diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/ProblemMarkerInfo.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/ProblemMarkerInfo.java
index a81a635054b..dec62f9c962 100644
--- a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/ProblemMarkerInfo.java
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/ProblemMarkerInfo.java
@@ -87,8 +87,8 @@ public  class ProblemMarkerInfo {
 			this.externalPath = null ;
 			this.type = null;
 			this.attributes = new HashMap<String, String>();
-			this.startChar = -1;
-			this.endChar = -1;
+			this.startChar = startChar;
+			this.endChar = endChar;
 		}
 
 		/**
diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/resources/ACBuilder.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/resources/ACBuilder.java
index 8cb31bbec2e..1e03a9f4e8f 100644
--- a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/resources/ACBuilder.java
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/resources/ACBuilder.java
@@ -125,8 +125,8 @@ public abstract class ACBuilder extends IncrementalProjectBuilder implements IMa
 			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.MESSAGE, problemMarkerInfo.description);
 			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.SEVERITY, mapMarkerSeverity(problemMarkerInfo.severity));
 			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.LINE_NUMBER, problemMarkerInfo.lineNumber);
-			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.CHAR_START, -1);
-			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.CHAR_END, -1);
+			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.CHAR_START, problemMarkerInfo.startChar);
+			marker.setAttribute(IMarker.CHAR_END, problemMarkerInfo.endChar);
 			if (problemMarkerInfo.variableName != null) {
 				marker.setAttribute(ICModelMarker.C_MODEL_MARKER_VARIABLE, problemMarkerInfo.variableName);
 			}