Chrysler Repair: 1994 Dodge stalls at idle, engine code: 32, exhaust gas recirculation, dodge spirit

Question
The codes my 1994 Dodge spirit is flashing are 12 & 32. What do thse mean?
thank you in advance for your help. the car bogs quite a bit at idle & wants to stall(does sometimes) on the freeway it seems fine until you stop.
jim

Answer
Hi Jim,
The 12 code just means that in the past 50-100 key on-off cycles that the battery power to the engine computer was disconnected when instead it should be present at all times for purposes of memory preservation. This is usually not remarkable unless you have a loose battery cable or something of the sort.
The 32 is one my favorite codes because it is the cause of poor idling and stalling when you take your foot off the gas. It says the the exhaust gas recirculation system is not opening or closing when it is supposed to. That valve which controls the feedback of exhaust gas to the intake manifold needs to be closed when the throttle is closed otherwise it dilutes the mixture to the point of no idle.
It is a simple fix in most cases:
The valve on the 4 cyl engine is located behind the engine near the firewall, toward the passenger-end of that rear side of the engine. It mounted along a pipe going from the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold and has a round body bolted into the pipe, an open flange above and round top piece with some vacuum lines attached. Look within the flange to see a rod with a slot around its mid-section which is in fact the stem of the valve. It is supposed to move up and down (via a return spring to the closed position). That stem can get cruded with exhaust gases and stick ajar instead of closing all the way when you take your foot off the accelerator. Thus what you need to do is clear away the crud so the stem goes back and forth easily and firmly to the closed position. Take a spray can of solvent such as WD-40 and spray the stem just where it enters the valve body while using the tip of a screwdriver inserted in the slot of stem to move it up and down. Once you get it moving freely again all your problems will be solved!(related to the engine only, of course).
So take a look behind the engine while standing on the right (passenger side) of the car to find what I described.
I assume that you have the 4 cyl engine in the car, not the V-6
Roland