PlayRich Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 Just some quick back story, i've been chasing the dead battery issue since we bought our 2012 Journey R/T back in 2015. You know the saying " a day late and a dollar short", i was thrilled to find the fix for this by getting the BCM reflashed at the dealer. However i did not stumble across this information until after i was searching for some insight on the problems that came about this morning. So now to the problems at hand, normal routine car was dead hasnt been drove since 2/6 tuesday of last week. Put the charger on it last night went to start the car this morning and the only glimmer of life was the orange start light around the push start button. This was strange as there was no interior lights, no door chimes nothing while entering the vehicle. I proceeded to try and start the car but it wouldnt do a thing. First thought was charging lead must have came loose while charging the battery. Checked the charger and it showed battery fully charged sitting at 12.8 volts but the car still wouldnt do any thing. Now iam thinking this is where i screwed up hopefully not, in the past when i had bluetooth connectivty or other radio problems i found i could disconnect the entire fuse tray under the hood (later found this is the intergrated BCM) by lifting the two handles and leaving it disconnected for just a min and plug it back in Walla radio and all functions would begin to work. Back to this morning, i pulled the entire tray loose left disconnected for a min or so reconnected. Now the car starts and runs but every check light this thing has is on and the radio/nav/climate panel is completely off with the surrounding blue accent lights on the dash flickering. This is where iam at hopefully i didnt damage anything but really looking forward to some feedback thanks to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayRich Posted February 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 Just to add some possible useful info. Car is a 2012 R/T AWD model with the 3.6 V6. Car has roughly 65k on the clock. Bought the car used, car was a 1 owner per carfax from the dealer. At the time of purchase it only had 28,000 miles on it practically new in my book. The car was trouble free for about a year. Then problems started to surface. All the problems have been electrical related ie dead battery, intermittent radio functions, remote start not working after sitting overnight. i believe these issues are all connected ultimately being caused by whatever failed today. My question is, is there a single component that would cause all of these issue, BCM? All of my mechanic knowledge is with GM vehicles 2006 and older and motorcycles carbed or fuel injected. The amount of computer controlled components on this vehicle has me stumped on where to look or even how to diagnose what the culprit is. I will take it to the dealer if i have to but really just need some guidance on where to start with testing. The area i am located in doesnt have very reputable dealers and ive already spoken with the 2 that are here. The advice i was given was to bring it to them so they can hook it up to the computer. I asked the question if it was safe to drive without causing any further damage since every warning light and check light is on. Their response was its your call. So thats what ive got to work with here, hence the reasoning for seeking help here. Thanks again looking forward to some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayRich Posted February 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 Well just an update if anyone has been reading this. Got home and checked the car out and now everything is working again like it should. I tell ya my patience is really being worn thin by this car. Not trying to bash dodge or journeys but this is my first dodge product and I am not thrilled to say the least. 3 years of ownership with only 1 year of trouble free service has definitely deterred me from possibly considering another dodge product in the future. With two other vehicles in the driveway with over 200k miles it’s really hard for me to believe a vehicle of this caliber is making itself out to be inferior to it’s older direct competitors that I currently own. I would expect problems like this to arise from my other vehicles just from showing their age. However a 2 owner 60k mile vehicle is as about reliable as my sons 1980 kx60 2 stroke dirt bike. Anyway rant over just frustrated with my purchase and filled with regret. Have a nice day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 They don't call them electrical gremlins for nothing. All new cars are full of potential gremlins with the modern electronics. Electronics are great until they're not. Chasing them is a headache. I hope you find a solution as these journeys are great little vehicles when they're not haunted by gremlins. Who knows what the previous owner did to the vehicle before you got it. The dealer may be better able to diagnose your problem than anyone. . . Good luck. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmoore1436 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 3 hours ago, PlayRich said: Well just an update if anyone has been reading this. Got home and checked the car out and now everything is working again like it should. I tell ya my patience is really being worn thin by this car. Not trying to bash dodge or journeys but this is my first dodge product and I am not thrilled to say the least. 3 years of ownership with only 1 year of trouble free service has definitely deterred me from possibly considering another dodge product in the future. With two other vehicles in the driveway with over 200k miles it’s really hard for me to believe a vehicle of this caliber is making itself out to be inferior to it’s older direct competitors that I currently own. I would expect problems like this to arise from my other vehicles just from showing their age. However a 2 owner 60k mile vehicle is as about reliable as my sons 1980 kx60 2 stroke dirt bike. Anyway rant over just frustrated with my purchase and filled with regret. Have a nice day. Sorry to hear you are having some issues... Unfortunately electronics complicate things drastically when diagnosing and trying to fix electrical issues. All of the systems have to interact together so when one thing goes wrong it causes a chain reaction. It sounds to me like there may be a short somewhere, and it probably has something to do with the wiring in your dash (based on the flickering blue lights) and it could also be connected to the wiring for the push button start, but I am no expert. The first thing I would do is check the wiring harnesses for anything that looks odd, loose or burnt. This may be a silly question too, but have you checked the battery in your key fob? To see if it is the battery in your key fob is pretty simple, just push the end of your fob onto the push to start button and if it starts then that is the culprit. It might be a good idea to test this seeing as the car isn't doing anything when you get in. I know in my last car when the fob battery was dying it would work intermittently and drove me crazy. Hopefully this helps to eliminate a few of the simpler issues to diagnose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayRich Posted February 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 1 hour ago, redtomatoman said: They don't call them electrical gremlins for nothing. All new cars are full of potential gremlins with the modern electronics. Electronics are great until they're not. Chasing them is a headache. I hope you find a solution as these journeys are great little vehicles when they're not haunted by gremlins. Who knows what the previous owner did to the vehicle before you got it. The dealer may be better able to diagnose your problem than anyone. . . Good luck. Peace. I do believe the trouble is tied to the BCM/TIPM, reasoning is any issue that comes up so far disconnecting it and reconnecting it resolves the problem for a short time. After speaking with a few other dealerships I finally found someone to actually listen and provide some useful information. Everything I described for the troubles that Iam having the service tech actually said he’s had to replace or reflash the BCM in other journeys experiencing the same or similar issues to resolve the issue. As for now the car is back to normal everything working correctly until it decides not to. You are more than correct this has been a constant headache I really do enjoy the car when it’s working correctly. Really sucks buying a newer car as your dependable travel vehicle only to find it’s the least dependable out the ones you already have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayRich Posted February 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, lmoore1436 said: Sorry to hear you are having some issues... Unfortunately electronics complicate things drastically when diagnosing and trying to fix electrical issues. All of the systems have to interact together so when one thing goes wrong it causes a chain reaction. It sounds to me like there may be a short somewhere, and it probably has something to do with the wiring in your dash (based on the flickering blue lights) and it could also be connected to the wiring for the push button start, but I am no expert. The first thing I would do is check the wiring harnesses for anything that looks odd, loose or burnt. This may be a silly question too, but have you checked the battery in your key fob? To see if it is the battery in your key fob is pretty simple, just push the end of your fob onto the push to start button and if it starts then that is the culprit. It might be a good idea to test this seeing as the car isn't doing anything when you get in. I know in my last car when the fob battery was dying it would work intermittently and drove me crazy. Hopefully this helps to eliminate a few of the simpler issues to diagnose. I really appreciate all the advice unfortunately I have exhausted all the simple fixes/troubleshooting that I am aware of. When the car first starting showing signs of trouble the first thing i did was get the fob checked out and replace the fob’s battery. Second was replace the car’s battery and had the alternator tested. The car has never not started before unless the battery was dead. Today was the first time it’s done that. It’s like the computer was locked up or somthing. There was zero response from everything. When pushing the start button it didn’t do anything the start light around the button was on before ever getting in the vehicle. Normally the the lights around the start button, start, stop, and run will cycle with each press of the button regardless of key fob being present or not. It wouldn’t do anything no dash lights no instrument panel lights or gauge movement nothing but the battery was sitting at 12.8v according to my meter. Not until I disconnected and reconnected the TIPM did it come back to life. Current plan is getting the dealer to reflash the TIPM/BCM and go from there. As for right now the car is back to normal all systems are go. Prior to today the only trouble I had with the car was the battery constantly being dead if it sat for 3-4 days without being driven. With the occasional radio/Bluetooth malfunction. However a battery charger and simple fuse pull to reset the radio have resolved all my troubles for a short time up until today. Thanks again for the help I am however going to go back over the harness leading to the TIPM with much more scrutiny, as like you mentioned could be possible short/partial connection on one or more of the wires. It’s just odd that after I reset the car it’s good for anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or better leading me to believe it some sort of faulty module. Edited February 13, 2018 by PlayRich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resa Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 2017 bought in August, less than 3k miles, I can't leave it over 15 hours without a dead battery. BCM has been reflashed, to dealer 3x now...at wits end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmoore1436 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Resa said: 2017 bought in August, less than 3k miles, I can't leave it over 15 hours without a dead battery. BCM has been reflashed, to dealer 3x now...at wits end. If I were being completely honest... buying a car that is brand new with so few miles there may have been something wrong with it beforehand. Did they dealer disclose any and all information they had beforehand including the carfax/dealer log? Normally the "honeymoon" phase lasts much longer than that... I have a 2017 crossroad plus that now has 28k on it and I haven't had a single issue. For someone to get rid of a vehicle that soon means something may have been wrong or FCA was forced to buy it back under the lemon law. Edited February 23, 2018 by lmoore1436 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer1942 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 I have a 2012 Journey SE which has similar electrical problem in that my dash lights, like the whole instrument cluster, don't always go off when I exit the vehicle. This has been driving me nuts for months trying to figure out why and how this is happening. Determined that "first door opened has to be first door closed" so most of the time if there are no passengers it works reasonably well except that sometimes the radio turns off right after the door is opened resulting in the lights staying on. Frustrating having to stay by the car to make sure the lights go off, or the battery (new) will die over night if they are left on. Oh and occasionally my radio does not come on when I start the car. Chrysler Dealer mechanics don't seem to be fully trained on the electronic functions and are baffled by my problem. Had a thorough check done resulting in their computer finding no communication from BCM to instrument panel. Had the BCM replaced ($600.00 !) but issue does not appear to be resolved. Knew I shouldn't buy a Dodge and unless somebody has a solution think this one is going, going, gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resa Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 8 hours ago, lmoore1436 said: If I were being completely honest... buying a car that is brand new with so few miles there may have been something wrong with it beforehand. Did they dealer disclose any and all information they had beforehand including the carfax/dealer log? Normally the "honeymoon" phase lasts much longer than that... I have a 2017 crossroad plus that now has 28k on it and I haven't had a single issue. For someone to get rid of a vehicle that soon means something may have been wrong or FCA was forced to buy it back under the lemon law. It only had 24 miles when I bought it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 9 hours ago, oldtimer1942 said: I have a 2012 Journey SE which has similar electrical problem in that my dash lights, like the whole instrument cluster, don't always go off when I exit the vehicle. This has been driving me nuts for months trying to figure out why and how this is happening. Determined that "first door opened has to be first door closed" so most of the time if there are no passengers it works reasonably well except that sometimes the radio turns off right after the door is opened resulting in the lights staying on. Frustrating having to stay by the car to make sure the lights go off, or the battery (new) will die over night if they are left on. Oh and occasionally my radio does not come on when I start the car. Chrysler Dealer mechanics don't seem to be fully trained on the electronic functions and are baffled by my problem. Had a thorough check done resulting in their computer finding no communication from BCM to instrument panel. Had the BCM replaced ($600.00 !) but issue does not appear to be resolved. Knew I shouldn't buy a Dodge and unless somebody has a solution think this one is going, going, gone! Sell!!! Quick! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111jag Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Had the same problem with my 2011 journey. The dash lights stayed on after the car was turned off. I put the car in my heated garage because it was -15 celcius outside and I took the negative battery terminal off cleaned it up and put it back on. It seemed to work. Now I will see if it lasts. My first and last Dodge that is for sure. Have had so many problems with it. Anybody know what is causing this problem? Haven't found a definitive answer on the net yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 yep time to sell it.......do you know the battery is ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 16 hours ago, 111jag said: Had the same problem with my 2011 journey. The dash lights stayed on after the car was turned off. I put the car in my heated garage because it was -15 celcius outside and I took the negative battery terminal off cleaned it up and put it back on. It seemed to work. Now I will see if it lasts. My first and last Dodge that is for sure. Have had so many problems with it. Anybody know what is causing this problem? Haven't found a definitive answer on the net yet. have the battery load tested jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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