John/Horace

My f150 had a weird parasitic draw issue a few years ago. The go to sleep function can be tricky, on the Ford the drivers door has to be closed to trigger the full shut down sequence. The 2009 F150 generation had a lot of dead battery issues. It can be hard to isolate where the draw is from without measuring right at the fuse contacts. Although I think abs would be isolated there could be problems with pedal brake light switch draining battery. Search site there was a recent posting about it. Battery measurement will be entire fuse box. I have a fuse draw circuit tester which is good for isolating issues. Maybe borrow one, tipm or pcm are expensive items. Wallmart batteries not that bad in my experience, I have used them before.

Need to do more trouble shooting. How long was the ignition off when you got your load reading? Are you having any other odd symptoms? I think tipm was more of an issue with early model Journeys. What brand of battery was put in 6 months ago. Is it at least 600 cold cranking amps.

Nice to hear someone happy about their Journey. Winter solitude can be found in the rolling country side like that. FWD I think in general is good enough for average winter conditions, especially with winter tires. The Journey awd is also pretty good for a simple system. I’ve had Jeep’s, pickups, atv’s various sophisticated four wheel drive systems over the years. You can still get stuck...and even farther into the rhubarb, which turns into a more expensive tow if it comes to that. If cold by itself killed COVID bacteria, the north would be in the clear right now. Maybe next virus will play nice.

Chirping is often from the belt. Wire brush and degrease all pulleys of spilt glycol first and see it that helps. Sometimes used belt doesn’t like running in different direction is was previous running in; could swap direction. The auto tensioner has a wear indicator if the belt is stretched too much, check for belt stretch. Could try a new belt, good brand like Gates or Dayton preferably.

Maybe Square wave signal, pasted from interweb. www.quora.com › Is-square-wave-a-DC-signal-or-AC-s... Aug 20, 2016 — But current that varies in amplitude but doesn't reverse its polarity is called pulsating or fluctuating direct current, produced by combination of AC and DC. Its graph ... 18 answers I’m interested if the Prairie Journey is a key or push button start. I have played with the lithium power packs on a few dead vehicles. My unit is 8,000 milli amp hour Costco purchase. If you have a really flat battery and a large engine I find they don’t work that well, or at least mine doesn’t. You have limited cranking chances. Your combo of block heater to help engine turn over along with charger/maintainer is great. I would also make sure to have 5w20 full synthetic oil, doesn’t jell as much as Dino oil. My Journey also has a block heater that I sometimes use in extreme cold snaps. Prairie Journey should give alternator a good look. . One diode gone and your probably down to 80 amps which doesn’t cut it. My 6 cylinder engine 160 amp alternator went at 180k kms approx, surprisingly was a Denso unit.

Great questions. Odd having to teach dealership about their vehicles, so I wouldn’t have them change it. Like the rear diff, if the seals fail then the bearings and gears inside will wear out if you run it out of oil. The ptu has only about 3/4 of a quart of oil, no filter but a magnetic drain plug that needs to be cleaned off. For a quart of syn 75w90 gear oil and a half an hour labor IMO it’s not worth ignoring it. Dirty oil can accelerate seal wear. My wife’s Journey is just at 200k with one ptu service (next one in spring) and rear diff seals replaced, few other things. Replacing the ptu if it fails would be very pricy I imagine. Service records for used cars can be helpful; I never buy used cars without very detailed service records. The ptu paper trail could help for resale down the road. Its important to keep an eye out for drips on the driveway when the car gets older and investigating when they occur. Sounds like you are on top of things.

That is probably the full cushion with fabric cover. You might be able to buy just the cover. Upholstery guy might be able to do a repair. If airbag was just plug and play you could get a seat from auto recycles. Not hard to change; but the airbag has to programmed to airbag module. Even passenger seat often has weight sensor to shut off bag if seat is empty. Call auto recycler s , maybe they will sell just seat fabric cover individually.

Dealer using vin can normally cross reverence paint colour and most other details from a vehicle. Lots of oem parts do have a tag with part number, you would have to check. Most front seats have side air bags now, don’t just start poking around; might be better to talk to auto trim shop first (often glass shops have people they work with). Even tow truck drivers opening a locked drivers door have triggered side bags with bad results.

I’m assuming they are paramedics or nurses giving the shots. Eppi pens available if aniphalatic shock reaction from someone getting reaction to shot. They said public health staff. Not the same as a hospital setting, so yeah still higher risk in isolated location. North of border there are vaccine shortages; people more likely to take a little more risk for an early shot.

I agree even though miles are low would be good to confirm alternator and battery cranking amps; could be still on original battery. Sometimes I like to put solar panel on my truck battery if I know it’s going to be sitting a lot. Maintainer better but more effort. Saskatoon is pretty frigid; think northern Minnesota or Alaska temps. I recently replaced in-laws battery with an AGM glass mat battery. Factory battery with only 10k went flat several times in three year period sitting in heated underground parking. AGM charge much faster and hold their charge better when sitting. They are a bit more money but have been around long enough that they are reliable now. Lexus and some other luxury car makers ship their new cars with AGM batteries for that reason; $50 more doesn’t mean much in that stratosphere.

No one forced to take the shot. People volunteered because there was the opportunity. Biggest risk for reaction is on the second injection I have read. My wife had her first shot, had no reactions at all. Lots of different opinions, about the topic. Personal choice involved is the important detail IMO.

https://jalopnik.com/health-care-workers-give-covid-19-vaccines-to-motorists-1846157972

Ocean going beetle mmmm. https://jalopnik.com/i-finally-found-what-the-ocean-going-vw-beetle-that-ins-1846145700

The wiring must be better on Journey for the USB and audio in jack. People on the ram forum not happy about audio quality using Maestro kit with after market radio inputs. They say using after market usb jack directly much better. Several recent firmware updates on kits so maybe it’s fixed now. I have installed a few aftermarket Bluetooth radios , but haven’t dealt with integrating dash controls...yet. Tried to paste chart below; it showed scattered compatibility with different ram years, not confidence boosting. I agree Journey Bluetooth not the greatest. RELEASES PRODUCTS Maestro RR Maestro AR Maestro RR2 ALP-MRR Maestro DSR1 Maestro SWHD1 Maestro SW Compatible Radios Compatible DSP Products FIRMWARE ACCESSORIES SUPPORT Install Guides Visit our Forum Support Links Knowledge Base Weblink Team Viewer Windows Team Viewer MacOS Video FAQ FAQ CONTACT Home →Accessories →URAM URAM COMPATIBLE PRODUCTS LOCATE A DEALER USB adapter cable for select RAM vehicles 2013-2017. Replaces the Media Hub circuit board in the center console so that a single USB port can be connected to an aftermarket radio USB input. Part # ACC-USB-RAM See below for vehicle coverage details and model-specific features. VEHICLE COVERAGE COMPATIBLE PRODUCTS TECH NOTES COMPLETE COVERAGE LEGEND Fully covered Not covered 1500 3" Screen 1500 5" Screen 1500 8.4" screen 2500 3" Screen 2500 5" Screen 3500 3" Screen 3500 5" Screen

https://www.thedrive.com/cars-101/38138/what-should-long-term-and-short-term-fuel-trim-be

Interesting. So the gauge settings always look like that. I don’t have voltage on 2014, would be nice to have. Does the ELM 327 Bluetooth obd11 work with the free app. Wouldn’t mind enabling rear camera, but the head unit input on wife’s 8.4 screen is not rca jack for after market cams I think.

Are you running Android auto and Apple car play to stream music, mirror phone screen, and run Waze or navigation programs? Does your USB console jack and 3.5mm audio input jack work perfectly with your new head unit? Heated seats, steering wheel and climate controls etc all running through the Maestro box. If so go to the Ram forums with their 2.1M posts and 143k users and help them out. Their struggling from what I have read.

I think problem could be dealer them selves can’t put claim in to insurance warranty company in under 30 days. Insurance might assume it was a preexisting condition which they shouldn’t be covering ...and deny claim. Weird situation really, would be tempting to get out of deal. Big dealerships are still less risk than small used car dealers with less to lose IMO. Car contract rules vary so much from place to place. Usually there is a designated “cooling off” period where contracts can be easily cancelled without penalties.

I can’t imagine that unit being plug and play. Other Chrysler/dodge vehicles all require some type of interface like Maestro to transfer the dash controls to head unit. These units also are known to not be the easiest thing to set up. FB not a great source of technical info IMO. https://www.ramforum.com/threads/stereo-upgrade-maestro-rr-interface-fact-thread.122376/ Clip from posting...... Ricky EE Registered Joined Feb 20, 2018 20 Posts Discussion Starter • #3 • Feb 25, 2018 It would be nice for an easy plug and play solution. I spoke with Maestro Tech help and they explained that the limitation is not coming from their item but from Ram's wiring--Rams wiring will not support transferring the specific data from the phone and head unit. What I am going with is replacing the dash usb plug (by leaving it connected securing it behind the dash with a zip tie)with an aftermarket usb extension that plugs into the back of the head unit and then fills in the hole in the dash. Heres the one I ordered I'm gambling it will fit. IF not Ill return it and get another one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072KGMJ5N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 For the center console armrest USB hub: I hope it still charges without making any changes. If it does not charge I will order the idata link kit Maestro explained that while it will not support Android Auto it will start charge the phone. Some people pick up used oem units on LKQ etc. It’s not just Journey having issues switching dash units, Ram sells 10 times the product and they are struggling too. All manufacturer’s now imbed Tec in dash controls, bad trend that EV cars will finalize, get used to it.

The following is pasted from the Ram forums. An electrical engineer circuit designer posted the info which I hadn’t heard before. The original ram thread is also posted below the excerpt from the main discussion, lengthy reading required. Journey uses Can bus, but the led bulb problem is probably not related to that at all it seems. While your statement is technically correct, the context is misleading because of improper terminology used to describe the lighting circuits on Chrysler vehicles. A CAN Bus is a differential bus just like ethernet and requires 120-ohm termination. Google CAN bus for additional. Somewhere along the line, someone labeled Chrysler's lighting circuits as CAN BUS which is completely inaccurate and not true in any way what so ever. The lighting circuits are controlled by an FET (field effect transistor) in the body control module. The FET pulse width modules the circuit to create an effective DC voltage to the lighting source. The FET has the ability to measure the amount of current the lighting circuit is consuming. Based on the threshold values in the calibrations for each lighting circuit, the BCM can determine if the lighting circuit is faulting, for example, short to ground, short to power, open, etc. The issue with the current/late model years is Chrysler has tightened the calibration values for the amount of current that should be flowing on a lighting circuit. If the amount of current is out of range then the BCM can mitigate the circuit often seen as flashing or turning off then back on. In order to trick the lighting circuit FET, it needs to see a load that pulls the same amount of current flow as the halogen bulb which is around 4.3 amps. Solutions are to use a resistor to do this. The ideal solution would be to develop a HID ballast that has a circuit designed to not only consume the 4.3 amps but also power the HID power supply. https://www.ramforumz.com/threads/defeating-canbus-system.224775/

My beetles were always bullet proof, ran until the fenders fell off and battery in back seat started to fall through floor. Journey owners squawk about fender battery location; how about springs from back seat arcing out on battery terminals when the plastic terminal covers are left off by accident. https://jalopnik.com/this-is-very-likely-the-only-bulletproof-vw-beetle-for-1846100539

If the tires are in decent shape bead sealer should last a few years. Here in the salt belt the rims get pitted from corrosion, mainly with aluminum rims. Fixing with bead sealer usually holds a few years until tires are worn out anyway. Soapy water spray on the tire usually helps figure out where leak is. Newer tires seem to wear out faster anyway; if they aren’t cracked to hell or tread gone at 5-6 years you are lucky. DOT code on sidewall will tell you week and year of manufacture; important tire info.

If you have documentation about the noise then the March warranty deadline shouldn’t be as critical. With driveshafts balance makes a difference. Used shafts and coupling are match marked and reassembled in the same orientation to avoid noise and harmonics. The new shaft could be reinstalled 90 or 180 degrees from its present location on a chance its balance related. After work is done a test drive should have turned up this noise issue. Could try different dealership if you are losing faith in current crew.

Daughters and car maintenance ; very familiar story. Are you using 5w20 synthetic and a block heater, also helpful. I have family in Calgary, extreme winters for vehicles. But no salt is nice; kills our Ontario cars. The biggest parasitic drain issue in the journeys appears to be blue tooth modules that stay on. Fuse gets pulled and module later changed out. Pricy problem.

If fob is cycling locks the battery is probably ok. Must be related to something else.