tests we suggested, answer the questions we have thrown out, that would help us assist you better and get you back going again.

We are looking forward to hearing back from you……

Semper Fi

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To James: Answer to your ? is "sort of". Engine stops abruptly. W/no c-4 I'd shoot the beast if I hadn't given my rifles away.

To ImpalaSS: SOHC. Also, gas tank rusted and had holes in top for over 2 years ... gas smell quite obvious.

New Head gasket and Timing belt about a year ago.

Hello – Peter

It may be the torque converter clutch solenoid but it is diagnosed using power train diagnostic trouble codes ( DTC ). If you can get to Auto Zone or O’Reilly’s and get the codes checked for free, this may help with the troubleshooting.



James may have better idea…….so wait for his input too.

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Well guys...are you sitting down? I took it to a transmission guy. Getting there was about 200 yards at a time but the last time got moving for over a mile!
Mark finally found the proble.
BARE WIRE coming out of the rectangular fuse box sitting next to the battery. It would short out intermittently opening a relay cutting off flow of electrons...no juice! Took a while for relay to close giving me a closed circuit again. Putting that 4-cyl into drive would jerk the engine OR driving over the smallest bump at times would short it out.

Thanks so much for your help guys. Won't need that water spray bottle or transmission solenoid.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

Peter

Some guys are just born lucky!!!!!