Rough start-up

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RAM208

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14 Ram 1500 with the Hemi, all stock besides Cold Air Intake and exhaust. For the past few days upon start up the truck idles rough for a few seconds before "coming alive" like normal. It almost sounds like the truck is cammed when it first starts. No check engine lights, nothing. It last for a few seconds before idling higher up like it usually does. The truck has always fired right up into a higher idle at startup. I am hearing the ping pong noise when it first starts as well but again no check engine, idles back to normal and then I drive it about 20 miles to work with no issue. I've ran it for the past 20k miles out of eco mode after reading about the MDS lifter failure possibilities. Currently sitting at 121k running the Mobil 1 with Wix. Curious if anyone else had this issue and if it was an easy fix or I'm soon to be looking down the barrel of thousands in repair of the top end.
 

rmill

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What 100k mile maintenance was done on it, Everything on checklist??
 
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RAM208

RAM208

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What 100k mile maintenance was done on it, Everything on checklist??
I did the OEM plugs and PCV at 105K. Havent had an issue until now.
 
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RAM208

RAM208

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Unplug your o2 sensor. If it does not do this with no o2 sensor then that is your issue. o2 sensor located near catalytic converter. Also could be bad gas if it just started doing this.
Thanks I'll try this before I leave work today. Come to think of it I filled up at Shell the other day which I never do. Could be gas
 

Burn2k12Ram

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Thanks I'll try this before I leave work today. Come to think of it I filled up at Shell the other day which I never do. Could be gas
Yup very well could be the issue with Gas. Have heard of others having the same exact issue after filling up with some Shell gas.
 

rmill

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Have you cleaned Throttle Body or run Fuel injector cleaner.
 
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RAM208

RAM208

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Have you cleaned Throttle Body or run Fuel injector cleaner.
I usually run seafoam in the fuel every other oil change. Put a new filter on the cold air a couple months and the throttle body looked clean when I did the plugs.
 

rmill

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Darn, I'm out of the "easy fix" ideas but definitely interested to see what you find. Had my first misfire at 98k and after 100k tune up things seem to be good. Like you, no codes after misfire. But truck has been great overall. Hopefully the experts chime in. Good luck!
 

M60A3 Driver

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I don't trust Shell or Exxon gas. When I had my Harley, I put Exxon in it once because I had no other option. It caused my bike to vapor lock. I had to ride with the gas cap lossened. I syphoned it out when I got home and replaced it with Sunoco. I also replaced the gas cap with a vented one. I never had that problem before I put Exxon in it. Shell is just as bad in my opinion.
 

Hydrasport23

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Don't bother unplugging the O2 sensors near the cats. Those sensors only tell the ECM the status of the cats and the ECM doesn't care about the cats until they get up to normal operating temp. The front O2 sensors will help the ECM determine the correct fuel mixture after the engine warms up, until then, you're in open loop. Your issue is at cold, initial startup?
If you have an actual misfire, the ECM will set a code and tell you the cylinder that has misfired. It must misfire a certain number of engine revolutions before a code will be set. I had the same issue a month ago. The engine missed a few revolutions and then immediately set a misfire code for the #4 cyl. I cleared the code and it hasn't happened since. Hard to diagnose a random misfire but if you don't get a code for a particular cylinder. You will have a better idea where to begin. Could be an injector, coil, wiring issue or spark plug and you could swap one of those components to a cylinder that is not causing an issue by seeing if the code is set on the other cylinder. Without a code, you would be guessing at the cylinder causing the concern, if it's even a misfire. Bad fuel would cause a problem all the time, not just at startup.
How long have you had the "cold air" system installed? Are the OEM sensors on the air intake in the factory locations? Just a guess but I would start looking at a possible dirty throttle body, as it may be an idle issue rather than a misfire.
 
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RAM208

RAM208

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Don't bother unplugging the O2 sensors near the cats. Those sensors only tell the ECM the status of the cats and the ECM doesn't care about the cats until they get up to normal operating temp. The front O2 sensors will help the ECM determine the correct fuel mixture after the engine warms up, until then, you're in open loop. Your issue is at cold, initial startup?
If you have an actual misfire, the ECM will set a code and tell you the cylinder that has misfired. It must misfire a certain number of engine revolutions before a code will be set. I had the same issue a month ago. The engine missed a few revolutions and then immediately set a misfire code for the #4 cyl. I cleared the code and it hasn't happened since. Hard to diagnose a random misfire but if you don't get a code for a particular cylinder. You will have a better idea where to begin. Could be an injector, coil, wiring issue or spark plug and you could swap one of those components to a cylinder that is not causing an issue by seeing if the code is set on the other cylinder. Without a code, you would be guessing at the cylinder causing the concern, if it's even a misfire. Bad fuel would cause a problem all the time, not just at startup.
How long have you had the "cold air" system installed? Are the OEM sensors on the air intake in the factory locations? Just a guess but I would start looking at a possible dirty throttle body, as it may be an idle issue rather than a misfire.
Checked for code and there's nothing. Idles funky for only a couple seconds and only at cold initial start up. Made a stop 5 minutes after cold start, turned off for 2 minutes, got back in and started fine. Did a 30 roll to 80mph the other day and no loss of power. Cold air has been on for 3 years now, brand new filter not too long ago. MAF plugs right where the stock would. Hasn't been an issue.
 
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RAM208

RAM208

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Pulled throttle body this weekend. Wasn't that dirty, but cleaned any buildup around the butterfly and re-installed. Started the truck with the same gas in it and it started right up no issue. Not sure if it was the cleaning of the TB or the reset of the computer (unhooked the battery before removing the throttle body) but its back to normal now. Filled up with some ethanol free mid grade just to give her a little extra. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for the help on here
 

thebearded1

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Did your issue ever come back? I had the same issue with my 2022 Warlock 5.7 I bought in Sept 2022 but it started at 200 miles before I even put gas in it. The problem got worse with the truck backfiring through the throttle body (popping under the hood) and cutting out. Then you would start it again and it would be fine with no loss of power while driving. The dealer was never able to figure out what was wrong with it and I had to go through the lemon law process with FCA to sell the truck back which was a nightmare.

This past January I purchased a 2022 1500 tradesman 5.7 and the same issue is just starting to happen again but now i have 3400 miles on it.
 
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