2011 Ram 1500 Won't Start

[harrdawg54]

I have a weird issue. When I try to start my truck it will click and barely crank the motor then nothing. Sometimes when I turn the key I get nothing from the starter. It will do this over and over again and sometimes actually start but very rarely. The battery is good and it has a new starter. I can jump the starter relay and it will crank but I still cannot get it to start. A secondary issue is that the alternator burned up so I had to replace that, but the new one does not charge as well (when I can get it to start). There are no codes and I checked every fuse. I have been working on this for days and am out of ideas so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Burla]

Was starter and alternator oem? Easy answer would use oem parts and new battery. Is battery over 3 years old? When weather gets down in the theirties and below battery capacity is way low, and hemi's need a lot of cca. Hard answer is a short somewhere.

 

[Daw14]

Clean both terminals and all that connects to them very well .
Trace and remove ground connections as they come from the battery to the frame , engine block , heads , body .
Your truck is coming up on 14 years old , that’s a lot of time for rust and corrosion to take hold and compromise solid connections.

 

[harrdawg54]

I did check the terminals and the wiring. The starter is good as I can jump it across the terminals where the starter relay is in the fuse box and it spins the motor without issue. It's almost like the truck has something going on with the startup sequence as it wants to try with a small click but something is stopping it from continuing. I did have to push the button on the shifter console to put it into neutral while the battery was out.....could that have something to do with it. Like the neutral safety switch is making it not start or something. IDK, I'm just throwing ideas out there.

 

[Burla]

Have you tried a jump start and if so what happened? Did you see the question how old is the battery?

 

[Slinge]

Did you switch starter relay ?

 

[harrdawg54]

The battery is about 3 years old. I get the same issue when I try to jump start it. I swapped the relay with a different one and it started a few times then I got the same issue. If it was a constant issue it would be easier to pinpoint but I can't quit figure out the main issue.

 

[Burla]

The battery is about 3 years old. I get the same issue when I try to jump start it. I swapped the relay with a different one and it started a few times then I got the same issue. If it was a constant issue it would be easier to pinpoint but I can't quit figure out the main issue.

Since it is sporadic it is possible it is ignition, which also doesn't throw codes. The stator or whatever you call that in the win modules gets all gunked up over time, you can bypass it to rule it out or find the issue.

Dodge Ram WIN module cheap fix (won’t start)

Instead of replacing WIN module just bypass the start function of it by using a push button switch wired into the start relay

youtu.be

 

[Burla]

Ram WIN module (ignition switch) repair

Repairing the WIN module in my 2012 Ram 3500

youtu.be

 

[Burla]

The battery is about 3 years old. I get the same issue when I try to jump start it. I swapped the relay with a different one and it started a few times then I got the same issue. If it was a constant issue it would be easier to pinpoint but I can't quit figure out the main issue.

thanks for the response, so easy answer would be win modules, hard answer would be TIPM. What happens in the TIPM is somewhat similar to what happens in win modules, the win modules dirties with use long term, well the TIPM under the fuse has soder joints that can corrode. They do have dyi fixes online, but it requires a lot of electrical expertise. Rule out win modules by bypass, it is easy and cheap and if it fixes you know the issue. TIPM likely will be costly, I'd rule out everything together before biting that bullet. There is only two items in the energy supply chain from the battery to the starter, win modules or TIPM.

 

[harrdawg54]

thanks for the response, so easy answer would be win modules, hard answer would be TIPM. What happens in the TIPM is somewhat similar to what happens in win modules, the win modules dirties with use long term, well the TIPM under the fuse has soder joints that can corrode. They do have dyi fixes online, but it requires a lot of electrical expertise. Rule out win modules by bypass, it is easy and cheap and if it fixes you know the issue. TIPM likely will be costly, I'd rule out everything together before biting that bullet. There is only two items in the energy supply chain from the battery to the starter, win modules or TIPM.

Thanks. I'll check these out and hopefully get back to everyone with good news. I really appreciate everyone's help.

 

[Burla]

Thanks. I'll check these out and hopefully get back to everyone with good news. I really appreciate everyone's help.

You say you tried a fuse? So there was a fuse to starter in TIPM? I wasn't sure about this, I was going off what you said as in you tried replacing relay. I haven't traced this personally so I'm going off what you said, there is a fuse to fuel pump. Sometimes starters have a separate fuse.

Mess with win modules first, hopefully that does it.

.

 

[Burla]

I did have to push the button on the shifter console to put it into neutral while the battery was out.....could that have something to do with it. Like the neutral safety switch is making it not start or something. IDK, I'm just throwing ideas out there.

Maybe, something else to consider, look up the way to test this because I think it is complicated on the rfe, I think this item is not in the location as other transmissions, it's been a while since I was messing with rfe stuff. If I remember correctly there is a fairly easy way to test this, just not in my brain at the moment

Now I cannot verify this process, look it up..

1. Put the gear to Park, then try to start.
2. If you notice the engine not cranking, step on the brake, then try starting in Neutral.
3. If the engine starts, then the neutral safety switch has gone bad.

If not, there is another way to test this, requires testing voltage.

 

[Burla]

this guy shows you use a jumper wire to diagnose if it was neutral switch. see safer way to bypass later in vid.

3 Easy And Cheap Ways To Bypass The Park Neutral Switch On An XJ 91-01

BE CAREFUL with this. Some us don't have to tools or knowledge to change the Jeep Cherokee's notorious NSS. Here are 3-4 simple and cheap ways to get around ...

youtu.be

 

[harrdawg54]

So the remote start won't work either. When pressed, the truck will power up, honk once then power off with no error shown on the screen. The WIN module seems to be functioning as it should. I still have to look into bypassing the neutral safety switch. Occasionally it will not do anything when trying to start in park, I will then move it to neutral and it will at least attempt to engage the starter. It will continue this same action after putting it back in park.

 

[harrdawg54]

It started on the 2nd try today and I could only keep it running it I had it jumped to another vehicle because the alternator still won't charge. Is there a way to manually excite it to get it to charge or am I screwed because it is controlled by the PCM......and speaking of PCM, could that be the problem with everything? I am going to pull the new alternator and have it tested to see if I just got a dud but I don't have high hopes for that. When the old alternator went out could it have spiked and taken out something? I read there is a fusible link from the alternator to the fuse box but I don't know where that would come in so I can test the wire.