Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Hi Guys,
I've got a '04 3500 Ram 4x4 Dually 6spd. We use it at the ranch, mostly to haul hay & cattle. It sits a lot, and last week the batteries were low. Jumped it off, let it run 3-4 hours and worked it on the ranch. No problems. Decided to bring it home to check it out and give it some road time (30 mile trip), and change the batteries if they needed it.
At dark my wife tried to move it up to the road and accidentally popped the clutch & killed it. Would not jump start. Pull started it with my other truck and it was ok again. Noticed the headlights were flickering a little, no matter what the RPM, so I had her follow me and I made sure all accessories were off.
Drove it maybe 3 miles and the truck just died. I mean dead in the highway. Not even a dome light. Towed it back to the ranch. Still totally dead. Pulled the batteries and sure enough, they were almost 7 years old.
(We inherited this ranch & the truck but it was very well maintained. Until the estate is settled, we are supposed to leave it on the property and not use it for personal use, as the estate is in a court battle. That's why it sits a lot.)
Back to the problem... Put 2 brand new batteries in the next day, and looked like we would be ok. Turns over great but now it will not fire. Noticed the guages in the cluster are dead. Lights in the cluster work (glow plug, blinkers, etc) I'm sure there's probably no power to the pump either. It has half a tank of fuel, but the low fuel light comes on after 10 seconds.
Tried to read codes using the key method, but cannot get codes to show at all.
Check all 4 cables and the grounds off both batteries. Cleaned all, but only 1 had just a little corrosion on it.
Checked all fuses in the fuse box, and all were ok.
I'm stumped here, but I'm thinking one of the batteries shorted and knocked the ECM out. Not sure what else to check before going to the -ugh- dealership. #@$%!
I've got a '04 3500 Ram 4x4 Dually 6spd. We use it at the ranch, mostly to haul hay & cattle. It sits a lot, and last week the batteries were low. Jumped it off, let it run 3-4 hours and worked it on the ranch. No problems. Decided to bring it home to check it out and give it some road time (30 mile trip), and change the batteries if they needed it.
At dark my wife tried to move it up to the road and accidentally popped the clutch & killed it. Would not jump start. Pull started it with my other truck and it was ok again. Noticed the headlights were flickering a little, no matter what the RPM, so I had her follow me and I made sure all accessories were off.
Drove it maybe 3 miles and the truck just died. I mean dead in the highway. Not even a dome light. Towed it back to the ranch. Still totally dead. Pulled the batteries and sure enough, they were almost 7 years old.
(We inherited this ranch & the truck but it was very well maintained. Until the estate is settled, we are supposed to leave it on the property and not use it for personal use, as the estate is in a court battle. That's why it sits a lot.)
Back to the problem... Put 2 brand new batteries in the next day, and looked like we would be ok. Turns over great but now it will not fire. Noticed the guages in the cluster are dead. Lights in the cluster work (glow plug, blinkers, etc) I'm sure there's probably no power to the pump either. It has half a tank of fuel, but the low fuel light comes on after 10 seconds.
Tried to read codes using the key method, but cannot get codes to show at all.
Check all 4 cables and the grounds off both batteries. Cleaned all, but only 1 had just a little corrosion on it.
Checked all fuses in the fuse box, and all were ok.
I'm stumped here, but I'm thinking one of the batteries shorted and knocked the ECM out. Not sure what else to check before going to the -ugh- dealership. #@$%!
