2012 ram suddenly won’t start

[traksta15]

Was driving my truck, when I went to start my truck it wouldn’t start. It doesn’t crank, just clicks like it’s a dead battery. Was starting and running totally fine until it wouldn’t start.

Here’s what I’ve found out so far:

Doesn’t start in any gear (tried shifting up and down multiple times hoping it thought it was in drive by mistake).

Tried tapping the starter with a hammer, didn’t do anything. I may try again if I don’t have any other options though.

Checked battery terminals and they were clean and tight.

Radio comes on, windows work, ac blows when the key is turned on. Just no crank. I can hear clicking from the relay box under the hood and from under the driver floor pan (I assume this is the starter clicking).

Truck is showing a check engine light on dash but not throwing any codes with my personal obd2 scanner.

Any ideas or thoughts I can try to at least go in some direction?

 

[traksta15]

Update: after looking at a few things I’ve discovered:

Bench test on the starter seems to be fine, comes on when I jump the wire and operates normal (as far as I know).

All fuses and relays seem to be fine. I swapped a few relays around and have the same issue.

I tested the big wire (under a 13mm bolt on the starter) with the key on and it’s hot. However the solenoid wire (the small one, peach/tan color) isn’t hot when the key is on. Where does this wire go from the starter? I’d like to test it further.

 

[GTyankee]

Take your battery cables off & charge the battery
If the battery charger has a trickle charge, use that for a couple of hours & then kick the charger up to 10 AMPs for a few hours

 

[Lyle Longboat]

Update: after looking at a few things I’ve discovered:

Bench test on the starter seems to be fine, comes on when I jump the wire and operates normal (as far as I know).

All fuses and relays seem to be fine. I swapped a few relays around and have the same issue.

I tested the big wire (under a 13mm bolt on the starter) with the key on and it’s hot. However the solenoid wire (the small one, peach/tan color) isn’t hot when the key is on. Where does this wire go from the starter? I’d like to test it further.

that’s the ignition wire isn’t it?

 

[traksta15]

Take your battery cables off & charge the battery
If the battery charger has a trickle charge, use that for a couple of hours & then kick the charger up to 10 AMPs for a few hours

I hooked it up today on the charger for an hour or so on “quick charge”. But I have all other accessories (radio, windows, fuel pump, etc) when I turn the key on. Wouldn’t the starter also start if the battery was up enough for the other accessories?

Also it’s my experience that a battery won’t die all of a sudden, it’s usually gradual, right? I checked the date on mine and it was from October 2009 so it is very old. May need replaced either way.

 

[traksta15]

that’s the ignition wire isn’t it?

I’m not sure, it may be. A small , solid colored peach or tan wire coming off the starter. Does that go through the fuse box under the hood to my key in the dash?

 

[GTyankee]

I think that the Starter draws almost twice as much power from the battery then all the lights radio, etc. combined

 

[turkeybird56]

I hooked it up today on the charger for an hour or so on “quick charge”. But I have all other accessories (radio, windows, fuel pump, etc) when I turn the key on. Wouldn’t the starter also start if the battery was up enough for the other accessories?

Also it’s my experience that a battery won’t die all of a sudden, it’s usually gradual, right? I checked the date on mine and it was from October 2009 so it is very old. May need replaced either way.

There may be enuf to juice to "run" stuff but not turn over. Monster volts for starter. And, these batteries not just in RAM, but any high accessory loaded vehicle, work one day, go out later and no crank. They just drop a cell and go dead. Batteries not made like they used to. Unfortunately, some batteries do not even go 5 years. U need to load test the battery, do not be surprised a dead cell.

 

[turkeybird56]

I think that the Starter draws almost twice as much power from the battery then all the lights radio, etc. combined

Something close to that, just not gonna look up. IMHO, OP needs a new battery.

 

[Elvira]

A battery will fail all of a sudden with no indication, it is luck of the draw it doesn't do it at the worst possible time. A weak battery may still operate radio, windows and the blower motor...but a starter draws quite hard. Before searching too hard for wiring...test the battery after a thorough full charge. Hard to diagnose items just from what customer states...but educational guesses can sometimes be a good start. Seems pretty old for a battery, but anything over 5 yrs and you are on borrowed time for sure. You think the battery is a 2009 in a 2012 truck and it lasted till 2021 ?

 

[GTyankee]

I thought it, just didn't think a mistake was worth comment

 

[traksta15]

I think that the Starter draws almost twice as much power from the battery then all the lights radio, etc. combined

Oh ok, so maybe the battery has enough juice for the accessories but doesn’t have enough juice for the starter. I’ll try a new battery tomorrow, mine is from 2009 anyways.

 

[Jeepwalker]

You could try jump starting it (with another vehicle). If it cranks then you know it's your battery. Or you could take it to a parts store to be load tested.

You're right though, usually ..or often, batteries do fail gradually. But not always. I had almost the exact same thing happen last year. Out of the blue my tk wouldn't start (mine's a 2012 too). I happened to have a multimeter in the tk and the battery showed 13v. Scratched my head, cleaned the terminals, grounds and swore a lot. I was convinced the battery was good. Next day I put my Harbor Freight load tester on it and she failed spectacularly. Absolutely nothing! New battery and it took right off. So definitely load test the battery.

Walmart sells an almost duplicate battery as the original. It's a Johnson Controls battery. The original 2012 Ram battery was a Johnson Controls battery too but said 'Chrysler" on it. The Walmart battery looks EXACTLY the same except has Walmart label (but also says Johnson Controls). Tests on youtube have shown that the Walmart batteries seemed to be as good as the others if not a schootch better (bur a little cheaper).

If it's not the battery, swap the Starter relay again with another relay (just to try again). And also quadruple-check your cables and esp the ground cable to the engine/body/etc. You could also inspect your TIPM (computer) for corrosion (not uncommon on older Rams).

 

[traksta15]

A battery will fail all of a sudden with no indication, it is luck of the draw it doesn't do it at the worst possible time. A weak battery may still operate radio, windows and the blower motor...but a starter draws quite hard. Before searching too hard for wiring...test the battery after a thorough full charge. Hard to diagnose items just from what customer states...but educational guesses can sometimes be a good start. Seems pretty old for a battery, but anything over 5 yrs and you are on borrowed time for sure. You think the battery is a 2009 in a 2012 truck and it lasted till 2021 ?

I’m just going off the date on the battery. I bought the truck about 1.5 years ago.

 

[Jeepwalker]

What year is the battery? Sorry if I missed that piece of info.

Also, read my post above..

BTW, this little H/F battery load tester has come in real handy over the yrs. Sure, Snap-on and Matco sell a lot better testers, but for the money, it's eliminated a lot of battery guesswork.

Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

 

[traksta15]

What year is the battery? Sorry if I missed that piece of info.

Also, read my post above..

BTW, this little H/F battery load tester has come in real handy over the yrs. Sure, Snap-on and Matco sell a lot better testers, but for the money, it's eliminated a lot of battery guesswork.

Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

October 2009 according to the date sticker.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Is it a Chrysler battery? If so, it may be original ...probably reached the end of it's life. At least have it checked.

If it does turn out to be a failed battery, and it *IS* circa 2009, you should put it on a well-decorated table with flowers and pictures, have all your buddies over (with food & coctails) and throw a 'Celebration of Life' party for it ....that's a Loooong life for a battery!

I had a John Deere lawn tractor battery that lasted 13 full years. I can't count the number of times it went flat over the winter and I charged it back up in the spring and it chugged along perfectly. The dealer said theyd seen quite a few of that vintage last about that long (which surprised me). They assured me the new JD battery I bought wouldn't last that long (they were right).

 

[GTyankee]

Celebration of Life for a battery
for all the good times

 

[traksta15]

Where are the ground locations I should be checking at?

 

[Daw14]

Your battery is done. Get a new one.