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!