Dodge Journey won’t start

[Ray Ray]

4 hours ago, 5rebel9 said:

YES that is good news as member john/Horace posted already, and I will gladly "eat crow" from my first response!

   NOW as for what's actually gone wrong and figuring it out  ....

What was going on BEFORE your trip that gave the "before trip" work?

What are the engine oil, and coolant levels now?

Did you just get fuel before this happened(possible water in the gas)?

Did engine make bucking/clattering noises when this happened?

You stated interior electrical items still worked properly, so yes we are looking more to an engine OR electrical/ computer control problem. IF just a bad fuel pump, a shot of starting fluid into the intake air hose should fire the engine till it is used up. If no fire, then troubles are deeper in computer controls.

 In my book, these are the BASICS that need to be addressed.   GOOD LUCK and keep us posted!   

So basically a week before our trip we were leaving a restaurant and the car wouldnt start. We got a jump and it held a charge for like 5 minutes and then died again. It would only hold a charge for a few seconds after that so we had to get it towed. We were told by the tow truck driver that it was the alternator so we went and bought one from autozone. Husband installed it and car was running again. A week later we drove to Vegas and on the way, while I was driving car stopped again and now engine light is on. We installed a new battery and still no luck but autozone did confirm that our old battery was dead. After putting new one in still no luck. Maybe autozone gave us the wrong alternator? I thought it was good because it ran for a week fine but I heard that it will do that and shut down again. And also drain battery if it’s not the right one. Idk just throwing ideas out there.

 

to answer ur questions it didn’t make any bucking/clattering noises. We can’t check oil because the part to remove stick broke off but we did add oil and coolant already. The oil was changed about 3 months ago. Yes I had just filled the tank about and drove for about an hour and a half after. Tank is still full. Internal electrical items aren’t working now. Windows won’t roll up or down. No lights. And alarm went off by itself when we were trying to jump it once. We also can’t unlock or lock doors unless we jump it but it only lasts a few minutes. And still won’t start.  

Edited September 1, 2021 by Ray Ray

[OhareFred]

So I understand this correctly, you can’t check the oil because the stick is broken (happened on my 09 as well) but you added oil….why?  Not to be mean, but it becoming apparent that either you are not very mechanically inclined or that you are not maintaining this car correctly, throwing parts at it, and asking why it won’t run. It may be cheaper to tow it to a repair facility and have them tell you what’s wrong.  If you can’t/don’t want to, then this is how I would proceed.
 

If I were you, I would do the following things before I went another step further, even if it means taking them out/off the car to do it:

1: Get the battery tested with an electronic battery tester, not the old carbon pile type.

2: Get the alternator tested and verify it’s the correct one.

3: Fix the dipstick. Too much oil is as bad as too little.  Sometimes you can grab the broken end with a pair of needle nose pliers, then just install a new one.

 

once those are done

[Ray Ray]

6 hours ago, 5rebel9 said:

As member Oharefred posted and you now report of interior stuff now NOT working. The basic battery system needs first attention, RECHECK cable connections hopefully terminals of the battery cables were cleaned when battery was replaced before. but now a terminal clamp my have worked loose. YES your posted door latch and glove box problem will cause a "not in use" drain on the battery. BUT you should be able to drive and have the alternator charge enough to travel as you posted originally. Your couple week old battery may now be too drained to accept and hold ant jump or quick charge. Also the antitheft system can "kick in" when such things as the door latch or battery connections are not good.

My it is sounding like there is more going on than what was originally posted.....

The brand new battery never got used because we put it in AFTER it broke down. So I’m thinking that when we changed the alternator, the battery was bad and that’s why the car stalled before (when alternator went out). So when we changed the alternator, we should have changed the battery too. We changed the alternator and car was running but battery was probably slowly getting worse. So when we drove it a long distance maybe alternator gave out due to bad battery? Also it was confirmed that battery that was being used when car stalled was bad at autozone when we went to buy the new one.  

Edited September 1, 2021 by Ray Ray

[Ray Ray]

1 hour ago, OhareFred said:

So I understand this correctly, you can’t check the oil because the stick is broken (happened on my 09 as well) but you added oil….why?  Not to be mean, but it becoming apparent that either you are not very mechanically inclined or that you are not maintaining this car correctly, throwing parts at it, and asking why it won’t run. It may be cheaper to tow it to a repair facility and have them tell you what’s wrong.  If you can’t/don’t want to, then this is how I would proceed.
 

If I were you, I would do the following things before I went another step further, even if it means taking them out/off the car to do it:

1: Get the battery tested with an electronic battery tester, not the old carbon pile type.

2: Get the alternator tested and verify it’s the correct one.

3: Fix the dipstick. Too much oil is as bad as too little.  Sometimes you can grab the broken end with a pair of needle nose pliers, then just install a new one.

 

once those are done

Okay and I am not mechanically inclined. My husband does all of the work on our car and he has basic knowledge. 
 

okay so I know for sure battery is good because after car stopped running we swapped it out for a brand new one. So it hasn’t even been used yet. 
 

what I’m thinking is either the alternator is the wrong one OR when the car broke down the first time due to bad alternator, it could have killed the battery (hence why when we took it to autozone after car stopped second time, they said it was bad or dead or whatever). So that being said maybe brand new alternator was trying to operate with that bad battery and eventually ran out of juice once battery went completely dead. I’m thinking we killed the brand new alternator because we didn’t swap out the bad battery as well resulting in the car still not starting. Right or wrong? I’m just trying to figure this out 

[OhareFred]

That is a definite possibility.  You could have burned out the diodes in the alternator.  Again, take out the battery (even if you think it’s good) and alternator and have them tested.  The alternator may be under warranty.  Replace what’s bad and start there.  Once you know for sure you have a good battery and alternator we can go from there.  Make sure the cables are tight, and nothing on the cables are loose or broken.  Newer cars have battery monitors right on the cables. If they get damaged you need new cables.  Your also going to have to fix that broken dipstick as well.

Edited September 1, 2021 by OhareFred

[Ray Ray]

1 hour ago, OhareFred said:

That is a definite possibility.  You could have burned out the diodes in the alternator.  Again, take out the battery (even if you think it’s good) and alternator and have them tested.  The alternator may be under warranty.  Replace what’s bad and start there.  Once you know for sure you have a good battery and alternator we can go from there.  Make sure the cables are tight, and nothing on the cables are loose or broken.  Newer cars have battery monitors right on the cables. If they get damaged you need new cables.  Your also going to have to fix that broken dipstick as well.

Okay. We have to drive an hour out to the car because the nearest autozone is an hour away. It’s so tiring and stressful. We’ve drove back and forth so many times. But this will be our last try.