2014 Ram 1500 Express dead radio

[dotCapone]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2014 Ram 1500 Express with the 5 inch RA2 radio. A few days ago, I turned on my truck and the radio was completely dead. Completely black screen, no sound or anything. It had been working fine up until this point. Everything else in the truck works as far as I can tell. I have tried a few things to get it working, but still nothing. I have thought about upgrading to the 8.4 RA4, but I just want to make sure it's the radio itself and not the wiring. I don't want to plug in the new radio and have that not work either.

Things I have tried:
- Checked the 20A fuse that is connected to the wire from the battery with a multimeter, it shows 12V from both sides
- Removed the fuse to visually inspect it (looked fine) and put it back
- Tried radio reset by holding volume and tune buttons while in ACC mode
- Disconnected battery for 30 minutes
- Tested all the fuses in the fuse box that I knew how to test

Is there anything else I can check to determine whether it is the radio itself or something with the wiring? I just want to be sure before I spend $1000+ on the radio upgrade. Thanks in advance.

- Tyler

 

[GTyankee]

I seem to remember that there is another fuse, near the firewall

 

[Daw14]

This site has a good search function, I also recall another fuse but don’t remember where it’s located. Just read on here the other day.

 

[SitKneelBend]

I seem to remember that there is another fuse, near the firewall

I believe that is the fuse they checked.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2014 Ram 1500 Express with the 5 inch RA2 radio. A few days ago, I turned on my truck and the radio was completely dead. Completely black screen, no sound or anything. It had been working fine up until this point. Everything else in the truck works as far as I can tell. I have tried a few things to get it working, but still nothing. I have thought about upgrading to the 8.4 RA4, but I just want to make sure it's the radio itself and not the wiring. I don't want to plug in the new radio and have that not work either.

Things I have tried:
- Checked the 20A fuse that is connected to the wire from the battery with a multimeter, it shows 12V from both sides
- Removed the fuse to visually inspect it (looked fine) and put it back
- Tried radio reset by holding volume and tune buttons while in ACC mode
- Disconnected battery for 30 minutes
- Tested all the fuses in the fuse box that I knew how to test

Is there anything else I can check to determine whether it is the radio itself or something with the wiring? I just want to be sure before I spend $1000+ on the radio upgrade. Thanks in advance.

- Tyler

If you have checked the inline fuse, also check the fuse box in the engine bay. If you have a friend with a Ram, you could swap radios to test too.

 

[dotCapone]

I seem to remember that there is another fuse, near the firewall

This site has a good search function, I also recall another fuse but don’t remember where it’s located. Just read on here the other day.

I believe that is the fuse they checked.

Yes that was the first fuse I checked, it seemed to be fine.

 

[dotCapone]

If you have checked the inline fuse, also check the fuse box in the engine bay. If you have a friend with a Ram, you could swap radios to test too.

Yeah I also checked all the fuses in the fuse box, everything in there seemed fine. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else with a Ram. I just mostly wanted to check if there was anything else obvious that I should check. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and assume it's a dead radio and order the 8.4 upgrade kit.

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[SitKneelBend]

Yeah I also checked all the fuses in the fuse box, everything in there seemed fine. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else with a Ram. I just mostly wanted to check if there was anything else obvious that I should check. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and assume it's a dead radio and order the 8.4 upgrade kit.

Thanks everyone for your help!

To save yourself some money, you may want to consider piecing the kit together yourself. There are forum members with the parts you need and @Mpgrimm2 makes conversion harnesses for our trucks.

 

[tron67j]

Get a multimeter and check the voltage on the line with the fuse. If you have power there, then probably the radio.

You could check out Crutchfield they will work with you to build out what you need. I think with the right cable your 2014 could upgrade to Android Auto or Carplay. Read the thread on that in the electronics section.