2014 Ram 1500 no start

[DonnyP]

I was running errands today and truck started just fine all morning. On my last stop, I went out to start the truck and when I turned the key to start it made the cranking sound for about a second or 2 and then absolutely nothing. So I turned the key back to off and waited a little bit and tried again and nothing.

I turn the key to start and I get no cranking, no start, nothing. Battery is brand new last year and all dash lights and everything else works as it should. All the buttons on the remote work, I even tried using the remote start and it worked, but again no crank or start. I also tried the neutral safety cable and that did nothing. I checked the starter fuse and its good, not sure about the starter relay. Any idea's on what this could be??

It's strange how it tried to start (cranked) real quickly and then just stopped, now it does nothing at all.

Could the starter be bad? Truck is currently sitting in a parking lot and hoping I don't need a hefty tow bill or expensive dealer repair.

 

[duckman631]

Sounds like starter. Had to replace mine. Same symptom. 2016 and had about 100k miles on the truck when it crapped out.

 

[DonnyP]

That's what I'm leaning towards also. Just stinks that its stuck in a Meijer parking lot and not in my driveway. Not sure how much of a pain in the butt job it is.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

I was running errands today and truck started just fine all morning. On my last stop, I went out to start the truck and when I turned the key to start it made the cranking sound for about a second or 2 and then absolutely nothing. So I turned the key back to off and waited a little bit and tried again and nothing.

I turn the key to start and I get no cranking, no start, nothing. Battery is brand new last year and all dash lights and everything else works as it should. All the buttons on the remote work, I even tried using the remote start and it worked, but again no crank or start. I also tried the neutral safety cable and that did nothing. I checked the starter fuse and its good, not sure about the starter relay. Any idea's on what this could be??

It's strange how it tried to start (cranked) real quickly and then just stopped, now it does nothing at all.

Could the starter be bad? Truck is currently sitting in a parking lot and hoping I don't need a hefty tow bill or expensive dealer repair.

From afar - I’d bet the battery has a bad cell and/or loose or corroded battery terminal connectors.

 

[jws123]

That's what I'm leaning towards also. Just stinks that its stuck in a Meijer parking lot and not in my driveway. Not sure how much of a pain in the butt job it is.

after you confirm the battery is good it being 1 year old means nothing Take a hammer go under and smack the starter a few times see if it fires up also check the yellow wire that slides onto the starter Known for bad connection.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Check the start relay in the fusebox too. You ca swap it with another similar relay.

 

[RamDiver]

Who has the best crystal ball?

We can all guess until the cows come home and fire up the parts cannon or, start a logical diagnosis.

The first place to start is at the beginning and the age of the battery is irrelevant.

Buy a $20 battery load tester from HarbourFreight, prove the battery to be good or bad.

If the battery is bad, next, test the charging system to determine if that's why the battery died a premature death.

If the battery is good, move to the starter system.

We can play the odds game and start replacing parts but it might be cheaper and more educational to perform a logical diagnosis.

.

 

[Ludville1]

I recently had to replace the starter on my 2009, 163,000 miles on it. Washed the truck in the driveway, went to start it and by turning the key it would click one time and that was all. Went underneath and hit the starter with a hammer a couple of times, same thing. Put the jump starter on it, same thing. Replaced the starter, and it started right up, new starter spins the 5.7 Hemi over better/faster than it ever has since I have owned it (2018). Was a straightforward , simple job. 15mm socket for the 2 bolts that hold the starter in, 13mm socket for the nut that holds the cable to the starter, and 10mm socket for the 2 bolts that hold the heat shield on, all after disconnecting the battery, of course. Luckily, it died in the driveway at home. AutoZone had the best price that I could find around here, for a Duralast, lifetime warranty on a reman. starter.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

That's what I'm leaning towards also. Just stinks that its stuck in a Meijer parking lot and not in my driveway. Not sure how much of a pain in the butt job it is.

What did you determine?

 

[Burla]

after you confirm the battery is good it being 1 year old means nothing Take a hammer go under and smack the starter a few times see if it fires up also check the yellow wire that slides onto the starter Known for bad connection.

yup, this. When starter goes you can usually start the truck with a smack, but then also make plans for a new starter soon. Average life span of a truck starter is between 100 and 200k miles.

 

[Burla]

I recently had to replace the starter on my 2009, 163,000 miles on it. Washed the truck in the driveway, went to start it and by turning the key it would click one time and that was all. Went underneath and hit the starter with a hammer a couple of times, same thing. Put the jump starter on it, same thing. Replaced the starter, and it started right up, new starter spins the 5.7 Hemi over better/faster than it ever has since I have owned it (2018). Was a straightforward , simple job. 15mm socket for the 2 bolts that hold the starter in, 13mm socket for the nut that holds the cable to the starter, and 10mm socket for the 2 bolts that hold the heat shield on, all after disconnecting the battery, of course. Luckily, it died in the driveway at home. AutoZone had the best price that I could find around here, for a Duralast, lifetime warranty on a reman. starter.

Wow, lifetime warranty ain't that sumtn, nice.

With the high CCA amps and horsepower of hemi's, a lifetime warranty on a starter, that's crazy imo.

 

[El_Dude]

Always have your battery tested before assuming it's other electrical parts. I used to work at Sears Auto Center and have seen sooo many times customers tell us they have a bad starter/alternator when it was just a bad battery. Also a proper battery test has to be performed under load and voltage shouldnt drop below 12.5, if I remember correctly. And make sure terminals are clean and tight

 

[DonnyP]

It ended up being that the starter was bad. I went to AutoZone and got a reman starter for a pretty good deal. Took me about 30 minutes to swap it out. It fired right up after and has been zero problems since.

 

[mdc1990zr1]

It ended up being that the starter was bad. I went to AutoZone and got a reman starter for a pretty good deal. Took me about 30 minutes to swap it out. It fired right up after and has been zero problems since.

I always go for the remanufactured unit versus the new Chinesium. Good move!