Helping out a friend--2011 Ram running rough--FIXED...sort of...

Swap the coil pack to a different cylinder and see if it follows.

This is what I would do ...but I'm sure other guys have different thoughts:

1) Double-check your battery connections AND esp engine ground/s. Sounds stupid, but engine electrical signals go through the grounds and a bad ground can spoof lots of crazy things. Esp on a 2011 ..which has some age on it and connections could be less than good. And it only takes a couple minutes to cross off the list.

2) Check the PVC and it's piping ..and vacuum hoses. Again this sounds stupid, but I've personally had it where plastic PVC piping and cracked rubber 90 degree elbows weren't sealing well. Such a problem can 'spoof' crazy unrelated problems ...even though you wouldn't think so.

3) Tripple-check injector and coil wiring & connectors.

4) Ohm out the coil packs 1-2 and compare to what the readings should be (sorry, I don't remember off hand). Warm the engine and remove the spark plugs at each of those cylinders and ohm them out too. I say ..warm the engine b/c if you don't find anything, I'd pull the rest of the plugs and do a compression test.

5) Perform a compression test by removing a plug from each cylinder. Test all cylinders (4 or 5 puffs each cylinder) ....and write down/compare the results. This won't catch a bad cam, but any misfire could be due to a bent/bad valve or head gasket issue. It's just good basic troubleshooting ...esp since you already have plugs from cyl 1&2 alread out. Otherwise if you don't do it and keep looking ...you never know and could waste a lot of time if it was a valve issue.

6) Observe the color and quality of the spark plug ends (for wear/cracked porcelean electrodes, etc). Ohm them out too. I've had internally failed spark plugs before. I'd replace them if they're old, or at least the cylinders showing misfire.

7) You could swap coil packs. Write down and compare readings.

8) If you haven't found anything by now, remove the valve covers on each side (or crank engine over) and observe the action of the rocker arms. You might find one not moving very much which means he's got a bad (worn) cam. Hopefully that won't be the case.


Good luck. Let us know what you find

That jumper wire may be because of an issue in the tipm. It's fuel pump relay may be bad. Have you changed the battery yet? Or checked its voltage? That would cause issues you are seeing now.

CamperMike said:

Have you changed the battery yet? Or checked its voltage?

Click to expand...

It reads ~14.2 volts with the engine running. With it off, it's around 10 volts. It doesn't seem to hold a charge. Battery is dated September 2019.

With the engine idling, the dashboard display flickers as well.

Replace the battery first... 10v is dead! And alternator puts out the least power at idle.

Yep, replace. Walmart sells a near-duplicate of the original battery. Even made by the same manufacturer. Fits properly too

I'll try that next. Stay tuned...

Battery is def toast with a 10v reading. Plus, can put a drag on the system. When they get a bad cell, they seem to cause alot of weird crap with the electronics.

If you can, take a look at the ground points as well, one more thing that can cause electrical goofiness.

OK, I put in a new battery. It runs a LOT better, but I'm still getting permanent misfire codes for cylinders 1 & 2.

I swapped coils between cylinders 1 & 3, and 2 & 4--no change. Next step will be checking spark plugs and injectors, along with looking for vacuum leads and proper grounding.

If those check good, then it's probably a cam, but I wouldn't think both would be bad. I'm led to believe something that is common to both banks is causing the issues.

Today, I swapped the plugs from cylinder #1 (first pic) with cylinder #3 (second pic). I'm no expert at reading plugs, but the plugs from cylinder #1 look fouled. Also, one of the plugs had a gap of close to .060"! The other three were between .050" and .055". They were re-gapped then reinstalled.

No new codes, but Cyl #2 misfire (P0302) is pending. As before, still getting permanent misfire codes of P0300, P0301, & P0302. As understand, those codes won't clear until the problem has been fixed.

I would hate to have the owner buy new plugs, when I'm not 100$ sure it will cure the problems.

Did you swap the coil packs too. If so, Try swapping the fuel injectors between those cylinders. Those plugs look fouled.

Those plugs look shot in my opinion id changed them i know it has pending codes but do you clearly feel a dead miss? also its easy to pop the valve cover and see if the valves move when you crank it over will tell you if cam is shot.

I ordered a complete set of plugs from Rock Auto, so I''ll install them and see what happens.

Valves not opening/closing all the way will foul plugs.

Verdict: it's the camshaft and/or lifters. I removed the passenger-side valve cover, observed the valve motion, and noticed #2 cylinder intake valve barely moved at al!

Thanx for everyone's help!