If a 1995-2000 Dodge Neon 2.0L won’t start, and it has no spark, but has injector pulse, the problem could be that the dowel pin is snapped off in the cam causing it to be mechanically out of time even though the external belt timing marks are correct.

TEST & FIX
If after an extended crank, the scanner reads cam no and synchronization lost, inspect for a sheared cam dowel pin. With a dual trace scope, check the pattern of the cam and crank sensor to verify that patterns are in synchronization. If they are out of synchronization, loosen the cam bolt and slip the sprocket away from the cam a small amount to look for dowel pin protruding out of the cam into the sprocket. If no pin is seen, the dowel pin has been sheared and needs to be replaced. When the dowel pin is snapped off in the cam, it can be mechanically out of time even though the external belt timing marks are correct.

Note: When tightening the cam bolts, the sprocket needs to be held with a spanner wrench to avoid shearing the dowel pin.

Courtesy of Identifix.

For additional information on all the products offered by Identifix, visit www.identifix.com.