Gary

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.

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...

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?

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?

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?

I guess that by association, I want to be a yuppie as well.

Just the concept. Hard to believe that it's been 8 years since it was introduced. Aside from the weird dashboard, it's aged quite well, in my opinion. Oh, and the C-pillar is definitely funky, but the brilliance of the rest of the vehicle allows me to see past that part.

This isn't really related to Dodge Journeys, but since this is the Lounge Area, I thought I'd throw this out there... I'd love for Dodge/Ram/whoever to build the Dodge Rampage Concept. Google "dodge rampage concept" to see images, or here's a great video: The reasons why I love it: When buying a truck, size does matter. And for me, I don't want a big one. I want one that I can fit in my garage without needing to fold in the side mirrors (there is a trend in the past few years to have truck mirrors stick out far). This thing seems very similar to the Dodge Caravan (folding seats, sliding doors, front-wheel drive, short hood, etc.), and a Caravan-length truck would be perfect for me. The seats that fold into the floor are awesome. I can fold them into the floor to carry large items locked safely behind the driver. And when the seats are up, it provides a place for generous storage in the floor. The flexibility to extend the bed with the midgate (a la Avalanche) by opening up the space between the bed and passenger cab is brilliant. It allows for a full-size passenger space and a full-length bed, but without the nuisance of trying to maneuver a super long vehicle in a tight parking lot. Since the Grand Caravan can accommodate 4x8 sheets of plywood with the rear hatch closed, I imagine that this truck can be engineered to do the same thing with the tailgate up. Actually, the video mentions a second internal lower cargo bed that can accommodate several sheets of plywood. The tailgate/ramp thing is pretty cool, although I don't know how it would work in the real world. i.e. "Those people" who don't want to get any scratches on their pretty new truck will scratch the top tip of the tailgate as it contacts rocks and grit on the ground. And it would be awkward putting items in the bed while standing behind the truck if there is a 3 or so foot wide tailgate between them and the bed. Love the sliding doors for the back seat. "Suicide Style" backward swinging doors that some trucks have are great to provide a large B-pillarless opening to put large items in the back, but in a tight parking lot it's awkward as you are caught trying to get between two open doors. Forward swinging doors require a B-pillar which reduces the size of the side opening, thus preventing you from placing large items in the back. I'd be quite happy with a Pentastar V6 in the thing. I don't care if it's (or base models are) front-wheel drive. I wouldn't be using it for heavy-duty towing. I love the super-deep bed in the back. If course, if I filled it with gravel or sand to the brim, it would probably break the suspension, but it would be nice to be able to put in something tall like a standing garbage can and still be able to have a tonneau cover on top. If based on the unibody of the Caravan (or future Town and Country platform), the reduced weight would be great for improved fuel economy. I don't know if my message will change the world, but hopefully someone from Dodge/FCA is reading this. The concept vehicle was probably a response to the Avalanche and/or Ridgeline. I'm surprised that the vehicle didn't get the green light for production, or at least some groundbreaking features didn't get integrated into the Ram. Perhaps it was determined that a "manly" truck shouldn't be "wussified" with features that make a minivan great. Instead, it's all about making increasing the size of a truck to make it "better". Ugh.