Electrical issues??

Hey all,

So I'm at a loss at the moment and figured wouldn't hurt to ask on here. I bought my 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport at the end of June of this year. Only 12,000 original miles, thought I had gotten a good deal....but of course little things keep going on now. Within a month I already had to take it to the dealership, they tell me it's fine. First issue I started having was the engine not turning over, but the radio and dash would flicker, it would hesitate then turn on. So I checked the battery, it was fine. All connections looked good as well. Soon after than I'd be driving and it started slipping gears. Last Sunday my "Service your 4 wheel drive" light came on on my dash, but then turned off. Now this week, it's been getting increasingly more and more delayed in turning over to start my vehicle. I put the key in the ignition and it sputters pretty bad. And now this morning was the worst and on my dash the words "CAL" appeared as I was driving to work, but before I could get a picture since I was driving, it disappeared before I reached my job. I honestly am scared it wont turn on after work today..how bad it is getting. A mechanic yesterday told me he thinks it's my transmission...but I don't see that. My friend said it may be my 4 wheel drive knob, that in his 4Runner when it was slipping gears that's what it was, but I'm having other issues as well, so I'm not too sure. Dealership wants to charge me 175/hr diagnostic fee and another mechanic said I needed a new engine. I only moved here a year ago, so unfortunately I do not know any good mechanics that will not screw me over. I just purchased this vehicle 4 months ago so this is so upsetting to me. My last Dodge lasted me over 200,00 miles with just normal wear and tear, and it never had any issues like this. ANY help or thoughts would be appreciated!!!!

Was the battery load tested? Most autoparts stores will do that for you free. They can also check the alternator.

Do these problems happen all the time or are they a one time problem that does not return. I would check all ground wires that you can see for good conections on both ends.

Hello, I had very similar problems a month ago with my 2011; the truck started fine, and then one day, the truck would not start up. The dash lights would flicker and try to come on, and the radio almost came on, but refused. I had someone try to jump my truck off, and it was unable to start it, even with their truck running (90's F-150). I applied my voltmeter to the battery, and it measured about 12.5 volts with the truck off, but as soon as I tried to have someone try to start the truck, it went down to 3.5 to 4 volts. Luckily I was able to get my dad to come where I was at in his 2500 Cummins crewcab, and we were only able to jump it off when his truck was running. (Got the CAL indicator at this point). We swapped out the battery and it fixed all of my issues, which I thought was some weird electrical issue, but apparently these trucks are extremely dependent on the battery voltage/current being in the correct range. If your battery hasn't been changed, I would really look at testing it, and swapping it out; 4 years is a long time for a battery!

I had the battery tested and they said it was fine. Never the alternator though. This issue was intermittent at first, but now it's almost an every day occurrence and just getting worse. I youtubed this as well and now it seems this may be a common 2012 issue. The resolutions ranged from bad starter or chip in the key malfunctioning, integrated module had to be re-flashed and install new ignition, key box had bad ground/ or wires, and the TPIN went bad. It's looking like, from what I read anyways, that I'm not the only one who got the runaround from the dealership. seems like they know about the issue and just don't want to own up to it. Worst case, I guess I'll go buy a new battery today and see if that helps at all. Just out of curiosity Lonestar_crewcab, what type of battery worked best? I was looking at the red tops, but they aren't made for Dodge.

Thanks all for your input!

Hey Alea1677, since my battery died late at night, the only place left open that sold batteries was Walmart. I went and got the Everstart MAXX-H7. It has been working fine so far.