Bignosedog

There are no shortcuts in life. Problem resolved. I ended up taking the wheel off and cleaning the heck out of that terminal. This time the jump start worked. Yay! I got the alternator and battery checked and both came back fine so I think that one rusted clamp was the cause. Though I've become closer to my Dodge from working on it I will say this is the first time I've owned a car where they've "hidden" the battery and I will never take for granted how easy it is to clean a terminal on most cars. My family is mobile again and it cost me nothing so I am not complaining. Thank you all for your help and for anyone who may read this thread down the road my advice is take the tire off, use a screw driver to lift the center part of the POP rivets and pull that rod out and you can pry the "Molly" part out and reuse them without them damaged. Also, if you still have power steering working you can turn the wheel and remove the panel with the wheel still on. If you are just cleaning a terminal this may give you enough space but if you are replacing the battery that wheel has to come off. I'm no mechanic but I have to say having my daughter and wife thank me and overhearing my wife brag about me sure felt pretty damn good! It's like I got a Gold Star on my Man Card. Thank you all once again for your help and for anyone else coming down the road and reading this it might be a hassle but it's really more just time than anything. Take your car to a battery place afterwards and they'll check your alternator and battery for free and for those who have AAA I guess they can come out and test them as well.

I should add I probably could reach the negative, rusted, terminal without moving the fuse box but the positive side looks a bit harder to reach. If I could just unattach the negative one, clean the heck out of it, and reattach it I would have a neighbor come over and we would jump the car. We tried prior to no avail but I think it's that one terminal that is the cause. Well, fingers crossed. Thank you!

Hello! 2010 Dodge Journey. I can see from looking at the engine that one of the terminals (negative) has a ton of corrosion (only rust that I can see) and the positive terminal looks great. Questions: 1) Can I access the terminal from the engine or do I have to take the wheel off? Like can I lift the fuse box up to better reach it? 2) Do I have to use a Battery Tender or can I unattach this negative terminal, clean it, and reattach it without having major issues? I don't mind losing radio settings I just don't know if there are more important things that I'm not considering. 3) The other terminal looks great. Can I unattach just one terminal, clean it, and reattach it without dying? From watching videos I know how to normally access the battery through the wheel well. I just don't want to jack the car up and break the POP rivets if I can safely clean this one terminal from above. The battery is completely dead as the doors do not lock/unlock from the buttons on the door handle nor the FOB. Thank you very much for you help and time! It's deeply appreciated. You are helping a young, poor family dodge a trip to the mechanic so truly thank you.