My car is exhibiting some strange behavior, opinions welcome.

[Aldo]

Ok, before I get into this, I just got back from taking my car to the shop, so whatever the problem is, I'm getting it looked into, but in the meantime, I was just curious if some people could offer some input so I know what I may be dealing with (to put my mind at ease, somewhat).

I have a 2002 Doge Neon, it's been running fine for the most part, but lately I've seen signs of something wrong. When I would start my car all the gauges would spin around irradically before settling on where they were supposed to be. Then just today it started having trouble starting, after struggling a bit, it would start. Not wanting a dead car on my hands I drove it to the shop while I still could.

I'm just curious if anyone has had these two symptons occur at the same time and could possibly explain what it might be.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

I have a 2002 Doge Neon

There's your problem.

When I would start my car all the gauges would spin around irradically before settling on where they were supposed to be. Then just today it started having trouble starting, after struggling a bit, it would start. Not wanting a dead car on my hands I drove it to the shop while I still could.

I'm just curious if anyone has had these two symptons occur at the same time and could possibly explain what it might be.

Something related to the electrical system would be my guess. Your battery may not be charging properly or the current may not be steady to the electrical system causing the gauges to freak out.

Continued starting and driving might drain the battery enough to make it hard to start.

That's my guess. Other than it's an '02 Neon.

 

[Aldo]

Hey I like my Neon

But thanks for replying, now it's just a waiting game to find out what the issue is.

 

[MacLeod]

If it's to do with the charging, it might be the altinator.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I blame aliens.

 

[Aldo]

If it's to do with the charging, it might be the altinator.

I mentioned the symptoms to a friend the other day and she also said it might be the alternator. In any event, I'm just glad I took it in before it was too late.

 

[RandyS]

I blame aliens.

So do I.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Having your car break down hurts like HELL, ok? HELL. They do it beLOW the dashboard...HELL-LO...

 

[Finn]

I'd say the alternator. My gauges did the same thing whenever I needed a new one...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

How cold is it out there right now, Aldo? The winter weather can do some hinky things to a car battery.

 

[Captain Ice]

I'd suspect the problem to turn out to either be the alternator or the battery. It's also possible that you have corrosion somewhere causing a bad connection. Usually this shows up on one or the other of the battery terminals, but can happen elsewhere.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Behavior problem, eh? Have you considered an automobile psychologist?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^

"So, Mr. Neon, let's talk about your mother the car."

 

[JiNX-01]

Ok, before I get into this, I just got back from taking my car to the shop, so whatever the problem is, I'm getting it looked into, but in the meantime, I was just curious if some people could offer some input so I know what I may be dealing with (to put my mind at ease, somewhat).

I have a 2002 Doge Neon, it's been running fine for the most part, but lately I've seen signs of something wrong. When I would start my car all the gauges would spin around irradically before settling on where they were supposed to be. Then just today it started having trouble starting, after struggling a bit, it would start. Not wanting a dead car on my hands I drove it to the shop while I still could.

I'm just curious if anyone has had these two symptons occur at the same time and could possibly explain what it might be.

OMG. Your car isn't named Christine by any chance, is it?

 

[Trekker4747]

The gauges on my car freak out when it's really cold and I've just started the car too, but in my case it's probably just some electrical or computer problem. If your car actually didn't start it's likely the alternator but it depends on... how it didn't start.

Did your dome light come on when you opened the door?

When you turn the key did:

a) Nothing at all happen?
b) Did the car's starter crank but just never turn over?
c) Did the car's starter crank for a few tries of the key before nothing at all happening?

Depending on how the car didn't start could give details to any number of things wrong in the electrical system. You could not have a bad alternator but just a bad battery. When was the last time you got a new battery for the car? They typically last around five years and are more likely to go bad/fail than the alternator even on a 10-year-old Neon.

Hell, it's even possible the battery is good and the battery cables are corroded or otherwise incapable of properly charging/using the battery. It's possible the cables or the battery could just "have trouble" with cold weather either due to their age or trouble.

My opinion is there is a problem either somewhere between the alternator and the battery and exactly which is the problem would depend on (for me) some diagnostic trials that I'd have tried first before taking the car in, starting with charging the battery by jump-starting the car and allowing the alternator to charge the battery (by leaving it running with all of the accessories off for about half an hour of either idling or driving.) If the problem is the alternator the car likely won't run long because it won't be providing the car with electricity to run the computer and the other electrical systems and will be calling on the battery, which won't be able to power the car for long. If the problem is the battery the car will run fine but just won't start at some point when tried. (A fully charged battery should be able to give you one or two starts.)

Without a diagnostic trial I'd first replace the battery since that's going to be a lot cheaper to replace than an alternator and if the current battery is old enough you likely need a new one anyway. Heck even before that cleaning the cables and the battery posts can go a long way to correcting electrical issues with a car.

 

[RandyS]

^ Having your car break down hurts like HELL, ok? HELL. They do it beLOW the dashboard...HELL-LO...

Oh you don't have to tell me. I once destroyed two (yep, TWO) engine blocks in my old pick-up.

I loved that pick-up.

It's the ONE part of having cerebral palsy that I'm happy about. Now that I'm no longer able to drive I don't have the expense of maintaining the damn thing.

But I'm STILL convinced aliens destroyed my pick-up.......

 

[Owain Taggart]

It's Herbie reincarnated...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

But I'm STILL convinced aliens destroyed my pick-up.......

Wonder if it's the same ones who ate Thomas Dolby's Buick.

 

[Aldo]

Just heard back, turns out it was the battery. It's my fault as I've known for the last year or so that I needed a new battery, I should have replaced it a long time ago. In any event it's now costing me a bit more than it would have if I just went ahead and replaced the battery. They also wanted to flush my power steering fluid and charge me 70 bucks for that, but I'm just going to do that one myself.

 

[Kirby]

Well a battery isn't so bad, especially if you knew if was a problem. Good call not going for the power steering flush, they'll upsell you on everything.
By the way, I had a 1995 Neon, worst car I have ever owned.