Service Engine Soon Light and Car Does Not Start

[NeoSaiyan7]

Hello, guys. I have a 98 Intrigue. About 3 days ago, I tried to turn it on but it would not start. The battery is fine. The Service Engine Soon light comes on. The car does not start at all. The gas cap is secure and tight. Before that I am thinking that my radiator might be in need of a root out. Before this happened, while driving on the highway, my car would jolt. It even turned off right after turning on when reversing. Please...any help.

[LittleHoov]

The SES light may or may not be an indication of a problem, if memory serves it comes on anytime the car is on the "ON" position anyway, and stays on until the vehicle starts unless there is a code stored. Its worth a shot, but you need a code reader, most auto parts places will let you rent one, and you might be able to work out a deal where you give them a deposit on the equipment and it is fully refunded if you bring it back before a certain time. I know my local Oreillys is good about this, and ive borrowed a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff using a hot check and bring it back in time. Thats just one option though, and might be tough to get too since the car wont start

Check for fuel and spark, can you hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the key on? Is there fuel pressure at the rail? There should be a Schraeder valve on the fuel rail, it looks like a bigger version of a tire valve. With the key on there should be pressure at this point, the best way to check it would be with a gauge, but you can press on the center and at least verify there actually is pressure.

A good way to check for spark is to pull off a plug wire, and hold the end close to some sort of bare metal on the car, make sure you hold it with something that wont shock you, like a plastic handled screwdriver etc. You can also take a known good spark plug and stick in the end and the results should be similar.

Start with the basics, check for spark, fuel, and try getting it scanned for codes.

Where are you located? There might by chance be a member nearby to help you out? I think we all live really far apart, but you just never know.

[NeoSaiyan7]

Sorry that it has taken me a while to respond back. My shifter was the thing that was causing the problems. It had the tendency to get stuck once in a while, and my father fiddled with it and fixed it. I put it on neutral and started the car and worked just fine.