Key Fob Not Responding and Truck Won't Start - Possible Water Damage?

[JayP_1500]

Hello all,

My 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie stopped responding to the key fob today, and wont even allow me to start the truck using the key fob on the PTS button. We had almost 3 inches of rain in the last few days, and I found the floor mat on the right rear side absolutely soaked. I reached back to the back of the cab and that was soaked as well. Of course my 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty expired mid June with the truck having only 13,000 miles on it. The truck sat for 4 days as I was on a stay-cation. I tried following:

1. Used the key to open the door (which set the uncontrollable alarm off)
   • No matter what I tried, I could not get the alarm to stop.
2. Attempted to start truck with fob - failed
   • dash lit up, ignition lit up, but could not even get it into run or acc. Did NOT get the "no fob detected" message
3. Checked voltage of the battery (11.8 VDC)
4. Attempted to jump start truck - failed
5. Disconnected battery and charge it for several hours to get it to 12.6 VDC
6. Reconnected and tried again - failed
7. Purchased new battery (12.77 VDC) - failed and returned battery
8. Checked ignition fuses - all good
9. Re-installed battery, last attempt to start with key on PTS - failed
   • Key flahses when attempting to start truck, but truck cluster just says to press foot on brake and hit button to start
10. Disconnected battery

After some reading, I found a TSB that notes the window seals leaking. This is obviously a known issue, which sucks that it happened to me after the warranty expired. Anyone have any experience with this issue? I have read that the RF module could be damaged, but would that stop the truck from starting with the fob on the PTS button? I'm incredibly frustrated that a $64,000 truck is exhibiting these issues. Now I have to potentially get it towed to a dealer and lose my vehicle for an extended period of time. This is really making me second-guess my purchase.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Bpebler]

Etorque or standard hemi?

I’m assuming you probably already tried this:

Stupid video, I know. But short & to the point.

 

[JayP_1500]

Etorque or standard hemi?

I’m assuming you probably already tried this:

Stupid video, I know. But short & to the point.

Thanks for the reply. It's a standard hemi.

Yes, I tried this first. When I unlocked it and opened the door, the alarm went off for about 60 seconds. I tried to start it just as the video did, but it did not work. Every subsequent time I tried to open the door, whether inside or outside the vehicle, the alarm went off.

After I found the water I was leaning towards the rf module, but was hoping to get some advice here that may guide me in the right direction.

 

[Bpebler]

Geez that’s gotta be annoying. Sorry to hear you’re going through that. I wish I had some technical advice for you but hopefully someone else will hop on here soon enough. There are some good techs & mechanics on this forum. Sounds like some kind of short from the water for sure. No codes from the OBD port?

 

[JayP_1500]

Geez that’s gotta be annoying. Sorry to hear you’re going through that. I wish I had some technical advice for you but hopefully someone else will hop on here soon enough. There are some good techs & mechanics on this forum. Sounds like some kind of short from the water for sure. No codes from the OBD port?

It definitely was, until I found the horn fuse. Made it a lot easier to try to fix it. I'm going to dig around and look for a blown fuse today to save on getting it towed.

I don't have a reader, but my neighbor might. I'll try that as well.

 

[JayP_1500]

Geez that’s gotta be annoying. Sorry to hear you’re going through that. I wish I had some technical advice for you but hopefully someone else will hop on here soon enough. There are some good techs & mechanics on this forum. Sounds like some kind of short from the water for sure. No codes from the OBD port?

So I found a reader to use and tested on another vehicle. It's a wireless one. It needed the ignition to be in the on position, which my truck cannot get into.

Some more observations today:
* windows and door locks do not work (checked their Fuses, and are all good)

* floor is a lot dryer than yesterday. Going to attempt to install the battery and try again.

 

[Bpebler]

wow, you are not even getting accessory power? I’m not too knowledgeable yet on the Ram electronics but I am somewhat on my jeep Cherokee. Not nearly as technical as the ram or at least not as finicky as it is an older 2000 model. I’ve had several different non-starting issues with the Jeep, one that has repeated a few times is the crankshaft position sensor among the others. If all your fuses and all of your relays are good, then that would usually lead me to believe that a wire itself somewhere has shorted out.

 

[JayP_1500]

wow, you are not even getting accessory power? I’m not too knowledgeable yet on the Ram electronics but I am somewhat on my jeep Cherokee. Not nearly as technical as the ram or at least not as finicky as it is an older 2000 model. I’ve had several different non-starting issues with the Jeep, one that has repeated a few times is the crankshaft position sensor among the others. If all your fuses and all of your relays are good, then that would usually lead me to believe that a wire itself somewhere has shorted out.

Yes, it will not go into the accessory power mode. I was able to disarm the system by unlocking all of the doors, closing them, and then getting inside to attempt a key fob press on the PTS button. Now the door locks work, but the fob is still unresponsive.

12 inch uconnect is now prompting for an anti-theft code. Waiting to hear from the dealer about the code.

So my current state is that I can get in with the key, lock / unlock with the door panel. When I press the key fob on the PTS, the fob lights up but will not change to ACC / attempt to start.

Battery is on the lower side now. Was 12.6 VDC when I reinstalled it today, but after leaving it in for a while it went to 11.8 VDC. I am assuming I have a short, and due to the fact the back rear passanger side was wet under the seat - I am thinking it is the RF module shorting out. I still dont understand how this would prevent the system from using the passive key detecting to start the truck. I found that FCA offers complimentary roadside assitance 5 yrs / 60,000 miles, so at least I can get this to the dealer for free. Going to charge the battery over the weekend and let the truck dry out as much as possible and hope I can take it to the dealer myself...but that is just wishful thinking.

 

[Bpebler]

Holy crap.

 

[BowDown]

Are the front floor mats wet? I don't think there's any computers in the back behind the seats

 

[5Lugs]

Thats`s the same symptoms that my 2019 1500 experienced. See the " water damage" threads. I had to have mine towed. I ended up in discussions with the dealer & extended warranty ,{ I`ll be nice here}, for the repairs. No issues with my dealer as they were very helpful, but not the others mentioned. Replaced back sliding glass & the UHR interface? I could have the alpha wrong as I`m in a hurry. Good luck!

 

[Butterblood]

My 2019 34,000 miles has been at the dealer since last Wednesday. Rear sliding window leak fried the radio frequency hub, rendering the truck inoperable. The RFH was covered under my extended warranty. But the leak wasn’t. Still dealing with it as we speak. Talked to Chrysler and they wouldn’t help me since I’m the second owner. 7 year power train doesn’t cover the leaks.

 

[Tfarr1260]

I am fighting the same problem, only no water in my truck. I was driving home and all of a sudden error codes started going off about the towing, the tmps and the 4 wheel drive. I pulled over, turned off the truck and restarted it. It then displayed the check engine light but ran fine. When I got home, it would not turn off. I located the fuse to the engine and took it out which worked. Re-started the truck with no issues. My dealer got me an appointment for later that week and when I went to bring it in, the FOB wouldn't activate the locks and I have been pretty much in the same loop as the author. Not sure what to do next, but I definitely will look for the horn fuse. My neighbors will appreciate that! Any help would be great!

 

[Jurgh]

Hello all,

My 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie stopped responding to the key fob today, and wont even allow me to start the truck using the key fob on the PTS button. We had almost 3 inches of rain in the last few days, and I found the floor mat on the right rear side absolutely soaked. I reached back to the back of the cab and that was soaked as well. Of course my 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty expired mid June with the truck having only 13,000 miles on it. The truck sat for 4 days as I was on a stay-cation. I tried following:

1. Used the key to open the door (which set the uncontrollable alarm off)
   • No matter what I tried, I could not get the alarm to stop.
2. Attempted to start truck with fob - failed
   • dash lit up, ignition lit up, but could not even get it into run or acc. Did NOT get the "no fob detected" message
3. Checked voltage of the battery (11.8 VDC)
4. Attempted to jump start truck - failed
5. Disconnected battery and charge it for several hours to get it to 12.6 VDC
6. Reconnected and tried again - failed
7. Purchased new battery (12.77 VDC) - failed and returned battery
8. Checked ignition fuses - all good
9. Re-installed battery, last attempt to start with key on PTS - failed
   • Key flahses when attempting to start truck, but truck cluster just says to press foot on brake and hit button to start
10. Disconnected battery

After some reading, I found a TSB that notes the window seals leaking. This is obviously a known issue, which sucks that it happened to me after the warranty expired. Anyone have any experience with this issue? I have read that the RF module could be damaged, but would that stop the truck from starting with the fob on the PTS button? I'm incredibly frustrated that a $64,000 truck is exhibiting these issues. Now I have to potentially get it towed to a dealer and lose my vehicle for an extended period of time. This is really making me second-guess my purchase.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi JP,how did you manage to sort this ? I have the same issue which started out of nowhere however, doesn't appear to have any leaks.It is 2020 RAM Laramie. Help will be greatly appreciated

 

[tmbeers70]

I have a 2019 ram laramie and today when I was leaving work the truck wouldn't start and the key fob would not do anything either. I already had the back window replaced so the water leak is not the issue. any ideas?

 

[theblet]

Maybe an RF hub issue. It’s behind the back seat.

 

[jonnygobig]

Anybody fix this?

My history: Rained real hard here in Santa Cruz for a few days. 2019 1500 Laramie all options, 60K, only 1 software issue, back cam went black, reset with battery disconnect. I did have it pop out of drive at stop signs once or twice, throw lights and have to cycle to park and back. That appeared to be dirty throttle body or maf, cleaned both and went from weekly to nothing. That’s it for this truck..,happy until now.

Problem statement:
1. Passive entry sudden fail on both doors and tailgate. Cannot manually press door handle to lock either.
2. Key fob not present, and had to start with fob pressing start button.
3. All other fob functions working.
4. All other options and accessories working, including amp steps etc.

Theory: wet antenna or control mod.

Action plan:
Basic partition for easy fix items, then get invasive.

Checkout, done so far:
1. 3rd high mount brake light was out, standard 921 bulb, no change(rumors this can be an issue)
2. Verified All brake and signal LEDs are working..(also rumor). This confirms not a lighting issue.
3. Both fobs do same thing- not a fob issue
4. Verified all other functions of fobs- either hub has not fully failed or it is a software issue
5. Cycled rear window, looked for cracks, water or flex - doesn’t appear to be water intrusion.
6. Checked shark fin for leaks when I had high mount out, it is fine.

On the list to do:
1. Tear out seats and check out rf hub for moisture- exercise extended warranty on rear window if so. (I did get the extended warranty letter for the rear slider leak potential.)
2. Pull neg cable, 20 min, let all systems on bus re-initialize. This worked once when rear cam went black. Scared without fob detected it will ask for antitheft code.

Any other ideas? How did you all fix this?

 

[jonnygobig]

Anybody fix this?

My history: Rained real hard here in Santa Cruz for a few days. 2019 1500 Laramie all options, 60K, only 1 software issue, back cam went black, reset with battery disconnect. I did have it pop out of drive at stop signs once or twice, throw lights and have to cycle to park and back. That appeared to be dirty throttle body or maf, cleaned both and went from weekly to nothing. That’s it for this truck..,happy until now.

Problem statement:
1. Passive entry sudden fail on both doors and tailgate. Cannot manually press door handle to lock either.
2. Key fob not present, and had to start with fob pressing start button.
3. All other fob functions working.
4. All other options and accessories working, including amp steps etc.

Theory: wet antenna or control mod.

Action plan:
Basic partition for easy fix items, then get invasive.

Checkout, done so far:
1. 3rd high mount brake light was out, standard 921 bulb, no change(rumors this can be an issue)
2. Verified All brake and signal LEDs are working..(also rumor). This confirms not a lighting issue.
3. Both fobs do same thing- not a fob issue
4. Verified all other functions of fobs- either hub has not fully failed or it is a software issue
5. Cycled rear window, looked for cracks, water or flex - doesn’t appear to be water intrusion.
6. Checked shark fin for leaks when I had high mount out, it is fine.

On the list to do:
1. Tear out seats and check out rf hub for moisture- exercise extended warranty on rear window if so. (I did get the extended warranty letter for the rear slider leak potential.)
2. Pull neg cable, 20 min, let all systems on bus re-initialize. This worked once when rear cam went black. Scared without fob detected it will ask for antitheft code.

Any other ideas? How did you all fix this?

Went through the design of the system and based on the failure mode I think I have lost the near field antenna, the reason why passive entry loss and key fob detect alarm. Does anyone know which antenna is the near field and where it is?(hope it is the $7 one below…)

 

[jonnygobig]

Uhhhh, found moisture behind seat right below the slider window..it has been crazy rain here, I can feel wet harness wrap. Cant find the frame crack in slider but time to call dealership under special extendo warranty. Hope it covers my passive entry problem. Maybe it will dry out and work again.

 

[GeorgeA]

Uhhhh, found moisture behind seat right below the slider window..it has been crazy rain here, I can feel wet harness wrap. Cant find the frame crack in slider but time to call dealership under special extendo warranty. Hope it covers my passive entry problem. Maybe it will dry out and work again.

Jonnygobig,

I had the same issue back in January 2023. I was coincidently in Santa Cruz at the time. I had no idea that I had a rear window leak.

I had the truck towed to the local Chrysler/Ram dealer in Santa Cruz. They did not find any error codes, but fortunately identified the rear window issue.

They cleaned up the area and "blew-out" the connections to the RF Module (Item #3) in your attached parts break-down. They thought that might be what caused the problem.

They agreed to replace the rear window after I contacted Ram Cares and got assigned a Case Manager and Case number.

They said that they had seen a similar issue on one other vehicle, but they could never determine the root cause. They had that vehicle for 2 months.

They kept my truck for over 1 month and could not duplicate the issue. I wanted to change the RF module while they had everything exposed. The part was not available and back-ordered for 4 months.

I retrieved the and have been driving it for several months without an issue. The issue came back about 1 month ago.

For safety and my own piece of mind, I decided to replace the RF Module.

The dealership in Sunnyvale, Ca is quoting $290 for the part and $1127 to install it. This seems outrageous and I am trying to get some help from Ram Cares.

They want a diagnosis before they will assign a Case Manager. I know that they will not find any error codes and still charge me for the diagnosis.

This is really frustrating for me and many of us on this forum.

If the Dealership in Santa Cruz tells you they have not seen this issue, you should push back. I have all of my records from the experience and would be more than happy to share them with you.

Send a private message if you want to contact me.