Dead new truck, far from home!

[rncordy]

I am in the middle of a three thousand mile trip pulling my travel trailer. Now my almost new Ram won't start. Electronics are totally dead. Key fob won't unlock doors. No dash lights. Truck battery voltage is 7 volts. There is a dealer near my location but I can't get an appointment until Wed (per their online scheduler, today in Sunday).

First question: With no power, I can't unlock the tail gate to get to my battery charger. Is there a way to open it mechanically? (I have a "false" truck bed so my tailgate has to be open to get underneath the false bed where the charger is located.)

Second question: Maybe an alternator problem, or shorted battery? What do you think? There were earlier clues, random chimes, but no "check engine lights", some steering wheel controls kaput, but horn worked. I don't have a code checker.

Thanks!

 

[Ozymandias]

Wild guess, you probably drained your trucks battery's with the trailer connected to the truck. That connection is always hot, no matter if the key is on or off.

 

[rncordy]

Thanks Ozy. On this trip, the truck-trailer unbilical has only been connected while traveling.

 

[Grumpy8811]

First question: With no power, I can't unlock the tail gate to get to my battery charger. Is there a way to open it mechanically? (I have a "false" truck bed so my tailgate has to be open to get underneath the false bed where the charger is located.)


Thanks!

you should be able to remove the inner panel on the tailgate with the tailgate closed and gain access to the latch mechanism.
You might want to try crawling under the truck with jumper cables and attach to the starter motor and ground to the frame and unlock that way.

 

[rncordy]

you should be able to remove the inner panel on the tailgate with the tailgate closed and gain access to the latch mechanism.
You might want to try crawling under the truck with jumper cables and attach to the starter motor and ground to the frame and unlock that way.

Thanks Grumpy, I'll see if I can access that panel. Why not just attach jumper cables to the accessible battery? I suspect that's what AAA will do when they arrive.

 

[Grumpy8811]

Thanks Grumpy, I'll see if I can access that panel. Why not just attach jumper cables to the accessible battery? I suspect that's what AAA will do when they arrive.

yeah, if you can open the hood... I thought you couldn't get in the truck. if you can get in the truck, by all means open the hood and do it the EZ way.

 

[rncordy]

yeah, if you can open the hood... I thought you couldn't get in the truck. if you can get in the truck, by all means open the hood and do it the EZ way.

Yep, the old fashioned key buried in the fob unlocked front doors. But my electric steps didn't deploy so I had to drag myself way up onto the driver's seat. Tough for an almost nonagenarian! Unfortunately (for me), no keyhole for the tailgate!

 

[Grumpy8811]

Yep, the old fashioned key buried in the fob unlocked front doors. But my electric steps didn't deploy so I had to drag myself way up onto the driver's seat. Tough for an almost nonagenarian! Unfortunately (for me), no keyhole for the tailgate!

after you get 12 v connected, you should be able to open the tailgate with the fob

 

[Ozymandias]

Jumpstart will sure work, but let the vehicles connected for at least 10 Minutes with the donors engine running to bring some Amps over before you hit the start button - and skip the pre-heat cycle otherwise your instantly back on field one.

Generally connect the positive lead to the drivers side battery, the negative somewhere on the engine block.

Also your owners manual tells the correct steps for the vehicle.

 

[cricha]

if your truck is a 2024, I'm told it doesn't have the manual overide lever under the inspection panel to open the tailgate. no power, it wont open. I've had my 2024 truck since February, and its been in the shop 8 times for electrical issues. The last time I took it in (its STILL in the shop, supposed to pick it up tomorrow) was because the truck stranded me about 400 miles from home while on vacation. same issues as you describe. truck went completely dead. no trailer hooked up. nothing left on in the truck. had pulled my trailer up to the campground, made a run into town the next day, then the truck was parked for 3 days. went to start it, completely dead. 4V on batts. no way to bypass grid heater, so even when i tried an insta start, the grid heater timer and heater kicked on , sucking too much juice to allow a jump. Dealer told me yesterday the truck was a-ok fine, cold not find a reason for it to go dead. Told me that both batts were going to be replaced. the other seven times my truck was in the shop was for multiple failures of the steering wheel control buttons.
If you find a reason for you problem, please post it, I would be interested.

 

[Ram4Sam]

if your truck is a 2024, I'm told it doesn't have the manual overide lever under the inspection panel to open the tailgate. no power, it wont open. I've had my 2024 truck since February, and its been in the shop 8 times for electrical issues. The last time I took it in (its STILL in the shop, supposed to pick it up tomorrow) was because the truck stranded me about 400 miles from home while on vacation. same issues as you describe. truck went completely dead. no trailer hooked up. nothing left on in the truck. had pulled my trailer up to the campground, made a run into town the next day, then the truck was parked for 3 days. went to start it, completely dead. 4V on batts. no way to bypass grid heater, so even when i tried an insta start, the grid heater timer and heater kicked on , sucking too much juice to allow a jump. Dealer told me yesterday the truck was a-ok fine, cold not find a reason for it to go dead. Told me that both batts were going to be replaced. the other seven times my truck was in the shop was for multiple failures of the steering wheel control buttons.
If you find a reason for you problem, please post it, I would be interested.

I went through a nightmare similar to this with my 2014 truck. Electrical gremlins in the dash the dealer could never figure out, endless trips to the dealer, lots of new parts thrown at it.....never fixed.

Read up on your state's lemon laws for a replacement/buyback of the truck. (mileage, days out of service, number of repair attempts)
You probably got a book with your owners manuals that explains the process and requirements.

Sam

 

[rncordy]

Update on my "dead truck". AAA arrived and put separate jump starters on the two batteries. Nothing, not even a click. Hauled it to the dealer in Cody, WY and they got me right in. Two days of battery charging and all became well. Dealer just said I must have left something on that was connected to the 12v auxillary receptacle in the dashboard. I don't believe I did. Dealer also said that there is a "cutoff" voltage below which absolutely nothing electrical will work. He thought it was around 10 volts but he was not sure. Does anybody out there know about a "cutoff" voltage?

After I returned home, I connected my Garmin GPS and my trailer rear facing camera monitor to the dashboard 12v receptacle and left them on for two 12hr stints. The voltage only dropped about 0.1 volts. So even if I had left both on, that would not have drained the batteries down to 7v. Each device has a very bright screen and no automatic shutdown feature so they were on the full 12 hours. Again, I don't believe I left them on during the original problem.

Another clue I had before the truck died, and a clue I didn't pickup on, was that the steering wheel controls were not working, no radio volume control and couldn't select dash display options. I failed to relate those issues to low battery voltage otherwise I could have checked that. Thanks to the Cody dealer, my dash now displays voltage, coolant and transmission temps!

I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have about the cause of my dead batteries and the "cutoff voltage" question. Thanks!

Bob

 

[cricha]

I had EXACTLY the same problem. all of the switches in the steering wheel and the module (clock spring), all related wiring and connectors were replaced on my truck. switches would work for about two weeks, then fail again. After the last shop visit, I was told truck was good to go. the service writer said the latest fix they did as directed by the star technician was to bend all of the connector pins to make them "fit tighter". Nothing was ever mentioned about low voltage being an issue. When my truck went dead 400 miles from home, there was nothing plugged into any of the 12v ports, no trailer hooked up. I would really hate to think all the switch problems i've experienced were due to low/bad batts. All of the switches run through the steering wheel module that I was told had a processor in it. Low voltage would cause several problems with that. The dealer replaced both batts on the last shop visit. currently, Volt readings when running (after grid heater shuts off) are~14.1-14.2vdc according to my Edge CTS. Resting voltages are 12.76vdc. If your batts were down to 7v, the dealer should have replaced them, not just recharged them. I have not heard of a low volt cut off either. Can anyone chime in on what the proper resting volt range may be? On my truck, no codes were thrown for low voltages until the batts failed. If your truck goes back to the shop, or has more electrical issues, please post, I'm really interested.

 

[cricha]

Curious, what's the build date on your truck?

 

[Tuesdak]

Resting voltages are 12.76vdc. If your batts were down to 7v, the dealer should have replaced them, not just recharged them.

The warranty process to replace A battery is N U T S ! I had to leave my truck overnight while they went through the required charging steps and "DUH!" replaced the stone cold dead battery. They, per FCA's policy, did not replace the other battery like they should in pairs. What a waste of everyone's time (including dealer and tech) the OEM battery warranty policy is!

I pulled the new warranty replacement battery out and used it in something else before the other weak but passed tests battery could ruin it. The pickup got a set of new batteries from Batteries Plus who are smart enough to warranty both batteries at the same time. (And they have.) It's more expensive for vehicle downtime, even under warranty, than to outright replace two batteries.

I suggest separating the batteries by disconnection one of the ground terminals. That do a load test on them. If one is bad: replace both.

When I turn the ignition off in my 2018 RAM the 12V dash outlet goes dead. Perhaps they are talking about the USB ports staying on with key off?

 

[rncordy]

My build date is 10/23. The Cody dealer said my batteries checked ok after the recharge. And no codes had been set. Since the dealer found nothing wrong with the truck, the battery charges and checked out was not covered by the warrantee.

 

[Ozymandias]

The warranty process to replace A battery is N U T S ! I had to leave my truck overnight while they went through the required charging steps and "DUH!" replaced the stone cold dead battery. They, per FCA's policy, did not replace the other battery like they should in pairs. What a waste of everyone's time (including dealer and tech) the OEM battery warranty policy is!

I pulled the new warranty replacement battery out and used it in something else before the other weak but passed tests battery could ruin it. The pickup got a set of new batteries from Batteries Plus who are smart enough to warranty both batteries at the same time. (And they have.) It's more expensive for vehicle downtime, even under warranty, than to outright replace two batteries.

I suggest separating the batteries by disconnection one of the ground terminals. That do a load test on them. If one is bad: replace both.

When I turn the ignition off in my 2018 RAM the 12V dash outlet goes dead. Perhaps they are talking about the USB ports staying on with key off?

Im fine with the procedure as every battery that is unnecessarily replaced just for fun is one battery that me as new car buyer i don't have to pay for.

All warranty work is paid for by the cushomer.

 

[Grumpy8811]

the manufacturer is not going to replace a battery under warranty just because someone hopes they will.
also worth saying battery troubleshooting starts with making sure a battery is fully charged.

 

[cricha]

My build date is 10/23. The Cody dealer said my batteries checked ok after the recharge. And no codes had been set. Since the dealer found nothing wrong with the truck, the battery charges and checked out was not covered by the warrantee.

I have the same build date. Wonder if they had a bad batch of batteries.

 

[Diesel85]

What is the date stamp on the battery?

My 2020 truck has 01/2019 battery in a truck that was built in 12/19. Pretty much sat on a shelf/pallet for 12 months!