Won’t start in cold or damp conditions

[nunyabusines]

My 2012 dodge ram 1500 4.7L will not start or even turn over in the morning (damp) or on cold days .
Winter is coming (southwestern Ontario - so we will get snow )

1
-All 16 plugs replaced within the last two months . 2 new boots replaced during plug install
- new front driver & passenger wheel hubs recently
- new plug wires today .
- battery was replaced in July .


Shes running MUCH better than she was but tried to start her this am cause it’s cold and damp and she won’t turn over. Seems to have no problems in mid afternoon though when it’s warmed up .

Any ideas ? thx

 

[PolarisCobra]

When you say 'won't turn over', do you mean that it won't crank, like the battery is dead, or it will not start?

 

[Docwagon1776]

If it's literally not turning over, the starter (and/or solenoid) is probably right on the ragged edge of complete failure and the cold weather is pushing it over that edge. The cold is making the contacts shrink a bit so voltage is reduced at the same time demand is higher on the starter.

 

[Wild one]

If you boost it or hook up a jumper pack to it,does it turn over?

 

[Sherman Bird]

There was an old country bumpkin woman who went the see a family lawyer. He asked her what he could do for her.... She said "I want one of them thar deevorces.
The lawyer asked "Do you have any grounds" to which she replied "Yup.. got 5 acres!".
The lawyer, caught off guard, says, Does he beat you up?
To which she replies "Yup! He gets up every day before sunup and milks the cows, gathers the eggs and feeds the chickens, and makes a pot of coffee!. All before I git up".
Flummoxed at this woman's lack of command of the English vernacular, he asked her: "WHY do you wand a divorce?".

She says "Because we can't communicate!".

 

[nunyabusines]

Sorry I can’t seem to respond to anyone individually.
So it cranks but won’t start .

Eg today it’s raining . Went out bright and early in the morning. We were still cold and raining really hard. She started after a minor hiccough with no problems but just about 10 minutes ago while it’s still wet from rain , I tried to start it and it like cranked, but then wouldn’t start. Turned it to on , waited a minute then turned her to start and she started np .

I have not been able to hook it up to a battery tester yet .

 

[Wild one]

Sorry I can’t seem to respond to anyone individually.
So it cranks but won’t start .

Eg today it’s raining . Went out bright and early in the morning. We were still cold and raining really hard. She started after a minor hiccough with no problems but just about 10 minutes ago while it’s still wet from rain , I tried to start it and it like cranked, but then wouldn’t start. Turned it to on , waited a minute then turned her to start and she started np .

I have not been able to hook it up to a battery tester yet .

Can you hear the fuel pump cycle when you turn the key to run,but don't step on the brake pedal and start it.

 

[Hagar1]

My 2012 dodge ram 1500 4.7L will not start or even turn over in the morning (damp) or on cold days .
Winter is coming (southwestern Ontario - so we will get snow )

1
-All 16 plugs replaced within the last two months . 2 new boots replaced during plug install
- new front driver & passenger wheel hubs recently
- new plug wires today .
- battery was replaced in July .


Shes running MUCH better than she was but tried to start her this am cause it’s cold and damp and she won’t turn over. Seems to have no problems in mid afternoon though when it’s warmed up .

Any ideas ? thx

First, clean the battery cables then test the battery. Then, do a voltage drop test to look for high resistance in the starter circuit.

 

[RamDiver]

Search YouTube for several good videos on how to perform voltage drop tests.

.

 

[Hagar1]

Search YouTube for several good videos on how to perform voltage drop tests.

.

The old voltage drop test is an almost forgotten test. Sometimes it is the only way to figure a problem.

 

[Marshall]

confusing as hell when someone says it will not turn over, ie the battery is dead, or starter is toast.
but sounds like it turns over ,but will not run, ie no spark, or no fuel.
I would check to see if fuel pump is running as Wild one said.

 

[nunyabusines]

I am sorry I don’t know why I can’t seem to respond to individual ppl on here ..

The battery is 4 months old . Purchased new.
The plugs are new. Wires are new.

I am disabled so I am limited in what I can do to troubleshoot. Eg- I am hearing impaired and likely can’t hear the fuel pump anyways - I couldn’t even hear the noises she was making when the wheel bearing broke .

I’m posting on here asking for what you all think it could be , because I am not mechanically inclined and due to my various disabilities I am quite limited. I am looking for ideas so that as I get help , I can ask them to check for specific things you guys mention. It is normally an elderly neighbour who has some experience on vehicles ..
I am sorry if I don’t communicate well - i do the best I can .
I am sorry if I don’t use correct terminology.

What would the voltage test show ? If the battery is good ?

Is there a way to check the fuel
Pump ? Fuel filter? At home .
Someone mentioned the solenoid and starter - this start is almost 6 years old now. Replaced at dealer . Is there a way to check the solenoid and starter at home ?

Thank you all for your patience and for trying to help

 

[jws123]

My advice to you looking at your current situation is to just take it to a shop rather then firing the parts cannon. Im putting money on a fuel pump and or/wire issue near it They should be able to diag it rather quickly its nothing complicated doesnt take much for these trucks to run.

 

[nunyabusines]

Ty .
I plan on getting it into the shop unfortunately I am low income and it will take 1-2 mos to come up with the amount they quoted me just to investigate and another 3-5 months to come up with money to repair if it is the fuel pump ( or anything requiring them to drop the tank or remove the box.
In the meantime ,
I was able to get it scanned with an
ANCEL AD310 tester.
I will upload all the pics I was sent of each test if anyone wants to look through them and let me know if/what they see . If not - np
There’s like 70 or so pics though so I understand if you don’t

 

[nunyabusines]

ok so I can’t upload all the images apparently ..

 

[nunyabusines]

ok so I can’t upload all the images apparently ..

 

[Sherman Bird]

Lots of positive fuel trim added. If it were the fuel pump, those readings would typically be accompanied by P0171/ P0174/ P0300

 

[ppine]

This reminds me of the old British cars with Lucas ignition. At night you could look under the hood and see all kinds of stray voltage flying around in the engine compartment. Much worse when conditions were wet.

Check the battery cables, ignition wires, etc. Wether should not affect the fuel system, but it definitely affects the elect system.

 

[Dean2]

My advice to you looking at your current situation is to just take it to a shop rather then firing the parts cannon. Im putting money on a fuel pump and or/wire issue near it They should be able to diag it rather quickly its nothing complicated doesnt take much for these trucks to run.

What he said. Unit cranks but SOMETIMES won't start. May be the cold, maybe the wet, may not have anything to do with the weather. Talk to your friends, find a good, trustworthy independent repair shot, write out a detailed list of everything that happened each time it wouldn't start, and let them diagnose and repair it. Will be cheaper and way less stress.

I get cost being an issue, but it is still usable as is, just not entirely reliable. Other option is to check around and see if the is a Veterans repair shop or some other place local, like High School shop class, auto training academy etc that helps out low income folks with repairs.

 

[Grams]

I had a 2012 Ram 1500 w/4.7L also. It got to where it would “crank” (turn over) but not start.

Sometimes if I turned the key to “Run”….and WAIT about 30 secs before turning the key to “start”….it would start and run just fine.

This turned out to be a defective fuel-pump relay. My shop told me of a Service Letter regarding this problem on Jeep Cherokees…the fix being to bypass the fuel pump relay AT THE TIPM… by installing a fused-relay (Bosch type) which energizes the fuel pump immediately when the key is switched on to Run/Start.

CJDR would pay ($135) for this mod on a Jeep…but not a Ram…despite it being the same issue.

This solved the problem.

You cannot “hear” the fuel pump “run” from the drivers seat regardless if it’s running or not. (or at least I could not)

Hope this helps. (No, I do not know the “number” or reference to the fuel pump relay service letter on Jeeps….but that is what solved the problem.)