hey everyone, my uncle has a 2002 sebring that he bought for 500 bucks, its got an issue with the ac and heat and right now he is letting me drive it as my truck is down waiting to be fixed,

today was the first time i drove it and i noticed when accelerating the speedo needle would move but very slowly like the needle in a ticking clock, what is the issue and is there a fix?

the car only has 93k miles on it

 

The speedometer needle is controlled by the body computer feeding a signal to the instrument panel. The body computer gets information from the engine computer and the transmission computer based on a signal from the output speed sensor in the transmission. Somewhere between that sensor and the needle there's a problem. If your transmission is shifting properly then the problem is more likely somewhere between the input to the body computer and the needle on the dash.

 

have you ever seen this type of issue before? also the control for setting where the air comes out does not work

 

No.

I am assuming yours is a sedan (4 doors). There are many discussions here about the heater-A/C controls. Search through the Sebring forums and you'll probably find them. The control head is a known problem. It's very easy to replace. You might not be able to find a new one at a dealership, but as it was installed on Sebring sedans and Dodge Stratus sedans as well as Sebring convertibles from 2001 through 2006, it's a very common part and you should have no problem finding a second-hand part. Your best bet would be one from the later model years rather than earlier ones.

 

it is a sedan 4 door, i also talked to my uncle and he says the ac controls that are in there now are from a 2006 sebring and its still having the issue, could it be the actuator by the drivers right foot since it controls where the vents blow air? currently the is coming out at the feet and defroster at the same time when it is on

 

If I recall accurately, the mode door actuator can only be accessed by removing the entire instrument panel and taking out the A/C plenum and opening it up. If you had that done it would cost you 2 or 3 times what you paid for the car. If you decide to do it yourself, invest in a shop manual like a Haynes. It's a big job.

Try the calibration process first. With the engine running, turn the temperature dial to full cold, the mode dial to full defrost, the blower at any speed other than off, and press the rear defrost button until it beeps. The system will go through some gyrations for a minute or so and may come up with an error code which will be displayed in the odometer space. Search the web for the meaning of the error code. I don't have them.

 

i already tried that and it came up as ac 00