Journey Battery drain
 

2009 Journey SXT 3.5l. I've read all the issues with starting and went about testing for battery drain. Found 80 ma drain after resting so I began systematically removing the fuses 1 by 1. I hit on M30 labeled as Rear Wiper mod/power fold mirrors/J1962 and the drain reduced to 11-13ma so looks like I may have my culprit. Reinstalling the fuse the draw steps around a bit, but comes right back to 78-80 range eventually. Wanted to put this out there before I start throwing parts at it as this is a donated labor job for someone who can't afford to own something like this in the first place let alone fix it.

TIPM cars are a bich to chase down draws. About 50% of them end up being INTERNAL TIPM because most minor circuits aren't fuse protected or they are spread out over a million parallel circuits.

I think you mean J20 (30 amp) Is front wipers and rear wiper relay control side. Fuse M24 is rear wiper motor relay power. Since the relays are mounted on the ckt board, you have to isolate which wiper motor it is by disconnecting them at the motors.

Thanks for the quick response!

My mistake it's fuse M30 at 15 amps. Lid says RR Wiper Mod then beneath it says power fold mirror. I'm unable to verify just what is disabled when this is unplugged, but I do suspect it may have to do with the lighter and ALDL power as my code reader will not power up.

The rear wiper still seems to work on intermittent. I don't know the vehicle well enough to know how to activate the rear wiper other than intermittent with the stupid MFS and symbols, but managed this much...

I have confirmed that M30 powers the ALDL.

Lid etching reads RR wiper mod/power fold mirror/J1962

M30 is the Data Link Connector. What's plugged into it?

Nothing that I can see.

On GM vehicles the ALDL is on a circuit shared with the power/lighter receps. Is Dodge similar?

I've seen suggestion that some vehicles have added tracking devices aftermarket? Not sure who would want to steal one of these things, but... Also talk about the FOB being too close and causing the system to remain partly awake?

Saw a You Tube vid (below) where a guy claims that adding a negative cable from the engine to the ground stud on the strut tower solved his intermittent starting issues. He claims there is no cable from engine to battery, but it sure looks to me like there is one. It disappears into the loom, but sure looks like the cable goes to the block.

DLC fuse is solo on this one.

I wonder if there is an interrupt device wired in from a tote the note lot.

That ground tower is a problem are itself. That nut works lose over time and can non-visibly arc to the body surface and cause high resistance.

I cleaned the tower stud and the terminals well. Seems to be as good as a goofy system can be, but hard to say. The battery seems to show weak with my cheap Solar BA7 tester, but I need to remove from vehicle and test w/o all the cables to be sure. It's only a year old, but it's been abusively discharged and neglected so I am skeptical that a desulfate cycle on charger will help.

Red light blinking in center of dash when locked is factory/normal?

My hope is to buy a couple weeks time with the present battery until the owner can afford a new one and hope the alternator survives. Then need to decide between 650 cca at $123 or standard 525 at $97. My choice is always CCA based, but after the $85 brake job (Raybestos rotors and pads) their budget is tight. Then I need to move on to P0660 and rusted exhaust flange bolts but I'll start new topics for those.

I added a ground cable like the video showed simply because I have had a roll of 6 ga cable here for a couple of decades and only needed the terminals. I even soldered in the copper lugs and adhesive heat shrunk the joints so it is the best cable on the behicle. No change, but I am feeling pretty certain that the battery capacity is severely diminished from being drained several times and left at a severe state of discharge. I have it starting OK, but it does not inspire confidence with the slow crank and I don't think it will do well in winter.


The vehicle is back with the owner for now. It is a JD Byrider special and I suspect that it has a tracker tied in on the datalink circuit that is now disabled with the fuse pulled. I did not look to see if I could find one, but may do so in the future. Lots of talk online about this Company and it's crappy reputation...