Battery died, replaced battery, now no power at all

[DesertDoc]

Total n00b here, hello. I am a relatively recent owner of a 2016 Ram 1500 3.6L, which I bought used in 2024. Hadn't had any issues so far, until yesterday morning. It was a little cold (for the Sonoran Desert, anyway) & there was a slight hesitation when starting. Ran errands all over metro Phoenix for several hours. After my final stop, at a gas station, it wouldn't start. Got a jump via jumpbox from AAA, went to take off but the engine died after about 30 feet. AAA jumped it again, this time it got me down the street but was throwing crazy messages, about the gear selector, ABS, &c. House was only a few miles away; managed to get it back here. Battery was four years old and shows 2v.

Took another vehicle today, bought an AGM from Walmart. Installed it. Nothing happens. No doorlocks. Dash dark. No fuel pump firing up. No cranking. No nothing.

I've looked around the forums a couple hours and likely I missed the very information I needed about installing the battery (this is my first "complicated" vehicle; I've driven pretty old vehicles up to now), and I probably missed the information I need to know how to proceed from here. In any case, I'm at a loss. I'd like to try to straighten this out myself rather than have it towed to some garage, if possible.

I throw myself on the mercy of the court ... what do y'all judge I ought to do?

(Don't mind at all if you say, "Hey, dum-dum--you missed three threads that discuss this very issue!")

Many thanks!
Doc

 

[2Timing]

any chance you forgot to remove the protective caps from the new battery?

 

[DesertDoc]

I'm not quite *that* much of a n00b!

 

[2Timing]

I've seen it happen! There are 2 fuses on the positive battery cable at the battery have you checked those

 

[DesertDoc]

Not in the fuse box? No, I didn't know about those but I will check them.

 

[2Timing]

The clear plastic on either side of the center bolt are fuses

 

[DesertDoc]

Howzabout that ... the covers on mine are so dusty I didn't even notice. I'll check those fuses in the morning first thing.

 

[DesertDoc]

Fuses still intact.

 

[DesertDoc]

I read the thing about disconnecting the negative cable for 18-20 minutes to reset; trying that now.

 

[HarryS]

get a meter and check the voltage at the battery. Also, sounds like your alternator is acting up as well.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I read the thing about disconnecting the negative cable for 18-20 minutes to reset; trying that now.

Try reading the battery voltage while at least one lead is disconnected, then another reading while fully connected. Although you should expect a small difference.

Folks have posted here about bad experiences with new batteries.

 

[DesertDoc]

Try reading the battery voltage while at least one lead is disconnected, then another reading while fully connected. Although you should expect a small difference.

Folks have posted here about bad experiences with new batteries.

First image: only + connectedSecond image: both + & - connected

 

[DesertDoc]

Still zero electrical power. AAA guy claimed the alternator was fine (FWIW )

Do I need to do the zip-tie-the-cables-reset-the-TIPM maneuver?

 

[62Blazer]

Need a multimeter and start checking power. Appears to be an actual battery load tester which shows the battery is good, and therefore charged. With the battery cables connected, put the multimeter probes so they are touching the actual battery posts, and not the cable connectors, and see what voltage there is. Then move the probes over to the cables and down the line to see where the power stops. If you have absolutely zero power to the truck the first thing I would suspect is that the cables simply aren't connected correctly. Maybe the ground wire came loose (maybe not at the battery, but somewhere on the body). Check for voltage at other locations like the power feed to the TIPM.

Under normal circumstances you shouldn't need to do anything special when replacing the battery.......unbolt the old one and install the new one. Did this on my '16 in the Walmart parking lot last year. Not saying something could have happened and needs reset, it's just not normal. Probably replaced a couple dozen batteries over the years on different vehicles and have never had to do anything. We have '14, '16, '19, and '20 model year vehicles all from different manufacturers currently in our household and I've replaced the batteries in all of them (actually put a new battery in the '20 last night).

 

[Curmudgeon]

Still zero electrical power. AAA guy claimed the alternator was fine (FWIW )

Do I need to do the zip-tie-the-cables-reset-the-TIPM maneuver?

You might want to test your meter's accuracy by using it to measure a "known" voltage, but it's showing just over 11 volts even under no load. That output will not work in our trucks. We're looking for probably 12.5v and over.

Just for grins, touch the 2 leads together, away from anything else, and make sure the needle is sitting on ZERO. The plastic screw sitting in the lower center of your pics is the zero-adj. If that's good, either your meter is off, or your "new" battery is "off".

If you have a charger you might want to try giving it a good healthy charge?

EDIT: Start with what @62Blazer said above!

 

[DesertDoc]

Dang. If I were at my home, I'd have a charger, multimeter, &c. ... but I'm at a friend's with none of those things. But I'll surely do as you suggest with the load tester.

 

[Wild one]

Check the cable that feeds over to the fuse box,if it's gone to hell,the truck isn't going to start. Take a booster cable and hook it up to the positive on the battery and then hook the other end to the 13mm bolt at the fuse box and see if anything changes.You could also have issues with the connectors under the fuse box

 

[DesertDoc]

Even if the new battery's a little low, the system should be getting a little electricity, at least enough for the doorlocks & such, yes?

 

[EdGs]

Even if the new battery's a little low, the system should be getting a little electricity, at least enough for the doorlocks & such, yes?

Yes

 

[DesertDoc]

Check the cable that feeds over to the fuse box,if it's gone to hell,the truck isn't going to start. Take a booster cable and hook it up to the positive on the battery and then hook the other end to the 13mm bolt at the fuse box and see it anything changes.You could also have issues with the connectors under the fuse box

Will do, thank you.