Battery died, replaced battery, now no power at all

[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

Winner, winner, chicken dinner, @Wild one! That brought the power on! There's a NAPA & one other parts store near-ish to here, so I'll see who has a cable and after it's done, I'll report back. Many (many, many) thanks to you and to all who replied.

 

[Wild one]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner, @Wild one! That brought the power on! There's a NAPA & one other parts store near-ish to here, so I'll see who has a cable and after it's done, I'll report back. Many (many, many) thanks to you and to all who replied.

Glad you're back up and running

 

[62Blazer]

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?

The only way the truck would have zero electrical power is if the battery was completely dead or disconnected. If you have a charged battery the truck should have power (dash lights, etc...) and start regardless of what the alternator is doing. Sure, if the alternator is not charging you will drain the battery over time and it will go dead.

I don't think a battery load tester is good device to check actual voltage. The reason is that it is drawing a load and therefore will drop the voltage when running. You need a separate multimeter/voltmeter to actually check the voltages.

 

[Ken226]

The only way the truck would have zero electrical power is if the battery was completely dead or disconnected. If you have a charged battery the truck should have power (dash lights, etc...) and start regardless of what the alternator is doing. Sure, if the alternator is not charging you will drain the battery over time and it will go dead.

I don't think a battery load tester is good device to check actual voltage. The reason is that it is drawing a load and therefore will drop the voltage when running. You need a separate multimeter/voltmeter to actually check the voltages.

I took post #21 to indicate that he found the problem and it has been resolved.

 

[Wild one]

The only way the truck would have zero electrical power is if the battery was completely dead or disconnected. If you have a charged battery the truck should have power (dash lights, etc...) and start regardless of what the alternator is doing. Sure, if the alternator is not charging you will drain the battery over time and it will go dead.

I don't think a battery load tester is good device to check actual voltage. The reason is that it is drawing a load and therefore will drop the voltage when running. You need a separate multimeter/voltmeter to actually check the voltages.

You usually don't load test a battery with the old school toaster style testers when the vehicles running,that's counter productive and probably hard on the alternator.
For the home DIY'er the old school toaster style battery testers are still one of the cheapest and best ways to test a battery at home.
For 20 bucks every home mechanic should have one of these in their toolbox.

100 Amp, 6/12V Battery Load Tester

Amazing deals on this 100 Amp 6/12V Battery Load Tester at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[jimmyfjk]

i had am almost identical issue a while back. battery went bad and shorted internally. when it did it took out the ecm and had exact same symptoms. no power of any kind to anything even though the new batter was good.

 

[Richg87]

I frequently use my multimeter and load tester to get in front of potential battery issues. My wife was having strange issues with her battery and sure enough both the multimeter and load test showed the battery going. Battery was 7 years old.

I just recently had an issue with the original battery in my 2019 Warlock. Truck ran but something didn't feel right. Door locks would work one minute and not work the next minute. It was about to get really cold so I decided to test the battery. Sure enough load tester showed battery close to weak. I replaced the battery with no issues.

I had no idea about the fuses near the bolt.

 

[62Blazer]

You usually don't load test a battery with the old school toaster style testers when the vehicles running,that's counter productive and probably hard on the alternator.
For the home DIY'er the old school toaster style battery testers are still one of the cheapest and best ways to test a battery at home.
For 20 bucks every home mechanic should have one of these in their toolbox.

100 Amp, 6/12V Battery Load Tester

Amazing deals on this 100 Amp 6/12V Battery Load Tester at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I agree. When I looked back on my statement I understand where the confusion is coming from. I used the term "when running". Did not mean that the engine was running, but rather the load tester itself was "running" or drawing power.

 

[62Blazer]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner, @Wild one! That brought the power on! There's a NAPA & one other parts store near-ish to here, so I'll see who has a cable and after it's done, I'll report back. Many (many, many) thanks to you and to all who replied.

Glad you got it figured out. For other people following this post it's a perfect example of why you get a multi-meter and do some testing. It would have shown voltage at the battery, but following the circuit would have quickly shown no voltage at the fuse block.

 

[Wild one]

Glad you got it figured out. For other people following this post it's a perfect example of why you get a multi-meter and do some testing. It would have shown voltage at the battery, but following the circuit would have quickly shown no voltage at the fuse block.

A multi-meter to make sure the battery is up on charge,then use a load tester to see if the battery will handle a load i'll agree with,but not just a multi-meter test to test a battery.

 

[62Blazer]

A multi-meter to make sure the battery is up on charge,then use a load tester to see if the battery will handle a load i'll agree with,but not just a multi-meter test to test a battery.

Agreed. The multi-meter will only tell you if the battery has the proper voltage, and not if it is "good". To make sure power is getting from the battery to other components like the TIPM/fuse block it could test to see if you had battery voltage at other locations.

 

[Wild one]

Agreed. The multi-meter will only tell you if the battery has the proper voltage, and not if it is "good". To make sure power is getting from the battery to other components like the TIPM/fuse block it could test to see if you had battery voltage at other locations.

I agree,but none of what you're doing with a multimeter actually load tests the battery. A battery load test should be one of your first tests when fighting alot of electrical issues,in the long run it could save you a pile of time and money

 

[truck2569]

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

Maybe buying a quality battery for starters might help.

 

[62Blazer]

I agree,but none of what you're doing with a multimeter actually load tests the battery. A battery load test should be one of your first tests when fighting alot of electrical issues,in the long run it could save you a pile of time and money

Again, agree. The multi-meter only checks for voltage, and in the case of the OP the issue was a break in wiring between the battery and the rest of the vehicle. In this case a multi-meter would be the correct tool to diagnose the issue because you are only looking at voltages. A multi-meter may read the correct voltage at the battery, but doesn't state if the battery can handle a load. Load testing the battery is not a bad thing to do first, but my personal preference is the multi-meter first. It also depends on the exact issues that are going on.