Steering and Speedometer loss

[pmring]

I'm hoping someone can give some information that may help.
My truck is a 2015 RAM Tradesman (extended cab) with the 3.6L V6 and EPS.

About 1 year ago, I (temporarily) lost power steering. When this happened, the other obvious symptom was loss of the speedometer. (all other dash functions seemed to work) The problem corrected itself and I didn't see it again for many weeks, and then, only briefly. Skip forward to this April and the problem has returned frequently (sometimes multiple times per day).

In the beginning, it seemed like a sharp bump in the road would cause the problem to come or go, but not so much now.

Observed symptoms when it occurs:
* loss of power (assisted) steering ...still steers, but hard
* loss of speedometer and mileage count (odometer)
* radio loses about 5% volume
* If at idle, it sounds like the motor loses about 100RPM
* If I shut off the vehicle while this happens, the key fob will not remotely lock the doors. (lock button on door interior works)
* When it starts working while driving, radio becomes louder, doors lock (if unlocked), speedometer and odometer start working, and obviously easier to steer

Things I have checked:
* power at the 125A fuse: good
> disconnected fuse continuity: good
* power at fuse #78: good
> disconnected fuse continuity: good
* power to the larger power cable at the rack: good
> ground tests good
* power to the data cable at the rack: good
> ground tests good
* Reseated or torqued all above connections
* Battery reads 12.2V at rest and alternator puts out 14V

Thanks in advance for any help!
(hopefully I don't have to replace the steering rack!)

 

[Wild one]

I'm hoping someone can give some information that may help.
My truck is a 2015 RAM Tradesman (extended cab) with the 3.6L V6 and EPS.

About 1 year ago, I (temporarily) lost power steering. When this happened, the other obvious symptom was loss of the speedometer. (all other dash functions seemed to work) The problem corrected itself and I didn't see it again for many weeks, and then, only briefly. Skip forward to this April and the problem has returned frequently (sometimes multiple times per day).

In the beginning, it seemed like a sharp bump in the road would cause the problem to come or go, but not so much now.

Observed symptoms when it occurs:
* loss of power (assisted) steering ...still steers, but hard
* loss of speedometer and mileage count (odometer)
* radio loses about 5% volume
* If at idle, it sounds like the motor loses about 100RPM
* If I shut off the vehicle while this happens, the key fob will not remotely lock the doors. (lock button on door interior works)
* When it starts working while driving, radio becomes louder, doors lock (if unlocked), speedometer and odometer start working, and obviously easier to steer

Things I have checked:
* power at the 125A fuse: good
> disconnected fuse continuity: good
* power at fuse #78: good
> disconnected fuse continuity: good
* power to the larger power cable at the rack: good
> ground tests good
* power to the data cable at the rack: good
> ground tests good
* Reseated or torqued all above connections
* Battery reads 12.2V at rest and alternator puts out 14V

Thanks in advance for any help!
(hopefully I don't have to replace the steering rack!)

Start with a load test on your battery,as at 12.2 it's not all that healthy

 

[04fxdwgi]

And check all the battery cables and the grounds for condition, tightness and cleanliness.

 

[62Blazer]

Sounds like you have an intermittent electrical issue, like a wire is rubbing or a connection is loose....it's making good connection most of the time but periodically loses signal. These issues are hard to track down because if it's not happening when you are doing the trouble-shooting you will never find the problem. Meaning if the EPS, speedo, etc... are working normally of course everything will check out okay.
Checking fuses are probably not going to get you anywhere. Generally a fuse is either good or bad, not intermittent. The only exception would be if the fuse holder is loose and the fuse is wiggling.
Speaking of wiggles, if the truck is running normally start going under the hood and wiggling wires to try to make it act up. Also a wiring diagram can see what wires, power sources, or grounds are common to the components that are acting up. If multiple different components are acting up at the same time they probably share a common power or ground source.

 

[RamCares]

I'm hoping someone can give some information that may help.
My truck is a 2015 RAM Tradesman (extended cab) with the 3.6L V6 and EPS.

About 1 year ago, I (temporarily) lost power steering. When this happened, the other obvious symptom was loss of the speedometer. (all other dash functions seemed to work) The problem corrected itself and I didn't see it again for many weeks, and then, only briefly. Skip forward to this April and the problem has returned frequently (sometimes multiple times per day).

In the beginning, it seemed like a sharp bump in the road would cause the problem to come or go, but not so much now.

Observed symptoms when it occurs:
* loss of power (assisted) steering ...still steers, but hard
* loss of speedometer and mileage count (odometer)
* radio loses about 5% volume
* If at idle, it sounds like the motor loses about 100RPM
* If I shut off the vehicle while this happens, the key fob will not remotely lock the doors. (lock button on door interior works)
* When it starts working while driving, radio becomes louder, doors lock (if unlocked), speedometer and odometer start working, and obviously easier to steer

Things I have checked:
* power at the 125A fuse: good
> disconnected fuse continuity: good
* power at fuse #78: good
> disconnected fuse continuity: good
* power to the larger power cable at the rack: good
> ground tests good
* power to the data cable at the rack: good
> ground tests good
* Reseated or torqued all above connections
* Battery reads 12.2V at rest and alternator puts out 14V

Thanks in advance for any help!
(hopefully I don't have to replace the steering rack!)

We're sorry to hear that you're facing such concerns. Our team would like to have this reviewed to see if any options of support exist. At anytime, DM us with your VIN and we'll dive into this for you.

Chris,
Ram Cares