FIXED(almost) completely dead electrical system. No crank no start no dash

[Draconicus Mechanicus]

Damn, good catch and just proves to not overlook the simple things.

I did something similar years ago. Out wheelin and the truck just died on a slight incline. Checked everything I could think to check and then walked several miles home, got a buddy and another truck and towed it back to my shop. We're all scratching our heads and going through the systems and my buddies kid pulls up a black #14 wire and asks if this is supposed to be hooked up to something. It was on the ground side of things so we hadn't even given it a second thought since the main ground was connected but once reconnected, the truck fired up. The truck was new to me and it didn't come with a battery hold-down so as I went up the hill, the battery slid back and the wire connector pulled apart. Guess what I bought first thing monday morning.

Sounds like an old Nissan pickup I had, no battery hold down on it either. Except instead of it causing any problems at all, it was just grounding the negative post to the bottom of the hood. Thankfully someone put a right hand positive battery in it and the positive was under an area that wouldn't ground out. I checked my other Nissan truck with a left hand positive battery and it was about worn through the protective boot , fixed that right quick with some zip ties and duct tape.

 

[SkittleRam]

Okay, of all things the tow truck driver stellantis sent fixed the truck. Issue was a nut on the number two fuse box input fell off. I didn't notice, but the drive saw the witness mark from a nut that was no longer there. Pushed the area down with a pen, it arced, and truck came to life. Put a spare nut on, started the truck, everything works. So not going to the dealer given there's a very reasonable explanation. I might take it in and let them change the oil and ask if they'll look at it and document the issue for me. But that'll be later, when I'm not hobbling around.

So, if there's electrical issues suspect battery but check the bolts in the side. In the first box diagram, it's unlabeled but is linked to the battery input. From the left fender looking too the trucks right side, the top right bolted connection at the fuse box is battery. My problem was the but on the bolted connection to the left of that, position two on the diagram but it's not labled. It should have a nut on it as it's actually linked to position one.

Glad you found the issue and it was simple, thanks for sharing

 

[bigdodge]

Okay, of all things the tow truck driver stellantis sent fixed the truck. Issue was a nut on the number two fuse box input fell off. I didn't notice, but the drive saw the witness mark from a nut that was no longer there. Pushed the area down with a pen, it arced, and truck came to life. Put a spare nut on, started the truck, everything works. So not going to the dealer given there's a very reasonable explanation. I might take it in and let them change the oil and ask if they'll look at it and document the issue for me. But that'll be later, when I'm not hobbling around.

So, if there's electrical issues suspect battery but check the bolts in the side. In the first box diagram, it's unlabeled but is linked to the battery input. From the left fender looking too the trucks right side, the top right bolted connection at the fuse box is battery. My problem was the but on the bolted connection to the left of that, position two on the diagram but it's not labled. It should have a nut on it as it's actually linked to position one.

this post should be linked to others having electrical issues.

 

[Rambilt]

Okay, of all things the tow truck driver stellantis sent fixed the truck. Issue was a nut on the number two fuse box input fell off. I didn't notice, but the drive saw the witness mark from a nut that was no longer there. Pushed the area down with a pen, it arced, and truck came to life. Put a spare nut on, started the truck, everything works. So not going to the dealer given there's a very reasonable explanation. I might take it in and let them change the oil and ask if they'll look at it and document the issue for me. But that'll be later, when I'm not hobbling around.

So, if there's electrical issues suspect battery but check the bolts in the side. In the first box diagram, it's unlabeled but is linked to the battery input. From the left fender looking too the trucks right side, the top right bolted connection at the fuse box is battery. My problem was the but on the bolted connection to the left of that, position two on the diagram but it's not labled. It should have a nut on it as it's actually linked to position one.

Sorry to bring this post back, I have the same issue as you with my truck, I didn't noticed the warning "battery saver on some systems my have reduced power" but my wife seems to think she saw the warning. Anyway, I had it towed to the dealer and the problem was loose connection at the fuse box. One of the terminal nuts was loose.

Draconicus, did you have any reoccurrence of the problem after the bolts were tighten?


v/r


Rick

 

[bjdemartino]

Just want to thank the OP for making this post and updating with the fix, I had a similar issue (I wasn't driving but after a remote start and immediate shut off I lost all power to the interior, but power running boards and headlights were working just fine) after I did some troubleshooting myself I was at a loss until I discovered this thread. I begrudgingly marched back outside to look for a missing nut in the fuse box and low and behold, was also missing that nut. I recently towed with my 2020 ram 1500 limited for the first time and had the bars on a little tight which made for a bumpy ride, guessing this knocked the nut loose. Anyway, thanks to you all for running this forum and the OP for making the post, saved me a lot of money, time and surely some headache!