CharlesFd Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 Hello all, I am new to this forum, I am new to this Journey. This vehicle is my daughter's, they got a new Charger and I am using this Journey as a work vehicle. Here is my history with this SUV: Firstly, it runs like a champ, no issues there. Great on gas, all around has been great. But... (2) months ago the key fob not detected issue. Was working fine, keyless entry worked. Now I am doing the key to unlock and holding the base of FOB to start button routine. Changed the FOB battery and this did not help. (2) months ago, battery drains in about (2) days. Battery is good, 14.5 VDC at the battery when running. Trickle charge the battery, this is a problem. (1) week ago, the instrument cluster went dark. I did notice that before any of this, the vehicle always thought it was -15C degrees outside, always. Also, the radio would sometimes not go to the radio function but the CD player worked. If I restarted the vehicle, the radio would eventually be usable. Weird. It still does this. What I have done: Checked all fuses good. Battery is good. Battery connections at battery and jump locations look and feel good. Alternator seems to be working. Checked OBDII, there is a PO526 code, voltage drop somewhere. This code is permanent. There is also a PO073 code, this is probably responsible for the -15C temp issue. Tried to reset the UConnect, pressing the power and tune buttons simultaneously does nothing. This is the 4.3" screen. I tried to drain the electrical system using several techniques to discharge the residual power, no change. I am not going to even guess what the route cause of this is, I have been doing moderate work on my own vehicles for 40 years and this one is troubling. It have some crazy electrical issue that is driving me nuts (well, like a 5 on a scale of 1-10). Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this and I do appreciate any suggestions as to how to resolve this madness. I will keep this post updated if something, anything changes. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean H Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 (edited) Welcome to the forum. As a Journey owner you will soon know more about 12 volt automotive electrical systems. Then you ever needed to know. I have put together everything, I have learned into specific forum post's. Read carefully!! Several times. Then ask questions. Battery drain- 1) Glove box light. Switch sticks on. Replace or disconnect. 2) Bluetooth - HFM hands free module for Dodge. Pull the fuse marked HFM. Code P0562. My case it was a weak battery. It is the battery or battery cable and ground connections. Simple rule for Journey electrical components. Never look and guess. Always Test the battery and clean all connections. Period................................ You start here- BATTERY https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18210-electrical-system-fyi-battery/ Next- CABLES https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18115-electrical-system-fyi-cables/ Next- GROUND SYSTEM https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18374-electrical-system-fyi-ground-system/ With your ability to work on cars. Like mine. You can handle doing, what I have done as mentioned in specific posts linked above. Dean Edited September 2 by Dean H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean H Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 P0073 Ambient air temp sensor circuit voltage high. Check this- Ambient air temp Sensor bad. Sensor wire issues. This is the ambient air temp sensor on my 2016 DJ. Located behind the lower air intake on the front clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean H Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 To reach the ambient air temp you have to remove the inner lower plastic panel. Beneath the radiator. Pull the whole temp sensor assembly out of the front clip. It snaps into place. Then disconnect it from the wire harness. This is the fun part 😄. Do not pull on the wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 51 minutes ago, Dean H said: Welcome to the forum. As a Journey owner you will soon know more about 12 volt automotive electrical systems. Then you ever needed to know. I have put together everything, I have learned into specific forum post's. Read carefully!! Several times. Then ask questions. Battery drain- 1) Glove box light. Switch sticks on. Replace or disconnect. 2) Bluetooth - HFM hands free module for Dodge. Pull the fuse marked HFM. Code P0562. My case it was a weak battery. It is the battery or battery cable and ground connections. Simple rule for Journey electrical components. Never look and guess. Always Test the battery and clean all connections. Period................................ You start here- BATTERY https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18210-electrical-system-fyi-battery/ Next- CABLES https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18115-electrical-system-fyi-cables/ Next- GROUND SYSTEM https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18374-electrical-system-fyi-ground-system/ With your ability to work on cars. Like mine. You can handle doing, what I have done as mentioned in specific posts linked above. Dean like Dean said I wish I had a quarter everytime someone comes on here with electrical problems and says the battery is fine or ok.........have the battery load checked at a part store as well as the alt checked that is putting out the correct voltage, physically check the battery's post that they are cleaned and tight,if battery is over 3 yrs old replace it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean H Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 FOB- I am currently reading up on the FOB system. Start simple - Battery check voltage. Battery correctly installed. Check and clean battery connections. Q tip works. See picture below on what to check and clean. You might want to try a new FOB. Go here for a programmer and key fob. I did this and was very easy to do. You need one working FOB. https://tomskey.com/products/chrysler-dodge-jeep-and-ram-simple-key-programmer-for-smart-key-fob-cdsk-e5trz0sk-kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesFd Posted September 2 Author Report Share Posted September 2 (edited) Thanks for the quick responses guys. You have given me some stuff to try/look into. I will get back into this tomorrow and post any findings. FYI the battery was new 6 months ago. Of course that doesn't mean there isn't a problem. And I will check into the grounding system wiring, that could be a problem. Thanks again, I appreciate it! Edit: I meant to add that I will also have the alternator tested and check the belt. Edited September 2 by CharlesFd Dean H and 2late4u 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesFd Posted September 3 Author Report Share Posted September 3 23 hours ago, Dean H said: Welcome to the forum. As a Journey owner you will soon know more about 12 volt automotive electrical systems. Then you ever needed to know. I have put together everything, I have learned into specific forum post's. Read carefully!! Several times. Then ask questions. Battery drain- 1) Glove box light. Switch sticks on. Replace or disconnect. 2) Bluetooth - HFM hands free module for Dodge. Pull the fuse marked HFM. Code P0562. My case it was a weak battery. It is the battery or battery cable and ground connections. Simple rule for Journey electrical components. Never look and guess. Always Test the battery and clean all connections. Period................................ You start here- BATTERY https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18210-electrical-system-fyi-battery/ Next- CABLES https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18115-electrical-system-fyi-cables/ Next- GROUND SYSTEM https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18374-electrical-system-fyi-ground-system/ With your ability to work on cars. Like mine. You can handle doing, what I have done as mentioned in specific posts linked above. Dean Holy Smokes this ground situation. I had been thinking that the separation of the (3) ground bundles where it ties to the engine compartment was weak, the one where you added the mending plates. I have all day tomorrow to work on this, I will post my findings. I did pull the HFM fuse, don't use hands free and hopefully the passenger assist is not necessary, not sure what that means but it's part of that circuit. I also noticed that the glove box switch almost does not have enough travel to engage anyway. Unplugged for now until I verify the parasitic draw. But for all these weird electrical issues it really points to grounds as at least a large part of the problem. Its funny, I'm an electrician by trade, but trying to explain to people why automotive electric is different is like trying to explain to me how something is grounded on 4 rubber tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted September 3 Report Share Posted September 3 Cleaning up the connections on the remote jump start terminals under the hood are also a good idea. Main fuse box fed from there. Driver strut tower also has more dirty grounds to look at. Light film dielectric grease useful. Small amounts of voltage (lots of engine control stuff 5 volts only) and low current makes for the possibility of flaky power on 12 volt systems. Vibration and corrosion and push on connectors makes it even more likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean H Posted September 3 Report Share Posted September 3 Would you elaborate on what happened, when the instrument cluster went dark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesFd Posted September 4 Author Report Share Posted September 4 7 hours ago, John/Horace said: Cleaning up the connections on the remote jump start terminals under the hood are also a good idea. Main fuse box fed from there. Driver strut tower also has more dirty grounds to look at. Light film dielectric grease useful. Small amounts of voltage (lots of engine control stuff 5 volts only) and low current makes for the possibility of flaky power on 12 volt systems. Vibration and corrosion and push on connectors makes it even more likely. Thanks, I will add it to the list. Yes the lower the voltage the easier it is to flake out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesFd Posted September 4 Author Report Share Posted September 4 5 hours ago, Dean H said: Would you elaborate on what happened, when the instrument cluster went dark? Yes, all I remember specifically is that I had been having to charge my battery every couple of days and early last week one morning I started the car and no cluster. It didn't even flicker, it was just dark. It has been that way ever since. No flickering just dark. In all honesty I am not sure if I should drive this vehicle much considering the dark dash and the PO0562 low voltage detected issue. It seems to drive fine but also seems a little sketchy long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted September 4 Report Share Posted September 4 Have you tried the rotary knob on the left side of dash used to adjust dash light levels and turn off dome lights ? 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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