wingit11 Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 This morning tried to use the remote start and would not start the engine. Sure it was cold. -26 C (-15 F) but this is when I need it most. Did not have block heater plugged in. Forgot last night. Started when I went out to go but it did protest and did not turn over very fast. Two hours later tried remote again and no-start. Got home, shut down and restarted with remote with warm engine. No problem. Guess I should check the battery as it may be weak at those cold temperatures. Tomorrow will go to battery shop and have a load test done to see what condition battery is in and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 never have had a great history with mopar batteries this is the longest ive went with-out any problems with the org. battery going on about 3yrs so i am thinking of getting a new one put in rather be safe than stranded, and we dont get any where near close to the cold that you are getting ( THANK GOD) but that kind of cold is hard on the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guls Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Cold doesn't ruin the battery. Heat does but you need more juice in winter, that is when it gives out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Cold doesn't ruin the battery. Heat does but you need more juice in winter, that is when it gives out. Cold does affect cranking power. As the temperature drops so does the reserve cranking amps. At about -20 C you effectively lose 60% of the cranking power and at -40 C it looses over 80%. If you have a weak battery it can still turn over an engine in warm weather but when it gets cold you find out very quickly you have a weak battery. You also compound everything else is cold including engine oil the battery must do a tremendous amount of work to crank over the engine. That is why before I get too concerned about my remote start I am going to check the condition of the battery with a load test. If it checks out good, then I will going to the dealer to find out what is wrong. 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman425 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 One of the conditions that must be met for the remote starter to work is "battery at an acceptable charge level". Make sure all doors, liftgate and hood are closed. Low fuel light or "check engine" light illuminated will also prevent remote starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris1276 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I just noticed it also earlier. I went to check my engine oil level at cold engine, it was higher than safe range.. I tried to start it using remote while hood is ajar and it didnt start. So i went in and start manually.. Check oil with warm engine and its on the safe range a bit lower than criscross line! Another thing i observe. It was the first time i floored my accelator pedal and the RPM never went above 3000. Is it normal? Im expecting to see it on redline.. The gear was in park when i floored it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman425 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 the RPM never went above 3000. Is it normal? Yes - there is a rev-limiter built in which prevents overspeeding the engine when in park or neutral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) Journeyman, Do you ever sleep LOL? Edited January 6, 2014 by rolly Journeyman425 and wingit11 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Load tested the battery this morning and we have a weak battery. Will not keep a load. Works fine when temperatures are mild but at -25 it is not strong enough to start with remote and just barley starts with ignition button. Spoke to dealer and just need to schedule it into the shop for replacement. Journeyman425 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman425 Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Journeyman, Do you ever sleep LOL? Ha! Yes,actually I do...I knocked that post out quick just before getting my kids up for school jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windancer Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Load tested the battery this morning and we have a weak battery. Will not keep a load. Works fine when temperatures are mild but at -25 it is not strong enough to start with remote and just barley starts with ignition button. Spoke to dealer and just need to schedule it into the shop for replacement. I just replaced the battery in my 2010 R/T AWD and my remote never worked either. On my 2010 you can tell if it won't work as you won't get the 2 quick horn chirps when you press the key fob twice. Once the battery was up to snuff never had another problem. We have had some brutally cold weather here on the prairies this winter. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 I just noticed it also earlier. I went to check my engine oil level at cold engine, it was higher than safe range.. I tried to start it using remote while hood is ajar and it didnt start. So i went in and start manually.. Check oil with warm engine and its on the safe range a bit lower than criscross line! Another thing i observe. It was the first time i floored my accelator pedal and the RPM never went above 3000. Is it normal? Im expecting to see it on redline.. The gear was in park when i floored it. Yes. Normal. Rev limiter keeps you from blowing up your engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I just replaced the battery in my 2010 R/T AWD and my remote never worked either. On my 2010 you can tell if it won't work as you won't get the 2 quick horn chirps when you press the key fob twice. Once the battery was up to snuff never had another problem. We have had some brutally cold weather here on the prairies this winter. Terry Same thing with my 2013 Windancer. Would not start with the remote and just barely started when I went out. We have had some brutal temps here to. Was -26 C Sunday morning here in Lethbridge when I had the problem. Once it warmed up to about -15 C was able to use remote again. It is in the dealer now and should hear shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Took the DJ into the dealer Wednesday. They checked the battery and found it badly discharged and could not test condition of battery till they charged it. Once they charged the battery they tested it and checked out OK. Checked charging system, OK. Checked for power draw and was within normal. Was told could not find problem. They could not explain why the battery was so badly discharged yet everything checked out OK. Would not replace battery as the print-out showed no fault. I could see maybe the battery being low if it had sat for a couple of weeks but this vehicle is used almost daily and with some highway miles so should not be discharged. It is documented now and if there is further issues we will adress it again. See what happens next time the temperature drops below -25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webslave Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) My '13 R/T had a dead battery one morning... Charged it up and took it to the dealer to check it out. Everything checked out just fine. Got to talking to the service manager (good friend) and we were discussing why it had gone dead. Turns out these new cars will stay "alive" if the keyfob is kept within range (I used to keep mine right by the door ~12' from the car) and as long as the car is "alive" it consumes power at an increased level while waiting for the doors to unlock or lock, remote starter to engage, etc. and can consume enough power to kill the battery. Not in a couple of days, but, within a 10 day to 2 week span. Started keeping my keys at the other end of the house and have not had a repeat episode of a dead battery. It is entirely possible that with the cold weather and if you keep the keys near the car, the same drain may have affected your vehicle in a couple of days... When the cars are shipped, they are shipped in a "transport mode" to prevent that from happening and the vehicles on most lots stay in that "transport mode" until sold so that the batteries don't go dead while on the lot. They showed me how to put it in transport mode for when we are traveling (we have an RV and travel for months at a time) so that we don't come back to a dead car, which, according to them, will happen in that 10 to 14 day window when left on its own, even when in sleep mode. Other than the transport mode, the other option is to keep it on a trickle charger. I have a bunch of the Battery Minder Plus maintainers for my other equipment and opted to use one of them hardwired to the remote battery posts in the engine bay. If you keep your keys near your car, even if you drive them every couple of days, when the weather turns this cold it might be a good idea to move the keys away further so that the electronics don't stay live for as long. Since I moved my keys further away, I've had zero problems with the battery maintaining a charge, even in this cold weather. Edited January 10, 2014 by webslave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 My '13 R/T had a dead battery one morning... Charged it up and took it to the dealer to check it out. Everything checked out just fine. Got to talking to the service manager (good friend) and we were discussing why it had gone dead. Turns out these new cars will stay "alive" if the keyfob is kept within range (I used to keep mine right by the door ~12' from the car) and as long as the car is "alive" it consumes power at an increased level while waiting for the doors to unlock or lock, remote starter to engage, etc. and can consume enough power to kill the battery. Not in a couple of days, but, within a 10 day to 2 week span. Started keeping my keys at the other end of the house and have not had a repeat episode of a dead battery. It is entirely possible that with the cold weather and if you keep the keys near the car, the same drain may have affected your vehicle in a couple of days... When the cars are shipped, they are shipped in a "transport mode" to prevent that from happening and the vehicles on most lots stay in that "transport mode" until sold so that the batteries don't go dead while on the lot. They showed me how to put it in transport mode for when we are traveling (we have an RV and travel for months at a time) so that we don't come back to a dead car, which, according to them, will happen in that 10 to 14 day window when left on its own, even when in sleep mode. Other than the transport mode, the other option is to keep it on a trickle charger. I have a bunch of the Battery Minder Plus maintainers for my other equipment and opted to use one of them hardwired to the remote battery posts in the engine bay. If you keep your keys near your car, even if you drive them every couple of days, when the weather turns this cold it might be a good idea to move the keys away further so that the electronics don't stay live for as long. Since I moved my keys further away, I've had zero problems with the battery maintaining a charge, even in this cold weather. webslave; that is interesting what you are saying about the key fob. The spare fob is stored about 30 to 40 feet away from the vehicle so not sure if this is too close but I can not see that being the issue. The wife's fob could be anywhere in the house where ever her purse is but no less than 30 feet away. Besides, the vehicle is used almost daily with no long periods of no use so the discharge from being in standby mode should not (in my mind) be an issue. I will continue to monitor the battery and see what happens. Thanks for your feedback. I will keep this in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 I would be interested in the process of putting the DJ into Transport Mode. Can you share? Are there any disadvantages to entering Transport mode? TIA. Peace. 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Sixspeedrt Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 I've noticed the key fob keeping the Journey "active" when at the car wash. If I shut down the Journey, get out with fob in pocket, as I'm washing the vehicle and walking around it with the fob, the lights and taillights keep coming back on. I haven't had that issue with my keys in the house though... although it could happen I suppose if I kept the keys in the "Mud room" which is next to the driveway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guls Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 True I have same issue with Journey and had same issue with my 300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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