2016 Ram 1500 misbehaving after months in the driveway

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allotropic

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Hi. My dad has a 1500 5.7L, and it sat in his driveway for almost six months while he was overseas. Once he returned, we were quite shocked that it refused to operate, yielding various error codes after I got him an OBD2 reader.

Possibly relevant factors:
* Winter when he left, and those are quite cold here.
* Parked on an incline.
* The battery was of course quite dead, so it was duly charged overnight.
* When turned on, all the gear shifter lights go on and stay on.

OBD2 error codes include U101 (Lost Communication With TCM) and C212A-16 (System Voltage Low).

We are quite perplexed at what might cause this, and he's hoping to diagnose and fix it himself because it just came off warranty.

Any sort of clue would be much appreciated.
 

GTyankee

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Load test the Battery after given it at least a 4 hour charge
The battery should have been on a Battery Maintainer, when the vehicle is stored

Low batteries can cause false codes

Often some codes will clear up as the ignition is cycled several times, a cycle is ON then OFF, maybe with some driving in between
 

Tim7139

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Charge the battery and check the battery terminals. Weird things happen without enough power, and you have a low battery code.
 

RamInfo

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I was away from home for 6wks and upon return, my 2016 1500/5.7 started up just fine. BUT, it had all kinds of weirdness going on—dash lights, no cruise, etc. until the battery was completely recharged. Charge your battery overnight before doing anything, then have it load tested. Chances are good you’ll be needing a battery.

best,
DG
 

tron67j

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Unless the battery is brand new, go ahead and replace and cycle through some on/off events with your key. It should clear things up. You can also reset codes and then see if they come back. Good luck
 
OP
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A

allotropic

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Hi everyone. Thank you for the advice.

We have replaced the battery (no doubt a good idea anyway), but this changes nothing in the results. A clarification I should have included above: it is not possible to start the truck normally at all. All four letters of the shifter show on startup and are also on above the dial. We can't get it out of that state.
 

aces-n-eights

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This is a long shot but might be worth trying... i found this youtube vid on how to force your transmission into neutral. It might trick your truck into starting.

 

RLJ10X

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Don't they have storage units where you live? I can't imagine parking a huge investment like that out in the weather for 6 months.

Trickle charger is your friend.

I have too many things with batteries and tires. They're all indoors, out of the sun, with a good coat of wax and Armour all. Even at that, I sometimes run into little problems like sticky brake calipers.
 

Jeepwalker

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Some ideas:

- Alarm? On some vehicles, when it's locked and alarm is set and the battery goes dead, the alarm hasn't been disabled, even after you CHANGE OR CHARGE UP THE BATTERY. Esp if you unlock it with the key. On our Jeep, you can crank it all day long and it won't start. The trick is to (with a good battery), get out, close the door, then lock the truck with the fob, wait some seconds, then unlock it again. Or if you have a key, put the key in the door, then lock it and then unlock it (with the key). Either way, then re-try starting the vehicle. Check your dad's manual, it should describe the process in the Security Alarm section what the details of your year are.

- I agree to check the wires over for rodent chew-age.
- Is the starter working? Can you hear it do anything, or just 'nothing'? Take a piece of pipe and tap the starter. Maybe the solenoid inside has a bad connection?
- Check the main fuse at the fusebox. And wiggle or tap the starter rely.

- Remove the batter cables from the battery terminals, and tie them together with some tape and let sit overnight. It'll allow the electrical system to completely drain. I know it sounds strange but I've had to do it a time or two on a non-ram vehicle (per the previous owner's recommendation) ..and dang if it didn't resolve the problem.
 
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Jeepwalker

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Try this:

"It’s frustrating: You put your key in the ignition of your 1500 series truck, but you can’t get the engine to start. You know that there’s nothing wrong with your truck; rather, the anti-theft system has been activated. Even though you’re the rightful owner of your vehicle, anti-theft systems can act against you.

To deactivate the anti-theft system so that you can drive your vehicle normally once again, the steps are simple:

  1. Place your key in the ignition of the vehicle.
  2. Do not attempt to crank up your truck.
  3. Allow your key to sit in the ignition for 60 seconds. Do not move the key or try to start the vehicle.
  4. After 60 seconds have passed, start your vehicle as normal.
After you get your vehicle to start, think about what may have happened to activate the anti-theft system so that you can avoid the issue happening in the future."

Here's another one I found:
"Resetting the anti-theft system on this truck is pretty straight-forward. Get into the driver's side seat and close, and then lock all the doors. Then, unlock just the driver's side door, and go ahead and place the key into the ignition and turn it to the ON position. Then turn it back on. Do this procedure 3 times. At this point, You should see the immobilizer light stop its rapid blinking, and You'll be able to start Your Dodge."

It should be described in your owner's manual how to overcome an accidentally activated anti-theaft system.

_
 

roadrnnr

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Clean all your terminals including grounds
Bad connections and low battery's cause all kinds of electrical problems that make no sense
 

Jeepwalker

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I’m sending on the critters chewing on wires post. I see it all the time in my shop

Chrysler made it real easy for them ...lot of bare exposed wires on my truck's harness. They don't have to waste time chewing through any protective electrical tape or plastic in a lot of areas, they can go right for the 'good stuff' (real wires)! :)
 

Mbi777

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Critters chewing on wires?
My 2019 wouldn’t go into 4 wheel drive at all over a year ago. Critters chewing wires! I check it everyday now. They love the felt blanket that goes around the battery too. That’s next to come off!
 

3CUMMINS

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I have a 2019 3500 HO dually. It is not winter driven. I live in Ontario. It is winterized using Peppermint oil, cotton balls and some moth balls BUT we connect it to a Battery Minder 128 that keeps the batteries up and desulfates them (it is a diesel and has 2) at the same time.
Generally it is away from end October/early November to May. I have never had an issue. You may be able to use a smaller Battery Minder but I am not sure. Best money I ever spent. It is kept in a tarp garage but that is it.
An oil change is done when it comes out for the spring.
Weather is generally warmer here than Calgary, but if you are not using it, the truck doesn't matter. At the end of its hibernation, out comes the mouse protection and the Battery Minder. Start engine, head off to the dealer for the oil change.
The Battery Minder was purchased from Amazon Canada, in case you are interested.
If you needed to start it sometime during its downtime, not an issue.
Have just finished the 3rd year of hibernation with no issues.
Hope this may be helpful. I know what Calgary winters may be like (ignoring any Chinooks).
 

JDSR

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How’s the battery in your fob, might want to replace it also.
 

demonram

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My first thought was squirrels or mice chewing on the wires. Not much to stop them from getting in the engine compartment and have at it. That would be first on the list for me, then next would be battery related. The battery went dead on my truck unexpectedly and everything on the dash lit up, but truck wouldn't start, even with a couple of guys trying to help with their emergency start boosters. Finally got a boost from a diesel truck to get it started, then first Autozone I came to put a new battery on it. As long as his truck sat, when the battery went dead, I would suspect that is the reason for all the codes and alarms.
 

Sparky90

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I just went through a week of troubleshooting a u0101 code on my 2016 Ram 1500. truck worked fine one day, parked for a day then when I went to move it I had no crank, bo start but lots of power from the battery. Accompanying this code were three service warnings on my dash (service transmission, service trailer brake, service electronic brake system), the shifter knob had every light lit up and check engine light was flashing. I searched everywhere for the last week, and checked everything from the grounds to replacing the battery. I was just about to order a new TIPM, thinking that maybe some water had gotten in and damaged the circuit board when I came across a video last night that pointed me in the direction of a 7 or so conductor plug that supplies power and comms to the TCM in the transmission. Low and behold, I found a yellow wire with a red tracer that had a bit of corrosion on the jacket. The wire had slipped between the slit in the wire guard and has been chafing for who knows how long..long enough that moisture got in through a hole in the jacket and corroded the wire causing an open. This wire carries power from the load side of F57 in the TIPM under the hood directly to this plug on the transmission. Had I been better equipped, the plug could have been back probed and checked with either a multi meter or a test light to confirm loss of power between point A and B with the key in the on position. I was lucky enough that once I located the plug and started working backwards, my problem area was fairly obvious. Put a butt splice in and all of the codes cleared and truck fired up. Just figured I would share my story, because I was at my wits end about to order a $250 used TIPM when my culprit was a broken wire. I’ll share the video link and some pictures from under my truck just in case anyone else runs into the same issue..forgive the quality of the photos, my head lamp died and my phone flash wouldn’t work as battery was low. Best of luck!

 

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