ProtoMD Posted October 24, 2020 Report Share Posted October 24, 2020 Hi there, 2013 Journey. Went to drive it today, unlucked the car of the touch sensor on the door handle (interior lights came on) then noticed my tail lights were flickering before I got in the car to start it. Garage door remote clicked and the display faded for a second but didn't transmit. Tried to start, fob not detected, touched fob to start button and pressed. Then the screen flashed and the image on the screen distorted in pixelated lines before going black. No click, no turn, no start. Interior went dark including all dash lights. Lock buttons on exterior stopped working. I've had my charger on the battery in the car for over 4 hours. No signs of life upon trying again. I replaced the battery with a good battery last winter, finding a battery that looked new and not OEM. I last drove it on Wednesday or Thursday and it was working well. Temp is around 0 Celsius. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 sounds like a dead battery, that wont take a charge, put in a new one OhareFred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 To clarify: Battery is less than a year old. Checked at 4 hours on the battery charger and at over 8. No lights, nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 You stated you installed a battery “that looked new”. Was it new or not? Outer looks mean nothing. Batteries can go bad in 3 weeks. You need to have the battery tested. You can have it on a charger from now till doomsday and if you have a shorted cell it will never hold a charge or start the car. Newer cars are very voltage sensitive. Did you check the battery cables to make sure they are tight and clean? Have you tried jump starting the car? If you jump it and it starts you can have the battery properly tested, otherwise you may need to remove it and take it to be tested. AutoZone, O’Rielys, NAPA all have new electronic battery testers with print outs of battery test results. I really think you need to look into the battery first. If that checks good then you can move to the under hood fuse box and relays... Summer Solstice, ProtoMD and 2late4u 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summer Solstice Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 ^^ What he said. I've had personal experience of a bad cell in a 2 year old battery in the Journey. It had a charge but not enough to start the vehicle. Lots of weird lights and codes. Definitely a learning experience. Modern cars are not the vehicles of the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 I'll get the battery tested again. Was just tested in early September and passed. I haven't jumped it. I can't reach it with ny jumper cables from the other car as one is inside the garage and one out. Can't shift it out of park to move it closer. The battery I pulled out last year looked relatively new before I put this new battery in and the previous one was not OEM. It's been connected to a charger for about 24 hours now. No life signs. Just metered the battery from the remote terminals and it read just over 3v. I guess the battery just suddenly failed. I'll dig for the receipt to see if I can warranty claim it and I get the great joy of removing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 It’s a PIA, but not that terrible. Do you know anyone with a portable jump start unit? Easy to get to the jump terminals, and if you can get it in the open taking the tire off will be a lot easier. I changed my battery in about 30 mins including jacking it up. Make sure you get the cable ends clean and tight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted October 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Confirmed bad battery. Apparently, so bad that the tester machine at Canadian Tire had issues. It was under warranty and the swapped it out at no cost. Replaced battery and is immediately improved from lifeless to looking like it's all good. I haven't been able to take it for a drive yet but I'll keep an eye on it and will update the post if another issue is found that should be added. Armando G, Summer Solstice and OhareFred 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted October 25, 2020 Report Share Posted October 25, 2020 Glad it was a simple fix (relatively anyway) and under warranty! ProtoMD and 2late4u 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 Now is time to test alternator capacity to see if it’s is getting weak. Batteries last more than 12 months. I just changed my alternator at 160k kms this summer. With car running with most stuff turned off should be 13.3-14.1 at remote terminals under hood. Now turn on heated seats, radio, heater fan to full speed, might dip a little. Should still be over 13. Scratch the point of meter probes to get real good contact for readings; it does read about 0.3 volts lower at remote contacts under hood compared to right on battery terminals. 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 I’ve never had good luck with Canadian Tire batteries, not sure who makes them. Johnson Controls and Allied Signal are the big guys who make a lot of OEM and who make Costco Captain Kirk batteries and Wallymart Everstart. They are decent from my experience, and better priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 Also to consider doing besides a good alternator test would be to check for a power drain from some component left on(cell phone or such) and also that if equipped for proper audio and bluetooth (or whatever they call it) module shutdown when key is off. I've heard of those "fancy" gizmo's acting up and having a continuous power draw which can kill off a battery in a few days without being run. It's only been a couple days since you reported last that a new battery got things "cranking" again....you may not be quite "out of the woods" yet. As you should check to see why the last battery did not last very long IF it was a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted June 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 Less than a year (8 months) and we're back. My wife was trying to start it to drive it to the dealership for service on another issue (had gotten an oil change and said transmission fluid was "sweating" and suggested to bring it in). Displays were all clicking on and off while trying to start it, now nothing. No interior lights, nothing. Popped the hood to check the battery, less than 5v, could hear TIPM clicking. Charger is on the battery again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 did you follow up on the suggestions that were voiced before like having the alt checked to see if it is working properly?, did you check for any power draws when it is shut off? at least you should still be able to get another battery under warranty since less than the 1 yr timeframe,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, so who was doing the oil change and said that the transmission fluid was "sweating" i have never heard that one before , it could be leaking but not sweating fluid.must have been a quick oil change place i would assume,,,if you are using a good quality battery than yes you DO have something going on to run it down, have it checked out and yes that will cost you some $$ good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted June 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 (edited) Alternator was checked by mechanic that had said the previous battery tested fine. The "sweating" was at a quick oil change place. "Sweating transmission pan" is the quote. Just checked the battery, it's been plugged into a 2A charger/maintainer for 2 hours and it's at 3.15v. Previous reading was not stable as TIPM was clicking. Battery is a mid range Motomaster (Canadian Tire). It ran yesterday. It's not cold. It's been in a garage. Hopefully we can start it this afternoon to get it to the dealer. Edited June 1, 2021 by ProtoMD Clarification on sweating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 If your battery is at 3.15 volts after being on a charger it’s dead. Don’t care how old it is, it’s dead. Can you get it tested with an electronic tester and get a print out of the results? Battery health, charge state, voltage, etc. You need a replacement battery, then to figure out when it keeps going dead. You have a draw somewhere and it’s killing your battery. 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejizzle Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 Is your bluetooth working? if not.. pull fuse f131 (bluetooth module) i believe. known to draw a current ProtoMD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted June 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 Bluetooth is working or has been working prior. Just checked the battery, 3.09V. So it's not charging. Tried boosting it, accessories came on while boosting, but didn't start. I think we're calling for a tow at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 Alternator was checked by mechanic that had said the previous battery tested fine. find a new better qualified mechanic, as he missed a bad battery,start checking for a bad alt or electrical draw while park OhareFred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted June 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2021 So after trying to jump it, we're called a tow. Tow truck driver tries to jump it repeatedly, can't. Is having trouble getting the truck in position with the car in the garage. Can't shift into neutral without power so I suggest connecting the jump starter to at least power on the accessories so I can shift it into neutral. It amazingly started. Drove it to the dealership. Dealership is convinced that OEM batteries simply seem to do better in Journeys for some reason. Not sure I believe that but leave it with them. We get a call 5 minutes later asking if we knew there was a GPS tracking device connected on the car (nope, we did not). They're checking over everything but they seem to think that the GPS tracker may have been a constant drain on the battery all the time and could have been causing the issue. Will update this as we go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted June 2, 2021 Report Share Posted June 2, 2021 first oem battery is not always better than most batteries but better than some of them..everyone has their own thought on that,,,and yes the gps is probally your suspect cause for the battery drain, so i assume you didnt buy new or from a dodge dealership, i have a friend and they own a buy here pay here car lot and they put gps on all the vehicles so in case they have to track them down to repo them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summer Solstice Posted June 3, 2021 Report Share Posted June 3, 2021 ^^^^ That is good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted June 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2021 To clarify, we bought used from another dealership and paid cash in full. No financing. The dealership we bought from we bought from claimed to had done a full inspection and was unaware of the GPS and did not install it. They would not uninstall it as warranty. The Dodge dealership we took it to for service called us about 5 or 6 minutes after we dropped it off having found it and confirmed what it was. We'll get the car back later today, without a GPS tracker. larryl, 2late4u and OhareFred 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtoMD Posted June 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 We got the car back a couple days ago. Seems to be running well. They checked everything (no issue with alternator or other drains) so hopefully this addresses it and I won't be back on here this winter. Thanks everyone for the insight. 2late4u and Summer Solstice 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted June 5, 2021 Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 thank you for posting back what they found ...hopefully many miles of carefree driving in your future ProtoMD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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