Problem starting 1998 Neon

Dec 21, 2004 4 Replies

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PHIL 21 years ago

Hi all:

I have a 1998 Plymouth Neon. Low miles- 16k, driven about

3-4 times a week for about 30 minutes a day.

The past couple days have been bitter cold- temps in the single digits during the day. I tried starting the car this am and it wouldn't go. Sounded like the battery didn't have enough juice. I waited a few minutes and tried again. This time I heard an _UGLY_ stater grinding noise & my car alarm stated acting crazy- activating while I was cranking the engine. I left it alone until later that day when I had another car available to jump start it. I hooked up the cables and let it charge up for a couple minutes. When I tried to start her up all I get now is the sound of the starter motor GRINDING. Not a pretty sound ...

Any thoughts on where the problem lies? Battery, starter, or ? Let me add that the battery was already replaced about a year ago.

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Bill Putney 21 years ago

Get a voltmeter out and find where the voltage drop is occurring - starting with the battery. What weight and type of oil are you using?

Also check the alternator output (voltage) with the engine running. The greatest/healthiest battery in the world can't supply starting current if it's not being properly charged between starts.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

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maxpower 21 years ago

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nospam.clare.nce 21 years ago

That nasty starter grinding noise COULD be a bad starter or frozen drive. If, like here, it dropped from above zero, wet, and sloppy, to minus 27 virtually overnight, the drive could well be iced.

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yishengster 21 years ago

I tend to agree with nospam - it's likely a bad starter. Last week I had exactly the same problem with my 96 Geo Prizm. The battery was 2 years old, and the starter was replaced 5 months ago at Pepboys. It was cold last week in DC and I heard this nasty grinding sound when starting the car. I took the car to Pepboys, since the starter is still under warranty. They told me it's indeed a bad starter - and they replaced it. Now everything seems to be fine.

Yisheng

snipped-for-privacy@sny.der.> >

contact this

grinding

another car

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