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

On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 10:14:01 -0500, "Bob Palermo"
<rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote:

>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
>
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.

Bob Palermo wrote:
> 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.

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.

"Bob Palermo" <rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:iYGdnSnM5YakVgjVnZ2dnUVZ_oPinZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> 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
>
>

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

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler tech

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.





"QX" <nomail@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:f57c94100rhsdemgghbb8mbc1k44jeqgfv@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 10:14:01 -0500, "Bob Palermo"
> <rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>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
>>
> 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.

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.


"Patok" <patok@pataklama.net> wrote in message news:g757gt$kl9$1@aioe.org...
> Bob Palermo wrote:
>> 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.
>
> 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.

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.


"maxpower" <gjbeasley@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:WMOdnWrzjPeOtgvVnZ2dnUVZ_t7inZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>
> "Bob Palermo" <rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:iYGdnSnM5YakVgjVnZ2dnUVZ_oPinZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>> 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
>>
>>
>
> Find out if all 4 speeds of the fan are working or is it just high speed
> only.
>
> Glenn Beasley
> Chrysler tech
>
>
>

The Calibration procedure is a DIY project that takes about 5 minutes
at most. It involves pressing multiple control buttons, some
simultaneously. The system then enters a self test/calibration
routine. In my case, once the routine completed, the system worked
fine. Search this forum, the web, or one of the Dodge or Chrysler
forums for the procedure. I used to keep a copy in the van, but tossed
my copy when I traded the van for a new one.
www.dodgeforum.com
www.dodgetalk.com
www.chryslerforum.com


On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 20:22:49 -0500, "Bob Palermo"
<rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote:

>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.
>
>
>"maxpower" <gjbeasley@comcast.net> wrote in message
>news:WMOdnWrzjPeOtgvVnZ2dnUVZ_t7inZ2d@comcast.com ...
>>
>> "Bob Palermo" <rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote in message
>> news:iYGdnSnM5YakVgjVnZ2dnUVZ_oPinZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>>> 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
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Find out if all 4 speeds of the fan are working or is it just high speed
>> only.
>>
>> Glenn Beasley
>> Chrysler tech
>>
>>
>>
>

"QX" <nomail@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:7khg94t356o6455am1bo8au7nfvfidlg38@4ax.com...
> The Calibration procedure is a DIY project that takes about 5 minutes
> at most. It involves pressing multiple control buttons, some
> simultaneously. The system then enters a self test/calibration
> routine. In my case, once the routine completed, the system worked
> fine. Search this forum, the web, or one of the Dodge or Chrysler
> forums for the procedure. I used to keep a copy in the van, but tossed
> my copy when I traded the van for a new one.
> www.dodgeforum.com
> www.dodgetalk.com
> www.chryslerforum.com
>
>
> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 20:22:49 -0500, "Bob Palermo"
> <rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> >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.
> >
> >
> >"maxpower" <gjbeasley@comcast.net> wrote in message
> >news:WMOdnWrzjPeOtgvVnZ2dnUVZ_t7inZ2d@comcast.com ...
> >>
> >> "Bob Palermo" <rj_palermo@comcast.net> wrote in message
> >> news:iYGdnSnM5YakVgjVnZ2dnUVZ_oPinZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> >>> 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
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >> Find out if all 4 speeds of the fan are working or is it just high
speed
> >> only.
> >>
> >> Glenn Beasley
> >> Chrysler tech
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >

Not related to the Stratus. There is no self diagnostics for this vehicle




Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech