I don't think my truck has hill start assist, at least I have not found it.
I understand stall speed very well coming from the racing field. finding the right stall speed for your power curve is important. What was interesting about the article to me was the torque specs they wrote. RAM has a stall speed of 2K to 2.5K when that is after the torque peak....hmmmm. I wonder why they did that except to maybe be easier on the drive train somehow?
Anyway, that is what was going on I believe. The truck went to the stall speed (around 2K) and just hung there, then slightly started to move. It was most likely out of the torque range for the load/grade.
Again, glad I have the 4wd Low.
I think it sounds like the Hill Start Assist (HSA) is activating. I also think most HDs have it. There is no hard button for HSA on any Ram. Do you have the 8.4 UConnect or base stereo? There is a setting in the UConnect to toggle HSA off/on. It looks like there's an easy way to tell; open the driver's door next time you're in that situation. I guess you could also just let off the brakes and see if it rolls back or not. It also applies your trailer brakes.
Anyway, here is a description of the system from the owner's manual:
Hill Start Assist (HSA)
The HSA system is designed to mitigate roll back from a complete stop while on an incline. If the driver releases the brake while stopped on an incline, HSA will continue to hold the brake pressure for a short period. If the driver does not apply the throttle before this time expires, the system will release brake pressure and the vehicle will roll down the hill as normal.
The following conditions must be met in order for HSA to activate:
• The feature must be enabled.
• The vehicle must be stopped.
• Park brake must be off.
• Driver door must be closed.
• The vehicle must be on a sufficient grade.
• The gear selection must match vehicle uphill direction (i.e., vehicle facing uphill is in forward gear; vehicle backing uphill is in REVERSE gear).
• HSA will work in REVERSE gear and all forward gears. The system will not activate if the transmission is in PARK or NEUTRAL. For vehicles equipped with a manual transmission, if the clutch is pressed, HSA will remain active.
Towing With HSA
HSA will also provide assistance to mitigate roll back while towing a trailer.
• If you use a trailer brake controller with your trailer, the trailer brakes may be activated and deactivated with the brake switch. If so, there may not be enough brake pressure to hold both the vehicle and the trailer on a hill when the brake pedal is released. In order to avoid rolling down an
incline while resuming acceleration, manually ac- tivate the trailer brake or apply more vehicle brake pressure prior to releasing the brake pedal.
- HSA is not a parking brake. Always apply the parking brake fully when leaving your vehicle. Also, be certain to leave the transmission in PARK.
- Failure to follow these warnings may cause the vehicle to roll down the incline and could collide with another vehicle, object or person, and cause serious or fatal injury. Always remember to use the parking brake while parking on a hill and that the driver is responsible for braking the vehicle.
- Disabling And Enabling HSA
This feature can be turned on or turned off. To change the current setting, proceed as follows:
- For vehicles equipped with the Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC) or Driver Information Dis- play (DID), refer to “Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)” or “Driver Information Display (DID)” in “Understanding Your Instrument Panel” for further information.
- If disabling HSA using Uconnect Settings, refer to “Uconnect Settings” in “Understanding Your Instru- 5 ment Panel” for further information.
For vehicles not equipped with the EVIC/DID, perform the following steps:
1. Center the steering wheel (front wheels pointing straight forward).
2. Shift the transmission into PARK. 3. Apply the parking brake.
4. Start the engine.
5. Rotate the steering wheel slightly more than one-half turn to the left.
6. Push the “ESC Off” button located in the lower switch bank below the climate control four times within twenty seconds. The “ESC Off Indicator Light” should turn on and turn off two times.
7. Rotate the steering wheel back to center and then an additional slighty more than one-half turn to the right.
8. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position and then back to the ON position. If the sequence was completed properly, the “ESC Off Indicator Light” will blink several times to confirm HSA is disabled.
9. Repeat these steps if you want to return this feature to its previous setting.
