97 engine swap wont start

[xXAnarchistXx]

I have a 96 highline neon, the motor blew, and i swapped a 97 sport into it, the new motor started in the other car fine but won't start in the 96. its not getting spark most of the time and when it does its a big spark and only in one cylinder. Also sometimes it will sound like its gonna start, others it just back fires, and most of the time nothing but cranking. (the timing is perfect on it) i ve changed the crank and cam sensors along with the pcm and still nothing. Any help would be great .
Thanks.

[thisnametooktolong]

I have not done any engine swaps in a dodge since the 2.5 into a 87 GLHS turbo with 89 electronics so I cant be that much help.
you need to do a few things and do some research 3 ways
1.) You may just have a bent pin in one of the plugs or loom plug that is not seated properly. Always check the last thing you did. Unfortunate this would include everything
2.) I know that dodge is good about using the same harness but they do leave some blank wires that are needed for other cars hidden in the looms. One or more of those could be a problem. Graphing your sensors when the car is cranking would be a good simple start to finding out what signal/signals you are missing or wired backwards
3.) Make sure that all engine sensors are the same for the two years, b.) Check the wiring diagrams to see if the two engines are wired exactly the same, c.) Make sure that the fuel injection is the same type (batch or sequential with the same firing order

[tnbgaskill]

you need to use the pcm out of the 96 otherwise cooling fans won't kick on i did same thing recently switched pcms and almost cooked the motor as far as mine it runs but had to switch the wiring harnessess for crank sensor and coil pack i posted right before you cant figure mine out now i am leaning more towards exhaust or something else i checked and rechecked every sensor and timing everything is good try that and let me know

[xXAnarchistXx]

Alright thanks for the info, ill give it a try and post anything new.

[xXAnarchistXx]

Originally Posted by xXAnarchistXx

Alright thanks for the info, ill give it a try and post anything new.

Tried the solutions you ve given me and still having the same problem

[xXAnarchistXx]

Okay well i solved the problem, i went to neons.org, and they helped me there, what i did was i pluged in the 97 pcm that came with the motor to test the cam sensor seeing as how the 96 is the only one that needs it to start. well then i unplugged the cam sensor and tried starting it, it fired right up. so it ended up that i had bought a bad cam sensor. but seeing as how the fans wont kick on with the 97 pcm i have to get another sensor and use the 96 pcm again. Thanks for your help though i appreciate it

[thisnametooktolong]

I just re-read my post and I cant believe that I forgot to mention that you needed to monitor the cam and crank sensors when cranking the motor. I guess that is because you said that some times it would fire and some times it would not. I was leaning more to a wiring issue than a sensor issue
You say that you have solved the problem by discovering a new bad crank sensor. Have you checked the hall effect switch with a magnet? Did you check the connector for internal damage on the side of the harness as well as a bent pin on the sensor?

Careful you may just start tossing “bad parts” at the problems as fast as you can get them.

Good luck and I hope it works for you