I just purchased a 96 Stratus 2.4l. The body was in good shape and mechanically it sounded fine. Besides, for $500 seemed like a decent bargain.

It still needs a safety inspection, so I can`t drive on the road as yet.

Yesterday I let the car idle in the parking lot and was playing around with the console. I switched on the a/c to see if it works (it does) and noticed the idle went all over the place - rising to 1500rpm then falling and almost stalling at 500rpm. I tried the heater/cooling fans and they worked too.

Anyways, I shut the fans and a/c off, but the idle was still doing this rising/falling motion even ten minutes later.

I haven`t tried the car since because I was working today.

Can anyone offer some suggestion what to look for?

One other thing, when driving the car home from the guy who sold me the car I noticed the "alternator/battery" light came on after a few minutes and stayed on all the way home (20 min drive). When I was idling the car yesterday, the light never came on. The seller said the battery was replaced earlier this year.

 

I'd try to run some seafoam thru the intake system ... It might be a dirty IAC

I'd bet the car has sat for awhile the battery might be slightly low on charge ... I'd clean the battery cables and check water level in it

 

Thanks I`ll try cleaning out the air intake.

I`m guessing the battery is located near the driver side fender? I haven`t looked as it`s dark now, but do I have to take off the panel behind the wheel to get at the battery posts? Jeez how awkward can they get!!! I`ll plug in the battery charger for the day and check the battery water level.

 

Battery is in the front drivers side wheel well ... So yes you have to pull the panel to look at it ... If you want to charge it they have a + point under the hood then ground the negitive(same goes for jump starting)

Also seafoam cleans the entire intake tract not just the intake tube ... I use 1/2 in the intake then pour the other 1/2 in the tank

 

Never heard of seafoam before. I`m in Canada but I`m guessing they would sell it at out local hardware/car store. For the intake, where should I pour it in also should it be with the engine running?

Is this seafoam a spray?

 

sounds like the high idle relay may be sticking or bad. the a/c compressor does not always stay on. like an a/c in the home, it runs for a bit then shuts off. because of the added load of running the compressor the motor needs to run at a higher rpm to keep from stalling or running the motor at a speed were there will not be enough oil pressure for the motor. the low rpm would suggest to me the the a/c compressor is running, yet the high idle did not kick in like it should. the overly high rpm sugest to me the relay is not cutting off when it should, yet the compressor is not running/putting an extra load on the motor.

the auto a/c system has several saftey features to save the compressor incase of a loss of coolant, which also carries the lube for the compressor. the low pressure switch, located on the bigger of the a/c (metal) lines running from the a/c radiator to the compressor/tank/dryer. also a high pressure switch located on the smaller line. either of these switches can be "jumped" by disconnecting the wires from the switch and using a small piece of wire to connect the leads on the wire loom side. it's always a good idea to have a guage hooked up to the low press side if you are planing to run the a/c with the low press switch jumped for longer than 15-20 seconds with out a long cool down time for the compressor (1/2 hr min). no press=no lube.

could also be an issue with the dash controlls. if you have the same issue with the ***** on defrost (not on a '96 model year, this started about MY 2000), witch should also turn on the a/c to help dry the air going on the windhield. you have a good idea it's the relays or switches.

hopes this helps, lets us know what you find.

 

Well I took the vehicle in for a safety inspection, it passed after replacing the front rotors and pads. That was a pleasant surprise considering the car had sat in a field for almost a year, before I came along and purchased it!

Anyways, I asked the guys (I know them well) to look at my idling problem. They gave her a tune up which was badly needed but they suspect the A/C fan was causing the idling issue. Apparantly the fan is "shot to hell" and was causing a load on the engine and upsetting the idle. In fact getting close to the unit I could hear the thing constantly rattling like something had broken apart.

Which leads me to, how big a job is changing the A/C fan?

Thanks.

 

The AC fan is electric on the radiator ...
do you mean the AC compressor ???

Seafoam is at most autoparts store , I remove a vacumn line and let it "suck" it into the intake ...

 

no big deal to change the fan, you really don't need it unless you do a lot of stop and go driving. it's just there to pull air across the a/c condenser (radiator on the front of the car). not having it working will cause an increase in the motor coolant temp, and the a/c to not blow as cold. not for sure but the motors should be interchangabe to keep build costs down.

hope this helps, happy motoring.