2012 ram suddenly won’t start

Jeepwalker said:

Is it a Chrysler battery? If so, it may be original ...probably reached the end of it's life. At least have it checked.

If it does turn out to be a failed battery, and it *IS* circa 2009, you should put it on a well-decorated table with flowers and pictures, have all your buddies over (with food & coctails) and throw a 'Celebration of Life' party for it ....that's a Loooong life for a battery!

I had a John Deere lawn tractor battery that lasted 13 full years. I can't count the number of times it went flat over the winter and I charged it back up in the spring and it chugged along perfectly. The dealer said theyd seen quite a few of that vintage last about that long (which surprised me). They assured me the new JD battery I bought wouldn't last that long (they were right).

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Just cremate that battery and spread the ashes around the parking spot to celebrate

traksta15 said:

I’m not sure, it may be. A small , solid colored peach or tan wire coming off the starter. Does that go through the fuse box under the hood to my key in the dash?

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That’s the starter wire, clips onto the starter. Should go right to the ignition switch I think. Try battery with multimeter, if good, starter solenoid may be done.

Octane said:

Just cremate that battery and spread the ashes around the parking spot to celebrate

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Daw14 said:

Your battery is done. Get a new one.

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I did that and replaced the battery with a new one and the truck started up good for a week or so, then just clicked and wouldn’t start. Changed starter and all is good.

Lyle Longboat said:

I did that and replaced the battery with a new one and the truck started up good for a week or so, then just clicked and wouldn’t start. Changed starter and all is good.

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OP's battery is 12 years old so replacing it will probably solve his starting problems. The starter pulls around 150 amps & battery capacity drops off with time. He's gotten his moneys worth out of that one.

It is probably the battery - once a cell goes bad - that's the end. Have your battery load tested - and start with the cheapest repair first The Battery ! I would do that
first before I started with anything like the starter.

For what it's worth, I had the same thing happen and my battery was original equipment (2012). Bought a new battery and it was dead overnight...new battery checked out okay, alternator is good. Parasitic draw somewhere and I just don't have the frickin' money to pay out the nose for somebody to diagnose for days and still not find the reason. Just keeping the damn thing connected to a battery tender and, if I have to go anywhere and stay overnight, I disconnect the negative battery cable. Can you say pain in the ass?

Ramtrucker: You could start a strategy of pulling a couple fuses overnight and seeing if you can locate it. Esp say, on a friday where you might not be driving the truck on Sat morning right away (and can look things over). A few each weekend might zero in on where the problem is. There are some common things, like interior courtesy lights, Exterior lights, tow wires, aftermarket items, radio, locks, dimmer swithes ...easy things which are usually the source of a draw.

If you follow the 80/20 rule, the problems generally come down to a handful of items or switches that either move (get shorts in wiring -- doors, dimmer/blinker, etc), things that get wet and corrode (lights, etc), wires in contact with heat or near mechanical items that can get pinched, etc during careless servicing. Or could be a rodent chewed a few wires (which are usually visible damage to the harness).

I bet there are some good general 'how-to' videos where to start and go about zeroing in on the draw. In my experience it generally does come down to the things listed above.

At least you can begin to eliminate...if nothing else ...eliminate what it isn't on your way to trying to figure out the problem.

Post #23 says he changed the starter Wednesday and all is good

traksta15 said:

Was driving my truck, when I went to start my truck it wouldn’t start. It doesn’t crank, just clicks like it’s a dead battery. Was starting and running totally fine until it wouldn’t start.

Here’s what I’ve found out so far:

Doesn’t start in any gear (tried shifting up and down multiple times hoping it thought it was in drive by mistake).

Tried tapping the starter with a hammer, didn’t do anything. I may try again if I don’t have any other options though.

Checked battery terminals and they were clean and tight.

Radio comes on, windows work, ac blows when the key is turned on. Just no crank. I can hear clicking from the relay box under the hood and from under the driver floor pan (I assume this is the starter clicking).

Truck is showing a check engine light on dash but not throwing any codes with my personal obd2 scanner.

Any ideas or thoughts I can try to at least go in some direction?

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I had a problem like what's going on with your starter, now mine is a 1996 Ram 3500 diesel and I took mine to a Auto electrical shop and what they found was on the back of the starter there is a copper plate that makes some kind of electrical connection, well that copper was burning into...they replaced it with one a little heavier never had any starting problems.
It happened years ago so my mind isn't what it was but the Copper connection was the problem. Check the back of your starter for that copper connection and make sure that it isn't burned through...

So it was starter? Well glad you got that figured out, I did as well, changed starter and truck is good.

Dead battery.
ive never had one due all of a sudden like that, even tried charging it, also tried a jump pack, nothing worked. New battery and it started right up.

Given its age, the plates inside were probably nearly totally 'eaten' away (from age) and just hanging on there for weeks by a few flakes. One bump or door slam a little too hard and a whole plate probably gave way and broke off inside, and that was that. Plus batteries are less effective when the temps get cooler.

Anyway, glad you figured it out and it didn't cost you any more time and money than what you spent.

Sounds like the TIPM

A voltmeter or a test light is needed. The large wire connected to the starter is either the wire from the battery or the wire from a starter relay/solenoid. With a voltmeter or test light connected to that large wire, there should be voltage when the key is turned to start. If there is and the starter doesn't run then the starter is failing. Replace the starter.

The small wire is usually the signal wire that causes the relay/solenoid to close and make the starter run.

traksta15 said:

Was driving my truck, when I went to start my truck it wouldn’t start. It doesn’t crank, just clicks like it’s a dead battery. Was starting and running totally fine until it wouldn’t start.

Here’s what I’ve found out so far:

Doesn’t start in any gear (tried shifting up and down multiple times hoping it thought it was in drive by mistake).

Tried tapping the starter with a hammer, didn’t do anything. I may try again if I don’t have any other options though.

Checked battery terminals and they were clean and tight.

Radio comes on, windows work, ac blows when the key is turned on. Just no crank. I can hear clicking from the relay box under the hood and from under the driver floor pan (I assume this is the starter clicking).

Truck is showing a check engine light on dash but not throwing any codes with my personal obd2 scanner.

Any ideas or thoughts I can try to at least go in some direction?

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I have a 2012 PW….Battery was working just fine….was at the dealer for an oil change….they brought it out for pick up…and wouldn’t start! Battery was exactly 5 years old…not enough cranking power…put a new battery in….works just fine. These batteries die suddenly!

Start/Run relays in fuse box.... cause multiple IMPOSSIBLE to diagnose with dealer, tech, etc,,,, starting issues, flickering gage lights, heated seats, steering wheel not working etc... Took 5 months for the dealer to figure it out... changed the start/run relay and NO more issues

see my thread if u want, hope this helps

2016 Big Horn Crew 4X4 5.7l Custom ordered, put through Audit Bay Warren Assy. Plant before shipping

Havé 2016 Ram 2500 diesel Turner key on everything Thing worked grid Heater worked but wouldnot engauge starter had to replace both batteries. All good now

Same year same problem. Can't quite remember..Dealership wanted to replace entire relay or fuse box?...because starter relay was located under box and a ***** to get at $1200
Anyways, bypassed the relay box with new relay,
starts like a charm.

Always replace the cheapest part first - A battery from 2009 is old - once it gets a dead cell it is toast. Buy the best battery you can afford - that will probably fix the
starting problem.

traksta15 said:

Was driving my truck, when I went to start my truck it wouldn’t start. It doesn’t crank, just clicks like it’s a dead battery. Was starting and running totally fine until it wouldn’t start.

Here’s what I’ve found out so far:

Doesn’t start in any gear (tried shifting up and down multiple times hoping it thought it was in drive by mistake).

Tried tapping the starter with a hammer, didn’t do anything. I may try again if I don’t have any other options though.

Checked battery terminals and they were clean and tight.

Radio comes on, windows work, ac blows when the key is turned on. Just no crank. I can hear clicking from the relay box under the hood and from under the driver floor pan (I assume this is the starter clicking).

Truck is showing a check engine light on dash but not throwing any codes with my personal obd2 scanner.

Any ideas or thoughts I can try to at least go in some direction?

Click to expand...

Same thing happened to my 2012 ram, had to replace the ignition switch to an updated switch