please help! ignition issues. (reposted w/edits)

[mizuko]

hi! i have a 97 neon that's been having some issues starting. it WILL start, but if it's been sitting for a while, it has trouble turning over. until a few days ago, the engine would turn over right away. now it struggles a bit first, then starts. none of the dummy lights are on, so that isn't any help. any idea of what it could be?

i should also mention that the engine is making a nice knocking sound that has been diagnosed as potentially a bad connecting rod. is it possible that this is connected to the starting issues?

[V-8Fan]

Sounds like a bad battery, and NO.

[mizuko]

wouldn't the battery light come on if it were that? we're going to get it checked, though. that'd be a nice, easy fix. =)

someone suggested the starter relay might need to be replaced. does that sound feasible?

Originally Posted by V-8Fan

Sounds like a bad battery, and NO.

[V-8Fan]

Not necessarily.

A starter relay or solenoid should do whatever it is doing time after time, regardless of time just sitting (the exception might be when you have trouble starting an engine when it's hot---that old problem usually involved someone having left the heat shield off the starter when it was replaced in which case the exhaust manifold would heat up the starter big time, leading to starting difficulties).

A battery with a problem holding a charge acts in the way you have described.

[mizuko]

well, we checked the battery. it's fine. i did more research online, and found a page that stated it could be that the engine is partially seized, so it could very well be related to the knocking. =I sucks. i just paid the neon off, and it possibily needs a new engine.

thank you for your help! i'm going to test the battery again in a few, since the car has now been sitting for a good ten hours or so. when i tested it last time, it'd only been sitting for about three hours.

thanks for your help!

Originally Posted by V-8Fan

Not necessarily.

A starter relay or solenoid should do whatever it is doing time after time, regardless of time just sitting (the exception might be when you have trouble starting an engine when it's hot---that old problem usually involved someone having left the heat shield off the starter when it was replaced in which case the exhaust manifold would heat up the starter big time, leading to starting difficulties).

A battery with a problem holding a charge acts in the way you have described.

[V-8Fan]

Mizuko, hopefully it is not as bad as we are led to believe. You did not specify how the battery was checked out, so maybe you are led to a faulty conclusion about the battery?!!?! How was the battery checked?

Have you tried starting the car by jumper cables?

[mizuko]

I used a battery tester -basically a dumbed down voltmeter- that I purchased from Radio Shack. I did test the battery again after the car had been sitting for a bit, and incidentally it had lost much of its charge. I guess that means the battery is faulty, then? So should replacing the battery sold that issue? I hope so. That'd be nice and easy. =)

However, that's the least of the neon's problems right now. The knocking in the engine has picked up greatly, and the car is reluctant to drive faster than 35 mph, so I'm thinking that rod is going. =I She's currently parked in the lot, waiting for me to scrounge enough money to replace the engine.

Thank you for your help!

Originally Posted by V-8Fan

Mizuko, hopefully it is not as bad as we are led to believe. You did not specify how the battery was checked out, so maybe you are led to a faulty conclusion about the battery?!!?! How was the battery checked?

Have you tried starting the car by jumper cables?