Dodge Neon – Check Engine Light is On – Bank 1 Code Stored?

I have a 1998 Dodge Neon rt 2.0 dohc. A while back I washed up the engine compartment cause it was looking a little bad!! Ever since then my check engine light is on, had it checked said it was my bank 1 code, of course upstream o2 sensor, but it is not bad!! Friend of mine said it could be my throttle postion sensor, which makes sense cause at low idle, it acts up a little not a lot maybe goes from 900 rpms to 1100 rpms with out any other ac or radio on and fan not kicking on either. What do you think I should get looked at next??

Hey there,

First off NEVER wash off your engine compartment with water! Little late now, but water can get inside the strangest places and cause all kinds of weird electrical damage. What I would do next is spend some time looking VERY carefully at all the sensor connectors AND vacuum lines. If you used a high pressure hose, I would suspect you knocked off a vacuum line or a sensor connector.

I would also remove any sensor connectors that might be covered with rubber boots and make sure its dry underneath. Water produces a ground when it gets in contact with water .so anything that is still wet/damp should be dried and cleaned off. Water can get trapped under a rubber protective boot and cause rust thus a bad connection at that sensor.

If you don t see anything, get the codes read again. Bank 1 does not give me enough info. That could be something as simple as a spark plug wire that is bad/has a small crack in it and is causing a slight engine misfire. If you have not replaced the plugs and wires ..now would be a good time to do so at least for maintenance purposes anyway. I would also look at the throttle body and clean it as needed. A dirty throttle body can also cause idle issues like you describe.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Follow Up

Thank you very much for the information!! I have always cleaned engine compartments before with degreaser’s like Gunk and rinsed it off with water before with n problems, but then again this car has more sensors than the cia and fbi put together!! I will look at all the connections this weekend and clean them as needed!!

Thank you very much for the info, also the bank 1 code was saying it was my upstream o2 sensor that was giving it problems, but in the repair manual you get from say auto zone it said it could be a number of things showing that code!! But again thank you very much for the info!! Greatly appreciated and I will give you an update later, timothy!!

Howdy Timothy

Yes, I agree with that repair manual a number of things that set that code, worn spark plugs and wires causing a misfire could be one of them. O2 sensors are cheap and easy to replace yourself .if the sensor got wet .which could easily happen, you might want to replace it just for maintenance.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Dodge Neon – Check Engine Light is On – Bank 1 Code Stored?