HELP! 2003 Neon Keeps Cutting Off...This is Long!

[Kellbnz]

Hey everyone. Hopefully someone can help me figure out what is going on.
I won a 2003 Dodge Neon with about 52,000 miles. Last Saturday I was driving and noticed that the car was trying to cut off. The radio cut off for less than a second and the seatbelt light came on and stayed on; the car never completely turned off, it was like it was trying to. This happened a couple more times within a 5 minute period. Then the last time I had to actually start the car. I then drove home, which took about 40 minutes. It did not do it during that time. However I pulled into a gas station and the car completely stops while I am driving. I then started the car up and it started fine. I got gas and went home. The next day the car did not even start at all. I had it towed that Monday morning to Firestone. They looked it over and could not find anything. I thought maybe it was the battery, but it seemed like it shouldn't have been the battery since the battery is 3 months old. They checked everything; battery, starter, alternator, wiring and said everything looked fine. So I went on my way. Then on Thursday it happened again. I started my car and was sitting in my job parking lot and then all of a sudden it cut off. It did not start back up. After 5 minutes I tried to start it again and it started and then cut right off. I got a jump and drove it back to Firestone. They looked it over and luckily it cut off while they were checking it. I was told it was the ignition, something with the ignition switch (Not sure exactly what...yeah I know that's not smart) and they had to find out which one it was since Neons come with 2 and all other cars come with one. They called the dealer and were told which one to change or rather which one is changed quite often on these cars. Well everything was fine until about 45 minutes ago when the same damn thing started happening. The radio cut out and came right back on within a half a second. Then about 10 minutes after that, the car started to cut off but didn't but all the lights came on; they way they come on when starting up the car. I kept my foot on the gas because I was going about 35mph and as I was driving, for a couple of seconds the car sounding exactly like it would if it was in park and the accelerator was being pressed. Then it went back to normal, for lack of a better word.

So I am wondering what this could be. Everything was checked and it is getting frustrating because this seems to happen every 2 days and no one knows what is wrong. They have fixed what they found to be wrong. Could this be electrical or could it be the transmission? I bought the car used and got a Carfax report and I check everything regularly. I will admit I don't exactly let the car warm up before I drive it; could that be what is causing this problem?

If anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to get a heads up on what could possibly be wrong.

[sheetmagnet]

Well, I have an '04 SXT with a 5-speed (bought it new), and once in a while I will start it up and take off without warming up... and I get the same problem (maybe one time, every 3 months for a split second, the car will completely die, electronics, engine, and dash, and almost instantly everything will kick back on). I have suspected maybe a moisture problem around one of the ECU wiring harnesses somewhere, because it only happens on foggy or moist mornings for me... or maybe it is the passive-transponder code kicking off from the anti-theft key after starting. It just kicks off and kicks on within a second, but keep in mind I drive a stick, so kicking out and back in while in 1st or 2nd gear is a bit violent, so maybe that jars a connection back on or something... But it is a rare and small small problem for me, so I haven't worried about it too much (yet). Let me know if that helps or what you come up with!

[SRT-Wannabe]

I have 2000 neon es, and I've that similar problem a few times already. I'd be driving it for awhile, and when I turn off the car then turn it on again, it won't start or turn over. I find the neon's problems to be strange, i never had these probs with any other car. The neon's car trouble is so damn difficult to pinpoint, it will drive you nuts, belive me, I'm almost there.

[das2123]

Well since your problem is intermittent, I would have to believe its a wiring issue. I would check all your connections to the battery, starter, alternator and make sure your terminals are nice and shiny. Pull the battery off and look under the tray to see if you have any corrosion there.