John/Horace

Electronics items can have something called electronic crib death. In the first couple of mins of operation it’s the highest frequency of failure as components all heat up for the first time. Harness does have a converter unit in it, electronics of some sort. Often stuff is quality tested but there can be some defective stuff that slips through. China may have had a bad day.

If it’s a manual key start it’s easier to trouble shoot if you have two people. When the key is held all the way clock wise in the starter engage position, there should be battery voltage going to the small plug connection. One person holds key, other person uses multi meter. Large wire always has battery voltage. If there is 12 volts there and no reaction, starter could be toast. You can also test a loose starter by itself when it’s not in car. Jumper cables positive to large lug feed bolt, ground clamp to body of starter. Foot firmly on starter, jump power over to the positive small terminal on plug for two seconds, usually jump wire with clamps used. If should cycle the starter and cause pinion gear to throw out and engage. If it it only occasionally works when given signal, worn solenoid on starter normally the cause.

Probably not grinding, abs pump cycling on and off. Scan for codes always a good starting point. Even an intermittent issue will often store codes.

If the battery was changed last year it was probably salvageable, unless it froze from sitting when completely flat. Was it tested and replaced free in warranty ? You could have more than one problem happening, unless the funky transmission shifting was tied to tranny electrical voltage supply. Work on the starting issue first. You need a decent charged battery, measuring under hood on the remote terminals is tricky. You need to get good contact, scratch the meter probes until you have shiny metal and then get reading. Need at least 12.2 ish volts dc usually. Most new batteries have enough charge off shelf to start car. The click you were hearing was probably the contacts in the solenoid built into starter. Sometimes low voltage will do this. Trying to tap starter was good try, sometimes helps dirty contacts make better connection. Starter would still need replacing though. How about marking starter relay under hood, then switching it with another identical relay. See what happens. Starters don’t have fuses because of the high amperage surge under load. The relay takes dash push button signal and sends it to solenoid mounted on the actual starter. The large bolted cable on starter is straight positive feed from battery. The small plug is the signal coming from dash push button. How many miles, kms on car? There is a large 125 amp fuse for alternator you could check, but I think car will start even if it’s blown.

In the extreme cold full synthetic is a big help (I have family in Calgary) for starting , warm up etc. I used to switch from regular Dino to synthetic in winter and back again, when syn was priced like gold. Stick to 5w20 in winter if you stay with conventional, block heater becomes more critical. Stay safe out west, cheers.

Great thanks for the update. Being proactive and cautious like you are will save you money in the long run. My son is only interested in car repairs now that he is married and has moved away . Good to get them involved at an early age.

Is the check engine light on dash on. If so scan for codes. Are you filling tank and doing manual calculation or using dash indicator?

Would be nice to have functional sound clip. What he is calling grinding could just be surface rust clearing off a car for sitting too long. Try uploading clip on different site if you can.

I’m assuming all wheel drive R/T. Could check both c/v shaft boots on rear for visual tears, grease on outside of rubber boot. When water/sand gets in they wear out fast. However shaft can also get noisy even if boots still ok. Wheel bearing sound usually follows speed of car, so highway speed would be loud hum normally. Not strictly a reverse thing in my experience. Rear diff needs to have oil in it. Remove level check plug and make sure oil not contaminated and level is full. Could jack up each rear wheel and try spinning. Should free wheel with a little bit of brake pad noise. Has tranny had oil and filter changed yet.

The code is for the intake solenoid in this link, or the wiring leading to it. Usually makes car run rough and maybe stall; it’s probably not the main cause for the recorded noise. Not a timing chain related item. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2009,journey,2.4l+l4,1444145,engine,intake+manifold+runner+control+valve+/+solenoid,10776

Losing coolant but not obvious where. What does engine oil look like. Is engine using much oil right now.

How many miles on engine? Are there any engine codes, check even if no light on. The 2.4 is not the quietest engine even when healthy, my daughter in law has had one since new and over maintained with dealer oil changes etc. It seems a little noisy too. They timing chain and top end always seem more noisy than other cars. I think the main noise could the chain and tensioner getting worn, but you would be getting various engine codes if it needed changing immediately. Like cam sensor codes that don’t go away with new parts. There may be a knock mixed into the noise that could be water pump if you haven’t changed it yet. Usually you need an engine stethoscope to isolate the sound. Or run engine with no serpentine belt for 30 seconds and listen for sound change. There is a weap hole on the pump that usually starts to drip when bearing seal starts to go.

I’m thinking signal in journey itself, can you confirm it’s good. Am/fm amplitude frequency modulation radio is on a different antenna, not satellite based. Actually my name is not John or Horace; they were the Dodge brothers; both died in 1920 during an influenza pandemic, strangely enough.

What is it showing for signal strength. Must be in the menu some where. Antennas can have issues, not that expensive if bad.

Yeah great stuff. Especially on older high milage cars with sand blasted windshields that haven’t been changed out yet. Costco up north sell Michelin branded blades for $10 each that seem to hang together pretty good; wear item like the OP’s are saying.

These guys seem to use vin might help. https://www.dodgeparts.com/

Do you have a good vehicle history of maintenance. Tranny like some one mentioned should have had at least one oil change by now, glycol as well. Do you have a trusted mechanic who doesn’t look at you like a lottery ticket when you come in. Did the original owner have three teenagers beating on it for the 200k or was is driven normally. Do you have a million dollar ear (for squeaks and rattles) and a tight $ budget for repairs on an older car. Need to be able to figure out what a noise is caused by, then turn up radio if a non safety item like a sway bar link bushing. Some people don’t have that abilility; I’m referring to some of my family members right now, who will go un-named. The original OP is only hoping he is South America right now, for nicer warmer weather, like we all crave.

Remotes often have a panic button on them. I triggered mine by accident the other day. Was remote in pocket ? Is there a separate button? Manually moving lock mechanism from inside car when system is armed will trigger alarm if no separate button. panic button on remote. If alarm system is armed and door handle or latch activated from inside; car system assumes window was broken and someone without key is manually triggering lock mechanism. Alarm goes off.

I knew someone would appreciate good backyard exhaust hacking. Cutting through the license plate rather than removing it, classic.

Thanks for more follow up info. Even oem can be an issue sometimes. Hyundai accents where shipped with junk coils a few years back. Their Korean assembled cars are often 30 percent Japanese content, Nippodenso etc usually decent stuff. At least on a four cyclinder they are easy to change out, so it’s tempting to save a buck. See if your china brand is better than the potential oem China part. My 2009 f150 had a very annoying speaker rattle a few years ago. Pulled it out to change it to see a big China stamp on part. A vehicle with a 980k plus annual production and still out sourcing from North America, ouch. Good point about the connectors, which can be bought separately on the 3.6. One of mine came apart during plug change. Used a Standard Motor products part, Mopar out of stock on Rockauto. Might regret that move eventually. Use proper dielectric grease on connectors when installing. If spending over a $100 ask dealer parts guy for mechanics price, I often get 10-20 percent.

In my best Borat voice. Niiicce very niiccee.

Dozens of things. Temperature sensors, refrigerant levels etc. On heat settings it holds temp correctly, is a/c only thing erratic ? Not blowing at all means rear fan not coming on, no air flow.? Side to side is actuator in dash like mentioned in this forum several times.

Welcome to the forum. Make sure to get a good ground for meter, scratch to bare metal if needed. Are back up lights led or just regular 12 volt bulbs. Transmissions have a back up sensor normally that sends signal to car that reverse is actuated. Not sure if it’s ground or power, I would guess powered 12 volt switch.

Welcome to the forum. If it’s draining battery in 4 hours must be a lot of current. Most fuses are in the passenger front kick panel. I would pull the fuse for radio temporarily band see what changes. Seems like to much drain for radio staying powered up. Cars have a go to sleep function for most electronics, takes a few minutes to trigger but once activated the drain should be in the digital clock range of 75-150 milli amps. If you have a multi meter, check the draw fuse by fuse and see if you can isolate it down to a single fuse. Internal fuse in meter usually 10 amps, try not to blow it. Make sure no dash cams and cell chargers are being left plugged in. There is a red flashing led on dash cluster that will always be on when security is armed, on my model. But my 2014 has no dodge sign showing in cluster. Good luck with the search. Heating issues are often tied to small actuator switches that move blender door and other flaps in dash. There are posts on this site about that. Always check glycol level first when there is intermittent heating issues, flaky thermostat can also cause type of problem.

So I’m assuming this is a wireless signal going to a transmitter, no rca video cable being fished to front of car. Curious what brand of camera and from where? I would like to do this because having it done seems to be very pricy. Dash screen needs to be activated for the input signal from camera, or is it plug and play. 8.4 or 4.3 screen ?