So, have a 06 Stratus with the 2.4 and 189K on it. Been a great car but is slowly developing several electrical problems. Things like the passenger door window won't go down, and it's not the switch. Not getting power to it. Then the power door lock button on the driver door, same thing. Not the button. Then the key fob stopped unlocking the driver door, it will unlock the other three if you push the button twice, like it's supposed to. Replaced the latch / solenoid in the door and it seems to be getting electrical signal to it, but still doesn't unlock the door. I list those problems to paint a little picture of the little gremlins that have been popping up the last 3 years. The real problem I need help with is in the next paragraph.

Now, the A/C is giving me fits. Everything has been replaced in the last year. New compressor, new condensor, new evaporator coil, dryer, etc etc. Even the high pressure switch. When it works, it's cold. However, the compressor is not getting power through the wire all the time to kick the clutch on so it will run the compressor and cool. In the moring, when it's cool, it works fine. But once it heats up in the afternoon, and the car has been sitting at work, it does not want to work. (Live in Texas and it's been over 100 everyday lately). It might kick the compressor on for a couple of seconds every minute or so, if I'm lucky. We put a jumper wire on the plug to the compressor clutch and confirmed that when there was electricity passing through the wire, it kicked the compressor on.

Replaced the relay and that seemed to solve the problem, for a couple of days and now it's back to not wanting to come on in the heat (when of course you want it!). So, there is a break or weak wire within the system. My question is: Is there known electrical system problems with the Stratus? Anyone have any input as to where to narrow down this problem? I'm thinking of taking it to the dealer, but afraid they are just going to say replace the wiring harness for the whole car (which would be cost prohibitive).

 

As far as the modules on these cars they are pretty solid. All your door problems sound exactly like a few broken wires in the harness where it enters the door. Years of flexing will eventually break the wires. All the power
window wires go to the junction block and dash connectors and all the door lock and switch wires go to the BCM if you wanted to do a continuity check. Or you can just peel back some tape and pull on the wires one by one to see if any are broken. The AC issue could be anything from a bad evap core temperature sensor but most.likely there might be too much refridgerant in the system tripping the high pressure switch when things heat up and the gasses expand. Check the control side of the AC relay with a test light and see if the PCM is or is not commanding the AC clutch on. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input:

The mechanic who put the evaporator core in said he didn't see one. Any idea where on the stratus this would be located? As for the refrigerant, that's not the issue. It's a wiring problem I'm certain, power is not going through the wire, or going through for very short bursts occasionally to the clutch. This is certain. As stated, replaced the relay and that fixed it for about three days. And the system works fine in the morning when it's cool, it's just after sitting on the sun all day of a 100-degree day that it either doesn't kick the clutch on, or it will only do it momentarily from time to time.

 

The temp sensor is stuck in the evap core behind the glovebox. It has its own round cap that snaps into the side of the heater box and has a 2 pin connector that plugs into it.

Try swapping the AC relay with another one like the starter or wipers, they are all the same. That would give you more information on if the relay is bad or something else. Also try connecting a test light multimeter to the AC clutch wires at the connector by the compressor. Make sure the clutch is plugged in when doing this test so you can see if power is being sent to the clutch. But wiring problems only really get worse over time. Still sounds like a PCM control input problem to me meaning the PCM doesn't like what it sees from other sensors or switches and shuts the compressor off. Not sure if the ambient air temp sensor or even the intake air temp sensor plays a role but I know the PCM will shut off the compressor for random things like every time the car is at WOT.

 

I thought I should clarify on connecting a test light or multimeter to the AC clutch circuit at the compressor. This is to rule out a possible open circuit in the clutch coil windings when they heat up which is a good possibility. With the compressor bolted to a warm engine, it would take all night to cool down enough to work again. Seeing 12v at the clutch connector and not having the clutch engage would tell you right there that the clutch is bad. The ground connection for testing can be the engine block or battery negitive cable.

 

I'll see if I can find it.

Tried that. Didn't do anything. Put a brand new A/C relay in and it solved the problem for like 3 days, then back to acting up again.

Did this also. Power is being sent to the clutch, but only intermittently. The clutch will kick on whenever there is power sent to it, but it's breaking down somewhere before getting to the clutch.

Operation in the morning when the outside temperature is below say 85 degrees it works fine so I don't think it's anything to do with the brand new compressor / clutch.

I'm with you here. For some reason the power is not being sent to the clutch. Whether it's a wire breaking down due to heat (because heat is a factor in this) or a bad sensor as you are alluding to.

 

Sounds like we need to go more upstream and check the control (coil) and load (output) side of of the relay. The new relay fixing it for 3 days seems odd because they either work or they don't and swapping it out with another relay from the box is pretty much like putting a brand new relay in the AC socket.

Anyway, you can check the 4 pins of the relay with it still plugged in by pulling it out just far enough where you can slip your multimeter/test light leads under the relay to touch the pins but the pins are still connected to the box. Your relay probably has 5 pins but ignore the center pin in the row of three small pins. All inputs and outputs to and from the relay will be using 12v. The two smaller pins are the control side coming from the PCM and the two bigger pins are the load side going to the clutch. The PCM controls the relay by grounding it so there will be a constant 12v feed on one of the small pins when the key is on and the PCM will turn on and off a ground on the other small pin when it wants to turn the relay on and off. On the load side, one big pin will also have 12v power on it at all times and the other pin will go straight to the clutch coil. The other side of the coil is grounded at all times so the relay pin that go to the coil will have 12v on it when the relay is turned on and the same pin will also turn into a ground when the relay is turned off because the coil is sending that ground back up the wire.

Hopefully with that information you can do some tests on whatever part of the circuit you want now. I'd go straight for testing the control side of the relay and put your two test leads on both small pins of the relay and see if the PCM is indeed commanding the clutch off most of the time. 12v with the leads across both small pins and at the same time the clutch turns on means the PCM is in control. 12v at the two pins and no clutch means the problem is a broken wire between the relay and clutch.

 

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All great information! Thanks for taking the time. I am going to run these checks when I get the chance.

Any thoughts about the heat component to all this? In the morning when it's 77 degrees out the A/C works fine on the 20-minute drive to work. After sitting all day in what ends up being 98–105-degree heat, it may work for 30 seconds and then starts it's random turning on and is never on enough to cool the air coming out of the vents, eventually not coming on at all.

On another note but running concurrent to this problem is the engine fan. Before all this started, the engine fan would cycle with the A/C compressor when the car was stopped, or at a point where there was not enough air moving across the condenser as it should. Compressor comes on, fan came on. Would not do this going down the highway, because there was plenty of air moving across the condenser.

Now, once the A/C comes on and the high-pressure switch starts the fan it stays on. Even after turning the A/C off. Even going down the highway. I am familiar with when the fan should come on in accordance with engine heat by watching the temp Guage. The engine never gets a chance to heat up now that the fan is on all the time.

 

Once you test at the relay and if it does end up that the PCM is actually commanding the relay off, that would indicate the PCM is getting a bad reading from a sensor, probably the high pressure switch.

Besides the coolant getting too warm, the fans will only turn on with the AC when the pressure in the high side of the system reaches a certain point it'll kick the fans on. Check things out but sounds like too much refrigerant in the system causing too high of pressures or a faulty high pressure switch throwing everything off. Testing system pressures would require an AC manifold gauge set and checking the pressure switch would requite either good known voltage readings for a given pressure or a scantool that can read the pressure switch reading from the PCM.