engine skipping and spuddering at idle when cold

negusjuda · Post by **negusjuda** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:29 am

just a question my car seem to slightyly skit and spudder at idle when the car isnt warmed up my first thought is it need plugs and wires but then thought could it be fuel related any suggestions on what to do first

latief · Post by **latief** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:34 am

What year neon? How many miles on the car? did you change the plugs and wires?

more info will be helpful ........

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:53 am

There are many things to look into. More info like latief said would be helpful.

negusjuda · Post by **negusjuda** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:43 pm

its a 03 sxt with 62k on it i havent changed the plugs yet but i was told to try dry gas first because of the dramatic temperature change may have caused condensation on the plugs but i did get a set of plugs and wires to change anything else recommended for change since it has 62k miles

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:27 pm

I would start with the plugs and wires. While you are there, check for any oil in the spark plug tubes. If there is any, make sure all of the tubes are seated evenly. It is pretty common for them to raise up and allow oil into the plug area.

Do that first and see how it does.

kstevens91 · Post by **kstevens91** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 9:14 am

yea i think im gonna do new plugs cuz new wires were put on not too long ago by the previous owner...i did notice a VERY small amount of oil in the 4th cylinder plug...then in the 3rd theres like just enough to cover the bottom...other 2 are dry tho. new gaskets?

Post by **racer12306** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 9:21 am

plugs in a neon only last 30,000 miles, so if there were never changed, change them first.

if you want to go long distances look into iridium plugs

also change the wires while you are there, they are only good for 60,000 miles however mine started missing at 32000ish

negusjuda · Post by **negusjuda** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:31 pm

change plugs and wires and problem fixed thanks guys and is oil on the plugs common in neons because im used to hondas this is my first neon and i know oil on plugs in hondas spell engine failure

latief · Post by **latief** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:40 pm

negusjuda wrote:change plugs and wires and problem fixed thanks guys and is oil on the plugs common in neons because im used to hondas this is my first neon and i know oil on plugs in hondas spell engine failure

a little oil on the spark plugs in the neon is an easy fix. but if you fix it, and still have oil then you are in trouble.....

usually most of the problem comes from the valve-cover gaskets and o-rings...a quick and cheap replacement ......

Good to hear that the problem went away...my experience with my car is that these are very dependable cars, and are easily maintained .......this is a great forum to learn about neons.....welcome aboard

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:07 pm

negusjuda wrote: i was told to try dry gas first because of the dramatic temperature change may have caused condensation on the plugs

You will only get condensation in your fuel tank. Condensation in the combustion chamber would mean more serious issues. I imagine if the engine sat for months it could happen, but overnight, no. Unless you have coolant leaking in.
Oil in the sparkplug tubes is what was referred to in the above posts. If there is enough built up, it can short the plugwires and cause a misfire.
Welcome to the forum, and glad you got it fixed.

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:50 pm

BUMP.

From my car stalling those two times, it is doing this pretty regular now. It's like I'm trying to drive a cold carb'd engine around for the first few minutes. If I give it a decent amount of gas from a stop, the engine seems to stumble over itself a bit too. I pulled the plugs not too long ago at 30,000 miles, and they still looked superb, along with the gap still being at 0.035." So, my question is I guess, can plug wires just get old, even if the resistance is still well within specs? I just tested them all and they are all at about 3000 ohms, but they have almost 105,000 miles on them (original as far as I know). I'm going to pull the plugs in a bit when the engine cools some more and recheck them.

I was planning on replacing the wires and plugs here in a bit since I finally got a job again (4 months sans job sucks), but am hoping the above is my current problems' cause.

Memitim · Post by **Memitim** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:12 pm

IT'S ALIVE, THE THREAD IS ALIVE!

Seriously, yes, the plug wires could very well be the problem. I have to replace mine every 25-30k. Those things are flaky; I even had the metal core come out of one once. Last time I bought premium 7.5 wires, just in case they actually last a few thousand miles longer. But I've gotten accustomed enough to it that as soon as my Neon starts dragging ass at startup, I just go and switch the wires. Fortunately they are very cheap as far as car parts go.

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:25 pm

Even tho the conductors may test good, the insulation is prolly letting a lot of the voltage leak out. If you run it at night, you might see some interesting stuff going on. IDK if they would be as bad as the old 1970's wires, but on my first car the wires had so many cracks in them they literally glowed in the dark. There were hundreds of little spider vein type arcs going along each wire. The scary part is, the engine ran pretty well.

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:36 am

I will give it a shot then. I'm going to get the wires and new plugs tomorrow (even though mine are still good) and see what happens. Hopefully this is it because the timing belt/water pump are coming up very, very shortly.

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 1:24 am

Thinking it was the old wires, though I'm sure the new plugs didn't hurt either. The old ones had a bit over 30K on them. Car is running tits now in the cold. Thanks!

2GN.ORG

engine skipping and spuddering at idle when cold

engine skipping and spuddering at idle when cold

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