2008 Ram no crank, key fob not working

[Captain Zee]

Hi all, trouble with 2008 Ram 1500 with 5.7 Hemi. Parked truck last night and went to start this morning and would not crank. Also noticed that the key fob would not lock the doors and that the chime would not work when the key was in the ignition and the door was opened. The security light is also illuminated. It is the same with both key fobs. Would anyone know if there is an easy fix or if this transponder system can be temporarily bypassed? Any advice would truly be appreciated.

 

[MikeT]

Sounds to me like a dead battery. Do the headlights work? Suggest having the battery load tested.

Mike

 

[GTyankee]

That was my first thought also

You might try charging the battery for a couple hours
Then try using the FOB on the doors first
Then if that worked, try starting the truck again

 

[Captain Zee]

Thanks for your thoughts! Battery fully charged and load tested OK, cables and terminals clean. Everything powers up nicely but no crank. The WIN does not seem to be reading either of my key fobs. The batteries were replaced in the fobs some time ago with "dollar store" batteries and I am now wondering if both fobs went stone cold dead at almost the same time. Neither will communicate with the WIN, won't lock doors, won't crank engine. I am going to replace the fob batteries tomorrow with new ones, do a hard reset on the ECM and try again.

 

[Captain Zee]

Problem solved but not sure what the problem was! Changed batteries in key fobs, old batteries tested 2.9 and 3 volts out of 3 volt batteries. Did a hard reset on ECM and all is good again!