djk Posted November 2, 2019 Report Share Posted November 2, 2019 It seems to be a "known issue" I have recently (07/2019) got a 2913 Journey. Thought it's great, I do like it. After about 6wks, as others, dead battery if sits more than a day, until overnight kills it. I ask them to find out what's killing my battery. Say it's original 5yr battery and sell me a new one. About 6wks later, I let it set for a weekend and... dead battery. Again, ask to find out what's draining it. Since the battery has a 2yr warranty they'll replace it. For about another 6wks... I ask if they can really, really try to find out what's wrong. After a day they "think" it's the hands free module (voice response crap - it's more than just the bluetooth). Since it is expensive ($600) they want to keep vehicle to make sure. Disconnect module, battery stays up over weekend. Install new module, battery stays up over night. I'm not totally convinced this is the end. I didn't drive it for 2 days, started it in the morning and the lights (interior and headlights) went off with the starter draw. For the most part it's otherwise working. I did wonder if I could just not have a hands free module, would it impact the system. For no reason in particular I do suspect that wonderful touch screen system - way more than a "radio". If anyone hasr definite conclusion what's killing batteries... does pulling the "radio" fuse, and letting it sit for a couple days keep things alive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted November 2, 2019 Report Share Posted November 2, 2019 I’ve let my 09 sit for 3 weeks. No issues what so ever. If it’s working correctly your battery should be fine. You have to find the draw. There has been talk about the hands free module staying on and draining the battery. Hopefully you’ll be fine now.... jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 On 11/2/2019 at 2:06 PM, OhareFred said: There has been talk about the hands free module staying on and draining the battery. I wonder was it turning it's self on, or was something trying to turn it on. The module was defective in that it didn't always work, there was some error code related to it... but was it flubed up it's self, or were/are there "outside forces" causing it to flub up. Thanks for the positive outlook! jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted November 30, 2019 Report Share Posted November 30, 2019 Seems my "Why does the battery die" issue goes beyond the hands free module. I still had issues! Had the fuse pulled for the module, still the battery dies if I let it sit for a day with out driving it. It's back to the dealer, for a week I checked for an update. Said the took out the battery to make sure it gets a full charge. When I dropped it off, pointed out - seems "something" gets reset when they disconnect the battery, and it'll look ok for another month every time I get it back... but I'm not a technician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajayonline Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 My 2012 Journey worked fine until March of this year (2020) when at that time the battery would go completely dead within 2-3 days of not driving the car. I had the battery replaced at the dealer, and it still kept draining. So I took the car back to the dealer and they tested the drain (cost me $607) and it turned out to be the Bluetooth module which I never used because it was not compatible with the newer iphone. I was told that the module was defective. To replace the module it would have cost me $1279.90 which is absolutely insane. I said disconnect it and leave it like that. So far the car has been working fine since then. OhareFred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 2 hours ago, ajayonline said: My 2012 Journey worked fine until March of this year (2020) when at that time the battery would go completely dead within 2-3 days of not driving the car. I had the battery replaced at the dealer, and it still kept draining. So I took the car back to the dealer and they tested the drain (cost me $607) and it turned out to be the Bluetooth module which I never used because it was not compatible with the newer iphone. I was told that the module was defective. To replace the module it would have cost me $1279.90 which is absolutely insane. I said disconnect it and leave it like that. So far the car has been working fine since then. welcome to the group and as well as responding with your answer of that the OP had posted,sorry it cost you so much but at least they found your problem and for posting your answer to them....... cars are getting so tech laden with all the new things most drivers seem to want but it does come with a extra cost when they go bad or haywire,,as you found again thanks a lot for posting your answer Armando G 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty4_3 Posted September 11, 2020 Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 Ok I found a Youtuber that posted about the battery ground cable mounted on firewall driver side. Remove the ground cable and clean the corrosion on connectors. Buy another 2 foot ground cable and install it with the orginal ones and run the other end to the engine block for additional grounding. The reason for this is when you don't ground your battery properly the altenator can't charge the battery as the car is running and is where you get a dead battery. I've been battling this issue for a long time and to think a $10 ground cable fixed all my problems with battery drain. Now to figure out why this damn horn goes off by itself, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted September 12, 2020 Report Share Posted September 12, 2020 If battery not charging there will be a dash code for low battery. Alternators can get weak, need to confirm amperage capacity. Random horn honk is often TIPM module . http://www.dodgeproblems.com/tipm/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 On 9/11/2020 at 4:24 PM, Rusty4_3 said: The reason for this is when you don't ground your battery properly the altenator can't charge the battery as the car is running and is where you get a dead battery. I understand there are many quirks and issues we all run into. Many have new batteries. Test fine when shut down, the next day... then eventually has lost it's voltage. After a couple days not driving, it would start. Let it sit another, hesitant, but might start. By the third or fourth day it might turn over once. It just slowly lost power over a period of days - it was charged when shut down. I'm not discounting your grounding deal. I don't doubt it's a problem for more people who never realize it... someday I may have to look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto Posted September 14, 2020 Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 I didn't re-read all of the old comments, so maybe someone already said this, but on at least some cars, if the dongle is too close to the vehicle, it will keep it awake, ready to start. They say that over time, this will run the battery down. (I don't have that type on mine, just an old-fashioned key - my preference, too because I had to pull the battery out on the dongle for my 2010 Dodge Caravan, because sometimes I would came back to it only to find the front windows all the way down. Apparently the button got pushed in my pocket, or something. After it happened in a snow storm, I'd had enough of that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r4d Posted November 30, 2020 Report Share Posted November 30, 2020 On 10/9/2018 at 5:00 PM, Domkrzy21 said: I am having the trouble with battery as well and after reading some things on here I have come to the conclusion that the radio/gps is drawing almost 4 amps while the car sits in sleep mode causing the batteryto drain. All I had to do is perform a parasitic draw test and found the culprit. Now I have to find out him much it will cost to replace. Same issue here. Radio/CD appears to be draining the battery overnight. If you leave the window open, you can clearly hear the CD motor try to load/eject a CD repeatedly. Pulling a fuse appears to fix the problem for a couple of days, but then it returns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyRevs Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 Hi guys, I'm also experiencing a drain on the battery - I ran the parasitic draw test and found that fuse M20 is drawing around 2.5 Amps. This supplies the EVIC, interior light & steering wheels controls. No interior lights are on that I can see. I know the EVIC does display "Hood" on the cluster when the hood is open but only if the door is open at the same time AFAIK? Surely, it wouldn't draw that kind of current in that case?? Also, found the following fuses drawing current:- M13, Cabin Compartment Node & Multifunction Switch / Siren Module, appears to be drawing 0.05 Amps (50 milliAmps). Is this normal? M12, Radio Amplifier, draws 0.12 Ams (120 milliAmps). Again, is this normal (it does host clock etc) ? Any thoughts on above and what specific components to look at ? Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 (edited) You don’t have a forgotten blue tooth obd11 scanner plugged into under dash outlet? For real parasitic load you need to wait a minute or two with doors closed and everything turned off. There is a go to sleep type function that needs to kick in. I think around 100 milli amps is the most you should see for digital clocks etc on most cars. Glove box and trunk lights are common hidden battery killer. No after market remote starts or dash cams ad ons ? Good luck. Edited January 20, 2021 by John/Horace JohnnyRevs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyRevs Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 14 hours ago, John/Horace said: You don’t have a forgotten blue tooth obd11 scanner plugged into under dash outlet? For real parasitic load you need to wait a minute or two with doors closed and everything turned off. There is a go to sleep type function that needs to kick in. I think around 100 milli amps is the most you should see for digital clocks etc on most cars. Glove box and trunk lights are common hidden battery killer. No after market remote starts or dash cams ad ons ? Good luck. Thanks for all your replies and suggestions. There are no bluetooth or other modules plugged into the OBD port. Also, I waited a good hour before doing the draw test. I checked the glovebox light using my phone to video record and it appears to work correctly (thanks Locosiete). The trunk light is visible from outside the car and turns off after the usual delay Incidentally, when I pulled fuse M20 as mentioned, the load dropped by nearly 2.5 Amps, however, when I replaced the fuse, the load did not return until I restarted the car (and then does not shut off). Oddly, I sometimes see a flickering light coming from under the driver's side dash (right-hand drive car). This only occurs when driving and I can't see anything obvious when stationary. I've no idea what this is - it seems to be too low down to be from the cluster. I guess I could do an aggressive wiggle-test with the wires up there but it's hard to get to. The only way I can think of narrowing it down is to start pulling bulbs or modules out from inside the car and see if anything presents itself. Any other suggestions much appreciated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 someone once mentioned about tracking devices used by dealerships that get forgotten about after it is sold causing a drain long shot and have no idea on how to find it, hope you get it figured out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 i would take it take to a garage that specializes on electrical problems, give them as much info on problem and what you have done and also tell them about the flickering that you have seen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyRevs Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 3 hours ago, Locosiete said: Do know if that light comes on all the time under the dash? Is it colored or a white light? If you bought used maybe previous owner installed a alarm that is still connected. Otherwise find somewhere dark and jam your phone or a camera up there nexr time you notice it to see if you can find where it is coming from. 1 hour ago, 2late4u said: i would take it take to a garage that specializes on electrical problems, give them as much info on problem and what you have done and also tell them about the flickering that you have seen Thanks for those - I'll try Locosiete's suggestion first and if I get nowhere I proceed with 2Late4U's. Pretty sure there's no tracker on it but I have also heard of dealers doing that too. I had the car since new and it was mostly fine since then. It's just the last while that it's been acting up. I'll come back when I have some news (hopefully). Cheers guys :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 3 hours ago, JohnnyRevs said: well since you have had it since new and this a new problem then probally not a tracker, just more likely a electrical gremlin that will be a bitch to find,,,,good luck Thanks for those - I'll try Locosiete's suggestion first and if I get nowhere I proceed with 2Late4U's. Pretty sure there's no tracker on it but I have also heard of dealers doing that too. I had the car since new and it was mostly fine since then. It's just the last while that it's been acting up. I'll come back when I have some news (hopefully). Cheers guys :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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