2000 Dodge stratus - question

Hi,

I'm hoping for some quick ideas on what might be wrong :

My daughter is driving our 2000 Dodge Stratus on a long trip from Minnesota to the east coast. About 2 hours into the trip, she turned on the air conditioner. It was at first working fine, but then the air flow decreased. The air is still cold but very little is flowing in, regardless of the fan level. She says the fan sounds like it's running fine, and the car temp is right in the middle of the range (so it's not overheating)

I had her do a few experiments :

1)Turn off the air and the fan, leaving the recircluate button off (ie : allow outside air in) Slow air flow, air is cold

2)Turn off air, fan, and turn recirculate button on. No air flow (as expected)

3)With recirculate button on, and air conditioner off, turn of the fan to the different settings Slow air flow, air is not cold

4)With recirculate button on, and air conditioner on, turn of the fan to the different settings Slow air flow, air is cold.

So it seems that it's somehow related to the venting system, not the air conditioner or the fan.

The car has about 120000 miles on it and it has been relatively well maintained.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Bob P

Reply to
Bob Palermo
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This may be related to a similar problem I was having with a 97 Caravan. Do a web search for "calibration procedure A/C dodge" or similar search terms..

For some reason or other, the vacuum motors that control the doors that route the air around get confused. The calibration procedure took care of the problem.

Reply to
QX

This is a very strange (and I think wrong) conclusion. If what you write is the way it was, it looks like a fan speed problem - fan turning on slowest speed only. Does she hear the fan sounding differently on the different speed settings? If not, it is stuck at one speed only. I think there was a related problem that was discussed here before - about the resistor pack that controls the fan speed - but I don't remember if it was about the Stratus or the Caravan.

Reply to
Patok

Find out if all 4 speeds of the fan are working or is it just high speed only.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler tech

Reply to
maxpower

Hi,

I called my brother, who is an oil burner mechanic. He also thought it was related to the vacuum control of the door (louver he called it) that routes the air. He said to try two things. One was to try turning the fan on, then go through the settings, and then turn it off. And then on, etc. and see if eventually she gets air flow. That actually worked, temporarily. Also he said to try banging the dash board above the glove compartment. That also worked, temporarily.

My daughter also found that turning off the air conditioner and fan for a while, and then doing the above steps, worked a little better in that the air circulation was good for a longer time.

So my daughter can now "nurse" the air conditioning for the rest of the trip. Then she'll bring it in to a mechanic to get it fixed. I'll let her know about the calibration issue so she can tell the mechanic.

Thanks,

Bob P.

Reply to
Bob Palermo

Hi,

Actually, I think the conclusion is correct. See my reply to QX, who may have it exactly. The door or louvre doesn't seem to be opening.

I guess I didn't supply enough information. The fan speed varies at different fan settings. She can hear the difference. It's just that the air flow doesn't change, and it's almost as if the fan is not on at all. The air flow is due to the car moving.

Thanks for your idea.

Bob P.

Reply to
Bob Palermo

Hi,

Yes, all four speeds are working and the sound is different at each setting. But the air flow is about the same at each setting.

I think QX has it right. See my reply to QX.

Thanks,

Bob P.

Reply to
Bob Palermo

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