1996 Neon "common issues"

Looking for a car for my nephew and this pops up:

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4104354179.html

1996 neon highline model

Im trying to get more info from the seller, but is there a common issue that these tend to have that would keep them from starting? Like a loose ground, or bad PCM or something?

I know its kinda a shot in the dark w/o more info but just wanted to get the general take on it.

Thanks!!1

auto shut down relay tends to go bad. labeled as asd relay.

I put a radiator and a head gasket in our '97. Don't recall any electrical issues.

timing belts.. when they go, the engine is probably toast... you can get a kit with the belt, tensioner, idler, and water pump for around $100.

The small wire to the starter went bad on my SpecNeon. Replaced about 7" of it and been fine since.

Normal stuff like timing belt, W/P, tune up.....

Parts that have "issues" Instrument clusters, Random loss of cam and or crank signal, fuel filler necks.

Paul B

Thanks for the replies. Is there a way to check for a crank signal? Can I look for around 12volts to certain wires and call it good?

Still waiting for the seller to respond.

Easiest (not best) way to check for a crank signal is see if the tach moves while cranking the engine.

If it doesnt, you may be able to corroborate that by getting the CEL to flash out a code 11 to you by turning the key to on position 3 times in a row and counting long and short CEL flashes.

My dads 95 had a short in the wiring where it rubbed though between the engine and body that would cause the engine to die regularly, but it would restart right away. I don't know more details on it since it was fairly new then and the dealer fixed it though. Other than that I don't have any more ideas on the no start problem, but +1 on dont buy it if you dont want to replace the timing belt and water pump right away.

Thanks for all the info thus far.

The seller got back to me w/ this: "The only issue right now is a electrical issue with the wiring. The car is very good and recently had a oil change, tune up, filter change, radiator, starter, alternator, and many other things worked on. You can see the car today after 5 or tomorrow after 5. The car will not turn over and cut off on me after a day of driving from the mountains picking it up from the mechanic. It was just not ready and I can not afford to put any more money in it.

From Allpar.com: For troubleshooting purposes only (don’t drive like this!), Ed Hennessy wrote: “You can try feeding power to the fuel pump directly. Connect 12V+ from the battery through a fused link to the positive terminal of the coil. That will back feed 12V to the fuel pump through the ASD circuit. If the pump runs [it should be easy to hear], the ASD relay is bad. If not, the fuel pump or its wiring is probably the problem."

Original is at Automatic Shutdown Relay http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes/sensors/auto-shutdown.html#ixzz2ggbWoAZl"

It sounds like I can look for code 42 on the dash( looking for the flashes), or use a fuseable link to go from the batt+ to pos on the coil and then listen for the fuel pump to start. What gauge wire and what size fuse should I use when making a test cable( ie "fuseable link" in the case )?

If the car has a fuel pump relay i would just jump across that (from pins 30 to 87) with a piece of wire and let the pre-relay fuse do the fusing. Although, even having owned 2 neons i dont know off hand if such a relay exists. If there isn't a fuel pump specific relay, the ASD relay itself should do the trick.

But, if the car has been sitting in the off position for long enough, you should be able to hear a pump prime for a second or two after turning the key to the on position. Generally it will do that one or two times when you cycle the key and then wont do it again unless the PCM sees RPM from the CPS (TLA alert).

But if it doesnt CRANK, that's a whole different issue. So you really need to start at the bottom and figure out what it's ACTUALLY doing before i can diagnose it through the int4rw3bs.

Thanks for all the info, but it turns out that the person I was looking for a car for didnt like this one. I dont understand the entire situation, but its not for me to get.

Thanks for all of the help. I can pass her info on if anyone is interested. I would buy it myself, if I could.