Gary Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) I have a 2012 Dodge Journey whose rear hatch isn't locking/unlocking the hatch and other doors as it normally does when I press the button on the hatch near the licence plate. The locks at the other doors work properly. I took the plastic trim off the rear door to see if it's a problem with the switch. With some Googling I see the part number is 68080582AA and when I unplugged it, it has only two wires on the connector. Assuming it's just a switch (with no other "intelligence") I unplugged it and checked with an ohm meter to see if it registers a button press, and it does nothing pressed in or not, so that would make it seem as though the switch is broken. To double-check, I checked the terminals on the connector leading to the vehicle to see if there was a voltage and there wasn't any (at least not 12V). I "shorted" the terminals to "fool" the vehicle into thinking that the button was pressed, and it doesn't do anything either. I also sat in the hatch area, closed the hatch to sit inside so I could "short" the connectors to "fool" the vehicle again (in case the vehicle ignores button presses when the hatch is open--can't say I ever tried it), and it doesn't do anything, either (I did remember to leave the key outside the vehicle). Does anybody on here know if the switch is truly "dumb" and is merely a switch, or is it "intelligent" and isn't working because it isn't getting what I assume should be 12 volts? The reason why I think that it may want 12 volts (and therefore be intelligent and send its signal wirelessly to the lock control module) that I suspect that a wire in the wiring harness has broken due to flexing back and forth over several years. I have noticed lately that when I open the hatch, the hatch light turns on and sometimes flickers on and off on the way up and open. So, can somebody tell me how the system is supposed to work? Edited January 18, 2016 by Gary dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 all i know is you have to have your fob on you if you want to lock or unlock the rear hatch so i would say the switch has some intelligent as you would call it. more like a bad wire as you say since you have seen some flickering of the lights..other than that????? dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 In the rear hatch, you have the push button hatch switch, a key fob sensor (proximity), and the actuators that lock/unlock the hatch. Then you have power and wiring connected to all of that. Doing some Googling, it seemed as though there is only one proximity key sensor on the vehicle. I've sort of wondered how the vehicle knows when you are inside or outside the vehicle, or at what lock (as the behaviour of the system is different depending on where the fob is: inside/outside, left/right/back). Where is the key fob sensor in the hatch (point it out in one of the attached photos, please)? What is the part number? dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 (edited) I've seen those diagrams a lot already. The one in the hatch isn't too useful, but looking at the second one more, I'm getting a few more ideas. At first I thought all the parts in it come in one box, and there is only one "brain", one antenna, etc. in the vehicle. I certainly haven't found any diagrams or other info on the internet picturing the location of the antenna at the rear of the vehicle. I'd be surprised if it's in the bumper as it would be exposed to a lot of road salt, etc. Edit: I found this diagram, but it isn't clear where this is in the vehicle. Is that the C-pillar at the rear of the vehicle, and part 8/9 attached near the hatch hinge? I haven't removed those trim pieces, and I'm on my lunch break at work right now. http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_product=8667393&ukey_assembly=1259642 And what the heck is pictured in the lower-left corner? I'd be also curious to know if any parts in the rear hatch area have to be replaced on the vehicle, they would have to be taken to the dealer to be programmed anyway? Edited January 18, 2016 by Gary dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 I was able to get a hold of some info from Alldata. Long story short, the rear antenna is under the bumper cover. The passive entry switch in the tailgate is a normally open switch wired to the RF Hub that I understand is located along the roof by the tailgate. Conventional diagnostic methods will not give conclusive results in switch, electronic control, or communications between other modules/devices, and the best way to troubleshoot the system is to use a diagnostic scan tool. So, rather than randomly buying parts and swapping them, off the repair shop I go... dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Some closure here. I took the Journey to the dealer and they found a broken wire in the wiring harness. I was told that a new harness would be about $190 plus an hour's labour at about $130 per hour, plug taxes. "shop supplies", etc. I was told that the harness couldn't be fixed as the break is in a "sealed" portion of the harness. Instead of trying to open the up harness, I just fished a new wire through the rubber "hose" between the hatch and the vehicle, and spliced it to bypass the broken one. While I was working on the issue, the tailgate interior light failed altogether (rather than flickering while opening), so I fished a couple more wires--one for the light and a spare if anything else fails. Interestingly enough, when I was looking at the wiring harness, I saw that the insulation for the tailgate interior light wire was chafed and the copper was exposed--probably from the factory as it was being installed--so that was probably the point of failure for it. I imagine that the tailgate lock switch suffered the same fate even though I didn't see any visible damage to it. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Glad that you got it all sorted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike35z Posted February 13, 2021 Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 I have a 2013 Dodge Journey. The rear liftgate push button is not locking or unlocking the doors when the fob is less then 3 feet from vehicle. The door handle lock and unlock buttons work OK. The rear liftgate pushbutton has never worked since I purchased the car 2 years ago. I replaced the cruise control switch unit due to its failure to function. It seems there might be some electrical issues with conductor contact areas of switches. The rear liftgate pushbutton is around 40.00 dollars a bit high for a switch in my opinion. I am planning on replacing the switch in warmer weather. The plastic covers that need removed in the liftgate area are not easy to remove in this 20 degree weather. I will wait until the plastic is easier to remove in a few months. I assume others have had similar issues with their Journey's. Perhaps the engineering department for Dodge will read these complaints and will install higher quality switches that last a minimum of ten years, or the life of the vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted February 14, 2021 Report Share Posted February 14, 2021 hate to tell you but the journey has been discontinued, and of course as manufacturers try to make cars more sophisticated and cheaper things will go wrong more often than not larryl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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