broken alt belt leads to no start!

[spflick]

ok my friend has a 96 plymouth/dodge neon with a 2.0l sohc. we put the belt on the car and tired jumpin, all we get is just smooth crankin. before all of this belt and everything. it was runnin rough so i replaced the plugs and wires and it was a little better but if you stepped on it it dogged out!!! well not as it is crankin there is no spark!! at all i am getting fuel to the rail! i tested the coil and it tested bad so i replaced it and still no change!! i am wondering if i could have a broken timing belt and is the a interfiance motor not non interferance??? please reply need help!!!! thanks spflick

[denisond3]

If the engine cranks without the up-down-up-down-up-down variations in speed (which is the way it would sound if you cranked it with the spark plugs out) then its definitely a timing belt that has slipped or broken.
The DOHC neon motors are definitely interference type, but the SOHC engine may let you get away with it. Depending on how fast the engine was spinning when the belt broke - it Might be that you dont have valve damage. Unfortunately there is no way to tell without either installing a new timing belt (a lot of work in a miserable slice of space) and trying a compression check, or by pulling the engine head.
I think you would have no spark if the cam position sensor was not telling the PCM that the cam was turning.

[spflick]

Hey thanks for the reply!!!! it has been so cold yyup here i have had not much time and its a little hard to do anything when it is in a parkin lot! i not sure if it has every had the timing belt changed! what are symptoms of a broken timin belt!!! I all i know is the belt broke and she drove it till it died on her way to work! and she had to get pushed into the drive way. some guy put the new belt on and tore it all to heck. and every since then she started it up once and ran it for a minute and then shut it off and has not ran since and i just last week looked at it! i replaced the coil because it tested bad and a battery connector! i know you have to jump it for it to do anything as the battery needs charged up! so you think that the nexts step is to replace the crank shaft sensor? ok thanks again for your reply!! spflick

[denisond3]

If the alternator belt broke and the car was driven until it quit (due to low battery voltage) - that wouldnt have hurt the timing belt at all.
The obvious sign of a timing belt that has broken or slipped off - is the engine cranking at a steady speed. The starter making a steady hummmmmm sound. Instead, it should be a sort of jerky cranking, with the sound pulsing up/down up/down up/down. Thats the normal sound a car should make, because pushing the pistons up against the compression in the combustion chamber will slow the starter, per each piston. Like I said, its the sound the engine would make if the spark plugs were removed when you cranked it.
Certainly the battery needs to be charged up. This would take several hours using a battery charger - and in a room that was well above freezing. It would take at least an hour of driving in cold weather, if not two hours for the alternator to charge the battery up nicely.
If you connect jumper cables to it and it starts - then the timing belt is okay. (They still should be replaced each 100,000 miles though.) If you connect jumper cables and it wont start - take out one or two of the spark plugs to make sure they arent black and damp. Thats fouling due to bad ignition, and can prevent the engine from firing.
Spark plugs can foul fairly quicky on a car that is started in very cold weather and not run much. You might want to have a look at them. Make sure the connector for the coil pack atop the motor is seated fully, and wiggle it to be sure.
I dont know that you need a crankshaft postion sensor, or a cam postion sensor. Does the 'check engine light' come on, other than when you turn the key on before you start the car? If it does, do you how to read the codes? You can do it yourself. Read the Frequently Asked Questions at the top of the "1st generation Neon" forum. I think the mention of how to check the codes is the fifth paragraph, along with what the codes indicate.

[spflick]

Hey thanks again, i think are problem is the timing belt! it will only crank when you hook the jumper cables. the motor does not move much at all while crankin and does not do that up down up down sound!!! so im sure the timing belt let go when she shut it off! thanks for your reply! and i aprecaite your efforts!!!! spflick