2021 Limited w Etorque (3k miles) - Power Shutdown while on the highway

[MayhemMOORE]

Here’s the particular plug that I found disconnected which caused my truck to be totally unresponsive and have no power to anything. If you look up and to the left of where your left foot would be resting while driving, you should see the black connector with the heavy gauge wires secured to the white housing. Ignore the bundle of zip-tied wires hanging there; that’s for my dash cam and I just haven’t gotten them further up out of sight yet. The camera was installed after I found and corrected this issue so it wasn’t caused from me pulling on stuff on that area. I’m not sure if it’s specific to the etorque trucks as it’s dark out and I didn’t follow where it goes, and can’t recall if it was on my bighorn or not. It definitely supplies a decent amount of power given the gauge of the wire. It’s in a spot where your foot could hit it at some point and knock it loose, especially if it wasn’t secured all the way to begin with like mine apparently wasn’t.

Edited to clarify location and extra wires.

 

[securityguy]

Here’s the particular plug that I found disconnected which caused my truck to be totally unresponsive and have no power to anything. If you look up to the left of where your foot would be while driving, you should see the black connector with the heavy gauge wires secured to the white housing. Ignore the bundle of zip-tied wires, that’s for my dash cam and I just haven’t gotten them further up out of sight yet. I’m not sure if it’s specific to the etorque trucks as it’s dark out and I didn’t follow where it goes, and can’t recall if it was on my bighorn or not, but it definitely supplies a decent amount of power given the gauge of the wire. It’s in a spot where your foot could hit it at some point and knock it loose, especially if it wasn’t secured all the way to begin with like mine apparently wasn’t.

Just to be 100% clear, you are talking about your foot that's on the accelerator pedal...correct? So, do you have to remove the plastic piece below the steering column to easily access it?

 

[NorthStar]

Here’s the particular plug that I found disconnected which caused my truck to be totally unresponsive and have no power to anything. If you look up to the left of where your foot would be while driving, you should see the black connector with the heavy gauge wires secured to the white housing. Ignore the bundle of zip-tied wires, that’s for my dash cam and I just haven’t gotten them further up out of sight yet. I’m not sure if it’s specific to the etorque trucks as it’s dark out and I didn’t follow where it goes, and can’t recall if it was on my bighorn or not, but it definitely supplies a decent amount of power given the gauge of the wire. It’s in a spot where your foot could hit it at some point and knock it loose, especially if it wasn’t secured all the way to begin with like mine apparently wasn’t.

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Dumb question but what is the big bundle of wires tie wrapped in front of that plug? That isn’t factory and could be the reason the plug want plugged in properly or loose. Did you have some aftermarket work done that added that bundle or is it a tracking device installed by the dealer before you purchased it?

 

[securityguy]

Dumb question but what is the big bundle of wires tie wrapped in front of that plug? That isn’t factory and could be the reason the plug want plugged in properly or loose. Did you have some aftermarket work done that added that bundle or is it a tracking device installed by the dealer before you purchased it?

Reread his post. It is his DASH CAM wiring.

 

[NorthStar]

Reread his post. It is his DASH CAM wiring.

Like I said...I asked it on purpose. It could have been a loose connection that he knocked loose when tie wrapping that wad of wires. I’m still amazed all the crap they have under the dash of modern trucks verses my old 1965 Dodge pickup.

 

[securityguy]

Like I said...I asked it on purpose.

Confused...he said the following...Ignore the bundle of zip-tied wires, that’s for my dash cam and I just haven’t gotten them further up out of sight yet and then you asked a question that he already answered It appears he installed his dash cam himself and wasn't the one that created the connector issue, but I get your point.

 

[liaram]

Here’s the particular plug that I found disconnected which caused my truck to be totally unresponsive and have no power to anything. If you look up to the left of where your foot would be while driving, you should see the black connector with the heavy gauge wires secured to the white housing. Ignore the bundle of zip-tied wires, that’s for my dash cam and I just haven’t gotten them further up out of sight yet. I’m not sure if it’s specific to the etorque trucks as it’s dark out and I didn’t follow where it goes, and can’t recall if it was on my bighorn or not, but it definitely supplies a decent amount of power given the gauge of the wire. It’s in a spot where your foot could hit it at some point and knock it loose, especially if it wasn’t secured all the way to begin with like mine apparently wasn’t.

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That's what became disconnected on mine. Have 300 miles since,no problems.

 

[securityguy]

That's what became disconnected on mine. Have 300 miles since,no problems.

I am going to check mine tomorrow just for giggles. A little preventative maintenance can't hurt. When I installed my dash cam and radar detector into my fuse panel, I just happened to notice a few "loose" fuses. After pushing them all the way in, I then checked the entire fuse panel only to find many more that weren't fully seated. Never know what you'll find by just poking around a bit

 

[MayhemMOORE]

Just to be 100% clear, you are talking about your foot that's on the accelerator pedal...correct? So, do you have to remove the plastic piece below the steering column to easily access it?

I should have clarified in my post, but it’s above and to the left of where your left foot would be if you were resting it on the floor. It’s along the outside edge of the cab, you’ll have no problem spotting it just by looking under there. No need to pull the panel off from below the column.


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[MayhemMOORE]

Dumb question but what is the big bundle of wires tie wrapped in front of that plug? That isn’t factory and could be the reason the plug want plugged in properly or loose. Did you have some aftermarket work done that added that bundle or is it a tracking device installed by the dealer before you purchased it?

It’s just the extra power wires for the hard-wired dash cam. I finished up late one day and was tired of messing with it so I didn’t secure it more neatly up under there. But the install was done after I initially had the problem and found that loose plug.


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[MayhemMOORE]

That's what became disconnected on mine. Have 300 miles since,no problems.

Same here, no issues with it since in about 3K miles, including a 1200 mile round trip last weekend in subzero temps.


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[securityguy]

I should have clarified in my post, but it’s above and to the left of where your left foot would be if you were resting it on the floor. It’s along the outside edge of the cab, you’ll have no problem spotting it just by looking under there. No need to pull the panel off from below the column.

Yep...super easy to find and see that big black connector. Thankfully, mine was snapped in all the way so no issues here I greatly appreciate the insight my friend and helping to ensure this isn't a potential issue for many on this forum.

 

[GBFNelson]

Dump the Ram!!!! I have a 2019 1500 Limited. It has had so may issues. Yesterday, the stop/start light came on, then the engine warning light. Halfway to dealer, I had the engine light start blinking. Had to shut it down as it would not drive. Had to tow it 1.5 miles. No idea on repairs as I am in a timy oregon town and the dealer is a tiny place. Maybe by Friday they can troubleshoot it.
Im going back to Ford or Chevy. Never had any of those spend more time in the shop than on the road. I would Lemon Law it, but Oregon caps awards at $50,000 and the truck cost more than that.

Really sorry to hear that. I had the issues up front, but they truly appear to be fixed and I can tell you from personal experience Ford and GM have their own issues. Years ago I bought a GMC Acadia for my wife. I should have walked away from the dealer when they brought our test drive unit over and fluid was pouring out the back of the vehicle. The head of service ran out from his office yelling for them to turn it off. The coolant hose for the transmission wasn't seated correctly. We test drove and bought an identical Acadia, and the engine light came on with ~1,000 just before an out of town trip. They had mis-machined the camshafts and had to pull the head and replace it. I just got rid of an '18 F150 with the 10-speed transmission. It was probably ok but had started to have shifting problems.

All I can say is now that the RAM is fixed it's easily one of the top 2 vehicles I've owned. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Rsharpe4469]

I’m currently 250+ miles from home and 130 miles from where I was heading with my family for Christmas when my relatively new truck shutdown on me (while driving down the highway). It started with some acceleration issues, then a start/stop warning, check engine light, loss of radio/CarPlay/volume and gradually got worse until nearly every warning light was on. Fortunately my wife convinced me to call the dealership that sold me the truck and as the symptoms got worse they convinced me to “get off the highway”. My lights and power steering finally quit and I was lucky enough to coast into a rest areas without power. From what I gathered there is a known issue with the etorque/battery that is likely the issue and it sounds like a known problem after speaking with my dealer and further research now.
I’ll be really curious to see how RAM resolves this. In my opinion this truck is not safe and we were very lucky to make it off the highway (without power/steering). Anyone else experience this or have advice on best path forward with RAM? They have already told me I needed to pay for towing to the most convenient dealership (in the direction of where we were heading and close to the highway ~ 30 miles). Apparently they only cover up to 25 miles. Absolutely horrible customer service considering the circumstances. Not to mention cab service, hotel room, etc.

What was the fix? I have the same issues, truck lost all power, all warning lights came on and the entire system shut down. My trucking currently at the dealership and they have no clue on what is wrong. They also told me that they haven’t heard of another truck that has had this issue.

 

[RamLimited58]

I’m currently 250+ miles from home and 130 miles from where I was heading with my family for Christmas when my relatively new truck shutdown on me (while driving down the highway). It started with some acceleration issues, then a start/stop warning, check engine light, loss of radio/CarPlay/volume and gradually got worse until nearly every warning light was on. Fortunately my wife convinced me to call the dealership that sold me the truck and as the symptoms got worse they convinced me to “get off the highway”. My lights and power steering finally quit and I was lucky enough to coast into a rest areas without power. From what I gathered there is a known issue with the etorque/battery that is likely the issue and it sounds like a known problem after speaking with my dealer and further research now.
I’ll be really curious to see how RAM resolves this. In my opinion this truck is not safe and we were very lucky to make it off the highway (without power/steering). Anyone else experience this or have advice on best path forward with RAM? They have already told me I needed to pay for towing to the most convenient dealership (in the direction of where we were heading and close to the highway ~ 30 miles). Apparently they only cover up to 25 miles. Absolutely horrible customer service considering the circumstances. Not to mention cab service, hotel room, etc.

My 2021 Ram Limited 2500 Is currently at the dealer because the battery keeps going dead. They have had It for three days and said they are trying to run down something that Is draining the battery. It has 109 miles on It.

 

[INVISBLE]

My 2021 Ram Limited 2500 Is currently at the dealer because the battery keeps going dead. They have had It for three days and said they are trying to run down something that Is draining the battery. It has 109 miles on It.

Dont let your tailgate down, the bed lights stay on forever and will drain your battery till its dead. Apparently the engineers were not smart enough to out a timer on the output which could disable them after say 15 minutes... that's what has drained my battery dry twice now.

 

[Nicolasbland14]

My 1500 limited is at the dealership for that issue but it was the alternator that went out and the part is on national back order right now

 

[securityguy]

My 1500 limited is at the dealership for that issue but it was the alternator that went out and the part is on national back order right now

Then they should do the right thing and take it off a new truck on the lot.

 

[Drewster]

Then they should do the right thing and take it off a new truck on the lot.

Rob Peter to pay Paul

Seriously though, the last thing a dealer is going to do is hamper a new sale when they already made their money off of you.

 

[securityguy]

Rob Peter to pay Paul

Seriously though, the last thing a dealer is going to do is hamper a new sale when they already made their money off of you.

Not disagreeing...but, it is the right thing to do!