- Joined
- Mar 31, 2018
- Posts
- 2,558
- Reaction score
- 2,921
- Location
- SouthWest Washington
- Ram Year
- 2018 1500 Laramie
- Engine
- 3.0 EcoBurner
Call me crazy but that doesnt sound like a battery problem. Trucks electrical system should be running off the alternator once its started the way I have always understood it.
My bet is on lack of fuel/fuel pump issue or you still have a coil issue. Many a brand new coil have been bad from the factory.
If the battery has a bad cell it will draw the voltage coming off the alternator down. A cheap $10 volt meter could eliminate that as the problem though. That being said, it does make sense that a bad cell in the battery would also make the engine turn over sluggish while starting. I know that a new battery fixed my 2000 which showed similar symptoms. The techs at the Dodge dealer said that the PCM for at least the 2000 model was super sensitive to battery voltages.
Okay, I got ahold of a code reader and checked. No codes popping up.
Too much back pressure caused by a clogged cat? I pray that I aint got something physically wrong with the engine itself...
Now that you mention it, a clogged cat does sound plausible too. How many miles on the cat? Beat that ******* with a hammer while it's running and see how much crap blows out the back of the tail pipe.... Although if it's a good cat, it probably won't be after you're done beating on it. Last cheap trick I can think is the possibility you got some bad gas with some water in it. Maybe dump a couple bottles of "ISO-Heat" into it and see if that helps. That'll only cost you a couple bucks.