BumpInTheNightEdi
Junior Member
Ok. I’ve been thru hell and high water over this issue and really hoping I can A. fix it myself B. That it’s not too costly
The reason I want to fix it myself is because I know dealer will tell me it’s my fault and won’t cover it. I installed a new battery already but it still didn’t start. It’s at the shop (not dealer) and they are *********.
I was riding along after working overnight, dying to get home. I have a few amps I installed myself And 2 rear xs power batts to handle it, and never saw voltage drop.
As i was driving, i had to slam on the brakes, narrowly avoiding collision. Subs stopped working. Unbeknownst to me the amp actually came off the back wall. And obviously it arced or something, the ground must have come out. Because moments later the truck died on the highway. In a terrible spot blocking the on ramp to a main highway. So I dove in the back and started cutting wires off flush because i didn’t know exactly what was wrong but i knew it had to do with the stereo.
All the lights in the dash were flickering on and off. I eventually got them to stop by cutting the wires (all added by me, not factory wires.)
I tried getting a jump, but it didn’t work, maybe not enough time i thought.
AAA tried jumping also, but again not enough time was given
So it sat at the shop awhile
i got a new agm battery thinking that was the problem but still no start, nothing at all
I’m guessing it’s a relay of some sort but the shop is just telling me it needs to go to the dealer and i need to uninstall the stereo.
i dont want to do all that if it’s just a relay or multiple relays. Even if it’s a dead alternator, i would rather install an upgraded alternator. Why put another oem alt if it’s going to cause me the same problem when the stereo goes back in?
Without seeing it, my mechanic buddy thinks it’s the “‘main” power relay?
i believe him but thru my own reading i read it may be the alt relay. I read that’s what would blow if you put the battery cables on backwards, not that i did, but grounding out or arcing may have caused similar circumstances
Hoping it’s not the ecu or pcm or anything expensive that requires the dealer to cover under warranty. It’s a 2020 so it is covered, but i don’t want to have to do all the work to remove then reinstall. Especially if it is just a relay.
Sorry this is so long winded but does anybody have any ideas? And/or diagrams for the location of the relays or where the main one lies? Friend is a BMW mechanic and says their main relay is on the batt cable i think. I’m doubting ours is in the same place. Is there anyway to test and or figure out which relay it could be without removing them, especially if their in hard to reach locations.
Any insight into how to tell if a relay is blown? Never replaced a relay, fuses are easy to tell viewing thru the little window at the metal to ensure continuity
I wanted to list all possibilities, and provide all the details of exactly what happened and Whats been done since.
Plz help, trucks been gone for a week, I’m missing work, and the shop it’s at has made zero progress.
I’m on my own, and the truck is 75 mi away, so I’d like to show up there with any relays possible, so that i can attempt fixing it myself before having to uninstall stereo cables and have it towed to a dealer! Plz help!
2020 Ram 1500 big horn night edition (name checks out) 20k mi
any ?’s let me know
The reason I want to fix it myself is because I know dealer will tell me it’s my fault and won’t cover it. I installed a new battery already but it still didn’t start. It’s at the shop (not dealer) and they are *********.
I was riding along after working overnight, dying to get home. I have a few amps I installed myself And 2 rear xs power batts to handle it, and never saw voltage drop.
As i was driving, i had to slam on the brakes, narrowly avoiding collision. Subs stopped working. Unbeknownst to me the amp actually came off the back wall. And obviously it arced or something, the ground must have come out. Because moments later the truck died on the highway. In a terrible spot blocking the on ramp to a main highway. So I dove in the back and started cutting wires off flush because i didn’t know exactly what was wrong but i knew it had to do with the stereo.
All the lights in the dash were flickering on and off. I eventually got them to stop by cutting the wires (all added by me, not factory wires.)
I tried getting a jump, but it didn’t work, maybe not enough time i thought.
AAA tried jumping also, but again not enough time was given
So it sat at the shop awhile
i got a new agm battery thinking that was the problem but still no start, nothing at all
I’m guessing it’s a relay of some sort but the shop is just telling me it needs to go to the dealer and i need to uninstall the stereo.
i dont want to do all that if it’s just a relay or multiple relays. Even if it’s a dead alternator, i would rather install an upgraded alternator. Why put another oem alt if it’s going to cause me the same problem when the stereo goes back in?
Without seeing it, my mechanic buddy thinks it’s the “‘main” power relay?
i believe him but thru my own reading i read it may be the alt relay. I read that’s what would blow if you put the battery cables on backwards, not that i did, but grounding out or arcing may have caused similar circumstances
Hoping it’s not the ecu or pcm or anything expensive that requires the dealer to cover under warranty. It’s a 2020 so it is covered, but i don’t want to have to do all the work to remove then reinstall. Especially if it is just a relay.
Sorry this is so long winded but does anybody have any ideas? And/or diagrams for the location of the relays or where the main one lies? Friend is a BMW mechanic and says their main relay is on the batt cable i think. I’m doubting ours is in the same place. Is there anyway to test and or figure out which relay it could be without removing them, especially if their in hard to reach locations.
Any insight into how to tell if a relay is blown? Never replaced a relay, fuses are easy to tell viewing thru the little window at the metal to ensure continuity
I wanted to list all possibilities, and provide all the details of exactly what happened and Whats been done since.
Plz help, trucks been gone for a week, I’m missing work, and the shop it’s at has made zero progress.
I’m on my own, and the truck is 75 mi away, so I’d like to show up there with any relays possible, so that i can attempt fixing it myself before having to uninstall stereo cables and have it towed to a dealer! Plz help!
2020 Ram 1500 big horn night edition (name checks out) 20k mi
any ?’s let me know
