PapaG Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Okay folks my DJ is haunted. My wife did not drive to work Monday. It was the other woman's turn. She got home, all okay. 6 PM. It took the trash can out to the road around 11:30 PM. All okay. I am in sweat pants. All okay. Wife gets up Tuesday morning, and goes out to start the DJ. It's running!!!! Car is warm inside, gas seems to have used 1/8 tank(she says closer to 1/4). I did not have key fob in my pocket last night, We do not have remote start anyway. No lights on. WTF. My son (Dodge outside parts sales) is going to have the issue checked to see if they can find any info... No Codes... Last night I was up later. Around 11-11:30 I hear a engine trying to start, but not quite making it, a little stumble.. It sounded like a 4 cyl. Whoo. The DJ is under the carport right out side the den window... I go outside. No cars around. I take my pocket flash light and nothing around no where!!! My neighbor across the street has newer Chevy with duals that I can hear start up every morning.. I know the sound of all of them.... So is my DJ haunted? Anyone heard of such thing? If someone started it some how, why did not they steal it? Confused in Texas??? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Now that's bizzare! Let us know what you find out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I wonder if one of your neighbors has a remote control for their garage door opener that is starting your car, even though you say you do not have remote start? Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 You said that the one you heard trying to start sounded like a '4'? How could you tell? I will assume that you have the 6 in yours? There is no 'normal' way for the vehicle to start on it's own (if you don't order remote start they don't install the receiver for it at the factory) and the likelihood of a garage door opener sending the same code sequence (the Journey uses a rolling code) that would start your vehicle if it HAD the remote start is almost zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Soooo, it IS haunted!! . PapaG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Almost zero is still a positive number: therefore, it is still in the running. When we push the start button, is it wired to the starter, or does it send a signal to the starter to start? PapaG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 dhh3: Exactly . . . . IF the vehicle had a remote starter receiver, which it doesn't, the chance of a wireless device issuing the correct code to initiate the start is almost zero; Then there's the fact that the vehicle would shut down after a period of time if a remote start command had been issued. I suppose that it is possible for the vehicle controller to be defective. But here's a question for the OP: Did you buy the vehicle new? If not, then perhaps the original owner had an aftermarket starter installed and it is acting up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaG Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Car is a 4 cyl. I did work as a mechanic for over 20 years, so I do think I might be able to tell the differance. If you have heard a 4 cylinder engine not starting vs a 6 cylinder engine or V 8 they all have a different sources do to me. Just me , but no matter what a engine did try to start, stumble and not start. It does not change the event other than on how many cylinders the engine has or if I am full of it on the sound and whether I can tell the difference. No garage openers for at least 500 or ore feet. No mine behind across from me or up the street from me. Bought it new. 6 months old less than 8000 miles. We have had a "stumbling" engine problem on hard braking some times....That could be a transmission or brake problem, but no codes. It does seem like a few squirrels are not doing their job sometimes. No codes. Which makes it for the dealer to duplicate. I have been on both sides of those kinds of problems so I am not going to fault a dealer for not being able to find some of these thing easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaG Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I hate auto correct... it changes words and meanings.... Bah humbug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Well, that tops my insane things happening in a car. I moved years ago and had taken the telephone with me, old push button phone, wrapped the cord around it, put it in the back seat, 2 houses away from home phone rings twice. My friend and I looked and each other and we swore we'd never tell anyone. I did a search; "My car started by itself and I don't have remote starter" and it seems this has been happening to other cars. Some good advice out here on what to check for. PapaG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaG Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 We did have it not want to start (turn the engine over) to both of us a couple times but did not give it much thought. Just go through the start sequence again, foot off the brake, then on the brake, push the start button and that was that. It has happened to us separately and then to together. We look at each other and ask did this happen to you? It seems like it did a click click like a dead battery also They seem to have run together as we did not take notes., I don't think I have a Kirsten reincarnated. But you hate to take this to the dealership and they want to call the people with the padded suit. But you do start to get a feeling that something in not quite right.. A lot of Internet posts for different cars may have led to bad start switches, a unknown remote start installed. Pinched wire from a repair. But we bought it new off the lot. Had oil changed, once at a dealership and other at a local place I have use for years. No local Dodge dealer. I don't mind a dealer doing that especially when it is new and under warranty. Cost is not bad. When my son worked parts at a local Dodge dealer I had them work on my Chevy truck and my VW Vanagon 4x4 before. So do I put on my volunteer fire fighter suit and take it to them and let them turn the hose on me? Thank you guys and gals for letting me post my crazy +×%÷ here and try to help!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Dee, I ran the same search and in the first six pages of results only ONE owner had an unresolved complaint about phantom starts claiming to be without a remote starter and that thread was closed before that person came back to definitively explain the cause . . . . the only other one I found was a mechanic who didn't realise he had a remote starter in his vehicle, even though he was using the remote from the starter with the vehicle to lock and unlock the doors. I suppose the BCM could have some sort of fault, since there are just too many external parameters necessary for the vehicle to initiate a start sequence (Fob detected; Vehicle in neutral; Brake pressed and; Start button pressed, all at the same time) and this is where I'd likely start my search if I was the dealer. That this is under warranty is a good thing, since the BCM is a pricey part and dealers are expensive and don't all have the best diagnosticians, especially when it comes to phantom and intermittent faults. There is a case to be made for extended bumper-to-bumper warranties if you plan to keep the vehicle for more than 3 years (BCMs and electronics are not considered part of the power train). Edited February 2, 2015 by bramfrank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaG Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I bought every extended warranty I could... I do not want to have something on the fuel or ignition system go bad. I had a "electronic thing" go bad on my Equinox and the part was something like $300. I had my independent shop replace it. We were starting to have some problems show up around around 150,000 miles one my shop could not fix because he did not have access to the G.M. tech support and the service he used did not have any more help. That's one reason we bought the DJ. My son has a 2013 and they like it so that pushed us a little more. Neither one of us bought it from the the dealership he work's for. A dealer 150 miles away. The dealer he workers for could not even come close to what what either one we paid. I like to buy local but... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 bramfrank, it's not all the same poster; I've come across stories from 2003 on. One guy had a bolt that cut through to the wires and was causing false starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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