94 Eclipse problems - engine light, rough idle & dies when A/C is on, loud rattling

I have a 1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse with 110,000 miles on it, manual transmission. It ran pretty nicely for a while but then I drove from Phoenix to Kansas City and back. Ever since, four things have begun happening:

1) The engine light is always on.

2) The engine or something near it rattles loudly when the car is running.

3) The car normally idles at around 1100rpm but it periodically (once every two or three seconds) drops 200-300 rpm when I'm sitting at the stop light. Doesn't matter if I'm in nuetral or not, it always does it so long as I don't have my foot on the gas.

It's not so bad when the A/C is off, but for each notch I turn the A/C up the idle dips lower, and if I have the A/C on full-blown, it drops all the way and dies instantly every single time I take my foot off the gas. This is a big problem since I live in Phoenix!

It seems like the problem is worse when it's really hot outside (like 95 degrees plus, and this is separate from the A/C issue), but I could just be imagining things.

4) It seems to sometimes be leaking something -- not enough that you'd notice it happening, but I'll notice wet stains beneath the car on the driveway if I haven't driven it in several days. The car also has started to generally smell like fuel or something.

I know very little about cars, but I was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks!

For the check engine light (CEL)... take it in to get tested and see what it says. I bet the CEL will tell you exactly why the car is idling so crappy.

For the rattle, open he hood and see where's it coming from. It's hard to diagnose a rattle online. I know the exhaust heat shields have a tendency to rattle, so check those out. But let it run and still your head around until you find it.

The A/C puts a heavy load on the engine, the higher up, the worst your idle will be. That's true with almost every older car. But it's dying because of something else, which is probably what the CEL is about.

Is the stain dark in color, green, light? Again, stick your head under the car and see where's it coming from. Probably oil.

The same thing happened to me. The CEL is probably going to bring back a misfire in one or more of the cylinders. I had a horrible misfire at idle (but never stalled out) and a major oil leak.

Head work is going to be expensive...

I just recently submitted a post with some of the same issues with my '94 Eclipse of 5-6 weeks.
You might want to read my original post and the responses I got:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=5764747#post5764747 (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=5764747#post5764747)

I don't know much about cars either...well, unless it's a 61 Comet...haha!!

After reading replies to my post...you might need this link for the definition of an "interference engine"... I had no idea what it was...so, if you don't, this will scare the heck out of you if you have a timing problem!!!
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1234675 (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1234675)

My problem turned out to be a broken sprocket...so, it no longer matters that the timing belt was only 3000 miles old...CRAP!!!

Best of luck!!
Lee

go here:
http://www.ebooksquad.com/2008/04/23/mitsubishi-obd-1-dlc-error-code-and-self-diagnostic.html
download the book, scope for codes, post codes here if you need additional help. bent valve stems won't rattle, you'll have audible knocking noise.
easiest way to find the source of the noise is to get a stick, maybe inch in diameter, hard wood, like pool cue, touch engine with one end and place opposite end against your ear. works like good stetoscope. keep searching till you locate it. beware! it's gonna be LOUD!:runaround: :runaround: :iceslolan