im trying to fix my neon ,can anyone help me?

Question

i got a bad miss and i have changed spark plugs and checked for vaccum leaks the plugs keep faling and covered with black sute,could it be my exhaust

Answer 1

Try reading the engine codes, you can do this by turning the ignition key to on, off, on, off, on (not all the way to start!)....and then watch the engine warning lite. The codes will show as pulses of lite. I.E. you will see 2 digit codes....there will be a pause between numbers. A single flash of one and then a slight delay with 2 flashes would indicate the number 12. You will find the codes by searching "How to read engine codes" in your search engine. As the other person said tho, you may have a bad head gasket, this will occur if the car has overheated and wasnt immediately shut off.

Answer 2

Check for codes as stated in the above post, then pull a compression test. No need to repalce the head gasket at this point, throwing parts at a car won't fix the problem. The wires and plugs may be fine, the coil pack is a common problem with those cars and I suspect that is the cause of your problem.
Do a search for Dodge forums, you'll get a lot more good info there than you will here.

Answer 3

is the "black sute" appear on the outer ceramic part of the plug? if you see any trace of carbon or a small black line on the outside of the plug, its your plug wires. most misfire problems on neons are due to bad plugs/wires. if you install new plugs, and dont replace the wires that have a carbon track you will ruin the plugs. you need to replace the plugs and wires at the same time, and use a dielectric grease in the boot of the wire.

if the plugs are fouling on the combustion side, you have a major rich condition probably due to a bad sensor input. you need a professional for this.

Answer 4

Black soot is caused by an over enrichment problem, too much gas, stuck open injector/ sucking fuel thru the EVAP system etc. Headgasket problem would NOT exhibit a running rich condition, usually overheat and blow white smoke out the tailpipe. Check computer for DTC's first, then post a question.

Answer 5

Sooty plugs are caused by too much fuel and NOTHING ELSE. There can be many reasons for this but one of the most frequent ones is the coolant temp sender going faulty. I mean the one for the computer not the gauge. You can't diagnose this yourself you need the services of a professional. Jules, Automotive lecturer. Australia.

Answer 6

Try replacing the head gasket. My hubby has had to replace many of them on our friends Neon's.