Turns off on its own...while driving...

Hi everyone,

I am new here! Was super excited to pick up my first truck last month. A 2012 Ram 1500 V8 5.7L Hemi. Fully loaded, I love it...except for one problem....

I have been in a scary/dangerous situation three times now; I am driving normally and all of a sudden the truck just turns off. No dash lights, no weird noises or anything to suggest something went wrong before it turns off.

In all three situations I was on a regular road without anyone directly behind me, so I have been able to stop it on the side of the road and turn the key to turn it back on again. It starts right away when I turn the key again. I have been lucky so far, but I feel unsafe driving it.

With no lights on the dash, I assume there are no codes to read. So I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Trying to avoid taking it to a dealer where they gouge my pockets to do a million tests to try and figure it out. But if need be I guess I will as its a liability.

One person suggested it might be the key, and I should try using my second key to see if the problem happens again.

I would be greateful for any insight anyone can offer.

I had a jeep grand Cherokee do that on the highway a couple times. No codes either active or pending either time. Then finally it wouldn't start, luckily in my driveway. At least that time it threw a crankshaft position sensor. Replaced it and never had that problem again.

Get a code reader on it ASAP. There might be stored code but no light on the dash. If you've not had it very long I'd involve the dealer you bought it from and tell them this is a serious safety issue and they will be held liable.

Does it ever take longer to start? The fuel pump relay is an issue with chrysler vehicles of that vintage. It can cause the car to stall if it shuts off the fuel pump. But it more often starts as a hard start situation.
Another thought is the ignition itself. I had a car that on hard bumps would switch from run to acc and kill the motor. New key cylinder and removing crap from my Keychain fixed that.

andymax said:

Get a code reader on it ASAP. There might be stored code but no light on the dash. If you've not had it very long I'd involve the dealer you bought it from and tell them this is a serious safety issue and they will be held liable.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately bought it from a small used car dealership, they wont take it back.

CamperMike said:

Does it ever take longer to start? The fuel pump relay is an issue with chrysler vehicles of that vintage. It can cause the car to stall if it shuts off the fuel pump. But it more often starts as a hard start situation.
Another thought is the ignition itself. I had a car that on hard bumps would switch from run to acc and kill the motor. New key cylinder and removing crap from my Keychain fixed that.

Click to expand...

It never has an issue starting, and when it dies I can restart it right away with just turning the key again. So no signs of issues.

Im thinking ignition / key cylinder might be the issue if no other electrical issues would cause it.

Stresses me out when I drive, not knowing if it will turn off on its own...hoping I can resolve this soon.

A CPS (Crankshaft Position Sensor) would cause a vehicle to suddenly 'die'. But the dash lights should still be on, based on my experience. It's a sensor, amongst others giving the computer info. I would still throw a scanner on it. Or you can download Alfa-OBD on an android device for ~$50-$60 (you need to buy a cable), which is a really comprehensive software for these vehicles. Or just go buy a decent import scanner on Amazon. A parts store would do a scan even today/tomorrow if you swung buy.

Could be the switch. If you dig into older posts, there were grumblings and users reported issues with switches back a long time ago (when they still had keys). And you might look at the main relays and main fuses in your fusebox (for corrosion) ...and battery cables and grounds. You might pull your TIPM and look for corrosion on it or some of the electronic traces.

.

Welcome to Ram ownership and the forums BTW. Be sure to read the last link

As an aside, let's help you get through this issue and to the point where you can enjoy the truck. 2012 is a great year btw because it has the old-school hydraulic steering which almost never fails ..and some other simpler electronics. Of course '13+ trucks got some nice upgrades too. Generally '12's and below are real reliable trucks.

You might check or swap a couple of the relays on your fuse box. Or replace if they look corroded. The TIPM's can corrode too for those who live in the rust belt. I ordered all new relays a while ago for mine (fuel pump relay needs to be soldered on the TIPM). I haven't received or installed my fuel pump relay yet:

Main cube relays:
Fuel Pump relay:

Or there is the fuel pump relay bypass cable (solder-free):

Read the SYMPTOMS portion of the last link below and see if that fits what you are experienceing. A lot of guys do have fuel pump issues and there is a restoration process (or reconditioned TIPMs for this issue). And enough that they make a bypass cable. Mfgr life expectancy on the relay is 100x10/3 (to the third power), which is 10 million cycles. If you started your truck 10x per day for 20 years, that would only be 73,000 cycles. If you started your truck 100x a day for 20yrs, you still dont scratch the surface of even half the relay's life. But in the real world people are having failures esp the 2012's. I think it would be a good idea to remove the TIPM and have a look at possible corrosion issues and you could even swap the fuel pump relay with another on the TIPM board to see if that resolves the problem. And of course look into the switch.


Let us know what you find out after you do some digging into your current issue and what 'fixes' the problem.

GenHavok said:

Unfortunately bought it from a small used car dealership, they wont take it back.

Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting they take it back but they should pay for the repair as it is a safety issue. Certainly worth threatening legal action in my opinion. Tell them if someone gets hurt they will be liable.

Naaah just deal with it. Don't turn into one of those jerks who expects everyone to bail them out at the first whiff of trouble (I'm not saying you are).

You love the truck. It's a nice machine. Good trucks are hard to find these days. It's also 10yrs old. Explore the repair options guys here have laid out. The solutions don't sound expensive. It sounds like you kind of know what you're doing and have a good head on your shoulders. You might buy the $11 fuel pump relay bypass cable (or swap TIPM relays). Or replace the ign switch (fairly easy) as you initially suggested, and see if that solves it. Maybe the dealer would go half on a TIPM, if it comes down to it, worst case (after you've exhausted the other things).

Keep the faith. Lot of good motoring to do in the future with your truck I bet. Best of luck

It would not hurt to ask that place that you bought the truck from, if their mechanic had any ideas.
If you bought the truck in the last month, that is what i would do

Mine did this acouple times, I had put in a cold air intake( I know I know useless unless tuned. But I like the look and I can!) And during that I realized how dirty the intake valve / throttle body was. I cleaned it before putting everything back to gether and hasn't happened again. Are they related? Don't know but it does run better.

Twice this had happened to me

Once in a 56 Plymouth the fuel line to the filter bowl (glass) the previous owner had used a hose that was covered with wire mesh and the wire mesh wore the rubber hose at a bend.

The second time in a Mitsubishi a vacuum leak from the PVC valve hose that had a crack in it.

Vacuum leaks in some vehicles are a major drivability issue others not so much.
Brake boosters pull lots of vacuum and can be hard to diagnose.

Then there was that member that had the ping pong ball in his gas tank…

Guys, just a reminder, you're forgetting the OP wrote when the truck suddenly died, it did so with all lights and everything turned off (like it was shut off). That eliminates most of the thing's like fuel, dirty throttle blade and so on...

Jeepwalker said:

Guys, just a reminder, you're forgetting the OP wrote when the truck suddenly died, it did so with all lights and everything turned off (like it was shut off). That eliminates most of the thing's like fuel, dirty throttle blade and so on...

Click to expand...

Good point if your not familiar with repair or diagnosis of pre OBD or no OBD vehicles CAN Bus threw in a whole other set of prerequisites to prioritize a vehicle system.
In other words older Vehicles function pretty much the same way except newer vehicle are going to check systems for you before they allow the vehicle to opperate.

It wouldn’t be the first time a flyby night dealership leaves a bug to be fixed for a comeback and give a false prognosis to open the wallet of unsuspecting gullible consumer.

Yes TIMP’s get fried but sometimes it’s something else that causes it … replacing the TIMP isn’t going to fix the issue necessarily you still need to make sure you know the cause.

Could be a loose ignition wire in the steering column. My truck would cutoff when I adjusted the tilt steering toward the dash. Looked like my hot wire from the ignition was getting pulled a bit when I adjusted the steering.

I’d check your ground wire off your battery

My old boss had a 2019 ford king ranch. it would do the same thing and left him stranded a few times. come to find out 4 years later it was a faulty wiring harness.
the harness would just flex just a little and cause a short. i would check all the wiring out if it was me. could be as simple as a loose ground.

Note: The ignition switch is on the dash on these years.