Starting Issue

HemiStarPower · Dec 16, 2017

Hey everyone, got a 2017 Ram 1500 BigHorn Crew Cab with 565 Miles on the odometer. I have a company vehicle so I don’t drive my truck often, it’s garage kept. Today I was driving it around town no issues, I had about a quarter tank of gas when I **** it off. I went to go start it and it sputtered and shut off. After 5 or so attempts at starting I gave up. Let it sit for a little, when I went to start it back up it started up rough barely idling then it settled out.

Anyone know if issues letting the fuel get to a quarter tank? I usually keep it over half to full but slacked off. The truck was turning over strong just didn’t seem to be getting any fuel. No MIL lights.

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Jeepwalker · Dec 16, 2017

Hmmm....were there any codes that were set? How long did you drive it prior to shutting it off. Did it turn over fine when you were trying to start it?

HemiStarPower · Dec 16, 2017

No codes set, it sat for about an hour before running it again. It was turning over very strong, just sputtered and stalled out.

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whitelightnin · Dec 16, 2017

Sounds like ethanol problems

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Jeepwalker · Dec 17, 2017

That's a good point, I wonder if water in the fuel could have been an issue? Did you happen to get fuel at some time prior to the issue? How has it been running since then? Start with the simple things first.

HemiStarPower · Dec 17, 2017

Since the truck sits in the garage, that batch of fuel has been there since the beginning of the month after a trip. I drove through the tank from full to a quarter, never had an issue till today. Although maybe it had water from sitting to long.

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HemiStarPower · Dec 17, 2017

Put my computer up to it, no pending codes or active fault codes. Emission status was ready with no errors. I put fuel in it and she started right up. Maybe it was some bad fuel, or some issue with the truck when fuel gets low.

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whitelightnin · Dec 17, 2017

Here's the thing with corn gas, it has at most 15% alcohol. Water is attracted to alcohol, the less gas in your tank, the more condensation you get. This is called phase separation. If your gonna let it sit with that stuff, fill it up to the top and get some star tron enzyme treatment. Or just find a station that sells ethanol free gas and don't worry about it.

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Jeepwalker · Dec 17, 2017

Water is attracted to alcohol

Actually, alcohol is attracted to water. It will bind more easily with water than to other alcohol molecules. After a point it will lose it's 'desire' to bind with more water. Its not going to continually draw water out of thin air. Based on your recent post (O/P) the chances of it being water in the tank are doubtful. Hopefully it was a one-off event. If it does happen again, listen and try to determine if the fuel pump is activating prior to attempting to turn it over.

whitelightnin · Dec 17, 2017

Jeepwalker said:
In the presence of water, alcohol molecules will more readily bind to water, but only to a point, then it loses it's ability to attach to additional water molecules. Therefore, it's not going to continually bind with water and won't draw it out of thin air.

O/P, I agree, if you didn't just fill up, the chances of it being water in the tank are doubtful. Hopefully it was a one-off event. If it does happen again, listen and try to hear if the fuel pump is activating prior to attempting to turn it over.

You'd be surprised how much water can accumulate. I see it all the time in boats, it just dosent happen nearly as much in cars and trucks.

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Jeepwalker · Dec 17, 2017

Sorry, I was probably 'editing' my post probably while you were responding. I don't doubt it can be a big issues in boats.

HemiStarPower · Dec 17, 2017

I’ll definitely keep an eye on it. I had an old Honda that developed a fuel pump issue. Turned out to be the Master Relay. Hopefully this isn’t the issue and that it was a one time event.

As always, thanks everyone for bringing forward your expertise.

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Starting Issue

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