Rough start and whistle noise

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Sig Schecter

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Apparently my Ram is going through its midlife crisis. 106,000miles on my 2014 3.6. Been dealing with suspension maintenance but now I am experiencing hard starts. The other day the crank was so weak it didn't turn over. Took three tries before it did. All of my starts are weak lately and that day was the only day so far that it didn't turn over on the first try. Its been really cold here (teens and single digits overnight sometimes) but that particular day it was a good 20 degrees warmer outside.

Anyway, I just took it to the auto parts store to have the battery checked. Read 12v right away but the CCAs were really low. Besides telling me that the guy wasn't much help. Where do I start with this? All interior and exterior lighting seems fine when I stick the key in. If there's a parasitic drain somewhere wouldn't that drain the battery to below 12v? If the alternator was going wouldn't that also cause the battery to not show 12v or am I way off?

The other issue Ive been having is a whistling sound. Only when the engine is cold and only under load. i.e. Start the truck, pull out of the driveway, apply anything from a moderate amount of gas and up there will be a whistling/whining sound at the higher end of RPM range for that shift until RPMs drop. At first you can hear it almost the whole time I'm accelerating (up until RPM drops for gear change or letting off the gas). As the truck warms up the noise will be shorter and quieter until it no longer does it which is probably only a mile or two.

I intend to take it in but if there's any simple things I can check myself beforehand Id like to try. Or at least have something to go off of when I drop it off.
 
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Sig Schecter

Sig Schecter

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Your battery is bad. It happens a lot this time of year. Even though you have 12v, you don’t have the amperage to start.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well I guess the auto parts store guy wasn’t very knowledgeable. Fingers crossed that’s it. It wouldn’t start again last night after work so I jumped it and dropped it off at the shop. We’ll see what they tell me today.
 

BriamH

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Try to hear where the whine is coming from. My alternator whined for a few weeks before I replaced it.
 
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Sig Schecter

Sig Schecter

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Alright I got the truck back yesterday. I would advise not to take the auto parts store "professional's" word on, well, anything. My starting issue was indeed just the battery, just like @dzltek said.

The whistle/whine could not be replicated by the shop however they did let me know my serpentine belt was glazed over and the tensioner was weak. I got those replaced and I am crossing fingers that the whistle/whine was coming from the belt. I was also not able to reproduce the noise but temps have warmed up so I cant be certain if its fixed just yet.

On to tackling my UCAs, inner and outer tie rods, and lifted struts this weekend.
 

Dave2018

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Apparently my Ram is going through its
Anyway, I just took it to the auto parts store to have the battery checked. Read 12v right away but the CCAs were really low. Besides telling me that the guy wasn't much help.

Looks to me like the auto parts guy told you the truth. the CCA's were low. = no start!

The whistle sound could be a vaccum leak. Hose could be dry or brittle and with cold temps, it might be leaking.
 
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Sig Schecter

Sig Schecter

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Looks to me like the auto parts guy told you the truth. the CCA's were low. = no start!

The whistle sound could be a vaccum leak. Hose could be dry or brittle and with cold temps, it might be leaking.

The shop didn’t see anything but also couldn’t replicate the sound. So far with the warmer temps (or the new belt) I haven’t heard it again.
As far as the auto parts guy goes, he told me the battery was fine. “maybe throw it on a charger but it’s fine. Something else is causing the problem.” Yes he was right about the CCAs being low but the battery was not fine otherwise. I’m a little less trusting of this particular employee because just prior to checking my battery, I over heard him telling another person their battery was fine too. Wonder how they faired afterwards.
 
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