Hello all,
This is a bit unusual. I have an 02 Stratus sedan SXT 2.4 with auto trans, and about 61,000 miles. Currently, my fiance drives it in Indiana, while I moved to Colorado for work. I went to see her for Thanksgiving, and while I was in town, I gave the car the once-over. Had it in the shop, replaced the muffler, had a 4 wheel alignment done, replaced all 4 rotors and pads, and changed the oil. While I was in town, I drove it every day and the car ran beautifully. I've since returned to Colorado and my fiancee calls me and complains that occasionally, after starting, the speedometer goes wacky. Literally bouncing crazily between 0 and 120 MPH, while the car is in park. It does this for 6 or 7 seconds and steadies out at 0. I've personally seen the car do this once, several months ago, but it was a one time thing. Afterward, the guage worked properly while she would drive it. Now, she says that this is intermittent, happens once a month or so, but I'm not sure what causes it. Then, she told me of a clicking noise coming from the steering wheel. I have seen other reports of this in the forum, but I've never experienced it myself, so I'm unsure of what's causing it. Then, today she calls me and complains that the airbag light comes on in the instrument cluster periodically... I'm thinking to myself, "What is this woman DOING to my car?!?! How can you 'break' an airbag system?" But when I'm with her, she drives carefully and babies the car. I have no idea what's going on. So, three problems: Crazy speedo, clicking wheel, and airbag light. I know Dodges have a history of funky electrical systems; does my car need a new computer? New rack and pinion unit? I don't have a clue. Any ideas?

 

it sounds like something i went through in a chevy beretta i had. I wish i remembered what was replaced, gove ya a starting point. its definatly electrical, any warrenty left on it? thats yur best bet. the part that may cost you the most if you dont have a warrenty is to pay someone to look into it, tear the gauge cluster out, etc... but like you said dodges are known for electrical problems, i know one thing i would never own an Intrepid, ha, good luck man

 

Yes, I've got a warranty. I bought the car used, and I purchased the extended warranty. It's covered until around 88,000 miles or so. I'd hate to have to go to the dealer because of the horror story my brother lived through... He has an 04 SRT-4, purchased new last year, and the car was stuck at the dealer for 3 weeks because they 'couldn't figure out' that the computer was bad. The air bag light is the thing that worries me the most; would this be a fuse or some other problem? I really wish I wasn't a thousand miles away from the car to check myself, and my fiancee is a putz when it comes to checking things on the car...

 

yeah, that does suck, if the light is just flickering on and off its probably just a wiring issue and nothing more, im sure the scensor for the bag is still good, its probably coming on because the speedo is messed up too, you may need to replace the whole guage cluster, best bet, but have someone look at it first, best bet

 

The issue you are having with the speedometer going crazy is most likely a grounding problem. Make sure all connections on the cluster are tight. The clicking in the steering wheel and airbag light is caused by a broken clockspring. Does your horn and cruise control still work? If they are still working, they wont be for long. When the clockspring is broken, there is no way for those wires to rotate when you turn the steering wheel and eventually the connections will pull themselves loose when you turn the wheel. Just go to a local salvage yard and pull a new clockspring from any dodge car 01-05. Not hard to do, just go grab a hayes manual from your local part store.