Sound System Problems

[HogNot]

I purchased my 2019 RAM Laramie in July of 2018. This truck has lived up to the Great Reviews that I have read and has been flawless until mid October when I lost all sound from the Alpine Sound System. When the dealer said it would be many weeks before they could look at it I thought I would try disconnecting the battery to reset it. This worked but for only a few days and when it started acting up again it was cutting In & Out; ON for 2 seconds and OFF for 2 seconds and only did it when it was cold out which is probably why the problem didn't appear until October. Once the cab warms up and the truck was shut off for awhile it would work correctly and continue until the cab got cold for a long period again (overnight usually). Well to make a long story short, its been to the dealer 3 times now. The first time they had it for about 3 hours, the second time, 5 Days and the last time 7 days. The last time they replaced the amplifier and when I picked it up it cut In & Out immediately. Now a few days later, it does it all the time even after it's warm! The dealer is scheduling me with another loaner vehicle and taking it for more test. I have noticed one thing and that is that the sound system works when the ignition is in "ACC" and if I put it in "RUN" mode it cuts In & Out again wither the engine is running or not. During the entire time that I've owned the truck another issue that I've had is that the Station Memory Presets on the SXM Radio don't stay programmed. They may disappear after an hour or may last days. Here is a YouTube link of a video I recorded showing the problem,

. Any suggestions on what I should do next, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kittyjo]

Karmic sound system or alpine?

 

[Rich]

Does it cut out in FM or AM? Could it simply be the XM signal dropping out from being in abbad location or blocked by trees or buildings? Or possibly a bad or loose XM antenna connection?

Using acc or run shouldn't affect this but driving and bumps could affect a loose XM antenna.

 

[detroitdatsun]

I am having the same problem. Audio is cutting in and out every few seconds. No static no fading just in and out. Full clear sound then switches off completely. Its just the sound display stays on. It will do it with any audio, FM, Satellite, or even a media source. This leads me to believe its amplifier related.

 

[Rich]

If it does it with all inputs, obviously it is not XM related. I mentioned XM as it was selected in the picture.

 

[HogNot]

Karmic sound system or alpine?

Alpine

 

[HogNot]

I am having the same problem. Audio is cutting in and out every few seconds. No static no fading just in and out. Full clear sound then switches off completely. Its just the sound display stays on. It will do it with any audio, FM, Satellite, or even a media source. This leads me to believe its amplifier related.

Yes it sounds like the exact same problem only mine is ON & OFF every 2 seconds and it's not the amplifier, the dealer has already changed that and it made no difference. The dealer has my truck now. They've had it for 5 days now, this is the fourth time and I haven't heard from them yet. I'll post the cause if they ever find it and I hope others will do the same.

 

[Jasonml24]

I was having the exact same issue. It was like hitting the mute button on and off. Took it to the dealer and they did a hard reset. That was back in November and knock on wood, it hasn’t done it since.

 

[RIC3BOY]

I was having the exact same issue. It was like hitting the mute button on and off. Took it to the dealer and they did a hard reset. That was back in November and knock on wood, it hasn’t done it since.

What was the “hard reset”? I’ve been having this issue since mid-October. Did a quite a lot of troubleshooting, no resolution. Dealer doesn’t know anything either.

See my thread here - even the JL Wranglers are having the same exact issue.

https://5thgenrams.com/community/th...mittent-pauses-in-audio-for-all-sources.3975/

 

[Jasonml24]

What was the “hard reset”? I’ve been having this issue since mid-October. Did a quite a lot of troubleshooting, no resolution. Dealer doesn’t know anything either.

See my thread here - even the JL Wranglers are having the same exact issue.

https://5thgenrams.com/community/th...mittent-pauses-in-audio-for-all-sources.3975/

Honestly I’m not 100% sure. I think you can do it yourself. If you do a search on the forum I believe it tells you. All I know for sure is mine was doing the exact same thing. It would do it on my way to work, then I could go out a few hours later and it was fine. Its like it was resetting itself somehow. I’ve been good for a few months now after the dealer did that.

 

[RIC3BOY]

Honestly I’m not 100% sure. I think you can do it yourself. If you do a search on the forum I believe it tells you. All I know for sure is mine was doing the exact same thing. It would do it on my way to work, then I could go out a few hours later and it was fine. Its like it was resetting itself somehow. I’ve been good for a few months now after the dealer did that.

The "hard resets", or any reset for that matter hasn't been discovered yet by this forum. The only thing I've discovered is how to get into "Dealer Mode", but no resets in there. All the other resets I've tried haven't been successful.

My only remedy so far was to disconnect the negative terminal, as it manually resets the radio (upon start-up, you get the splash screen and the "accept" button). The only other way to do that was to wait 30 minutes or so while the ignition was completely OFF.

 

[Jasonml24]

The "hard resets", or any reset for that matter hasn't been discovered yet by this forum. The only thing I've discovered is how to get into "Dealer Mode", but no resets in there. All the other resets I've tried haven't been successful.

My only remedy so far was to disconnect the negative terminal, as it manually resets the radio (upon start-up, you get the splash screen and the "accept" button). The only other way to do that was to wait 30 minutes or so while the ignition was completely OFF.

My mistake I thought I saw something on a hard reset on here. My issue was back in November and it did it for about 3 days in a row till I could get it into the dealer. Their claim was they did a “hard reset” and the issue cleared itself. I talked to my salesman afterwards and he told me if I have the issue again to let him know because he knows how to do the hard reset himself. He never went into detail on what that entails so not sure. All I know is mine has been problem free ever since. Hopefully those having this issue find a fix soon.

 

[RIC3BOY]

My mistake I thought I saw something on a hard reset on here. My issue was back in November and it did it for about 3 days in a row till I could get it into the dealer. Their claim was they did a “hard reset” and the issue cleared itself. I talked to my salesman afterwards and he told me if I have the issue again to let him know because he knows how to do the hard reset himself. He never went into detail on what that entails so not sure. All I know is mine has been problem free ever since. Hopefully those having this issue find a fix soon.

That's good to hear that your truck has been issue free. It looks like doing this "hard reset" may be the trick for some problematic trucks with weird issues.

Would you be able to contact your salesman to ask how the hard reset is performed?

 

[Jasonml24]

That's good to hear that your truck has been issue free. It looks like doing this "hard reset" may be the trick for some problematic trucks with weird issues.

Would you be able to contact your salesman to ask how the hard reset is performed?

I’m hoping it’s a permanent fix, but you never know. I’ll definitely touch base with him and see if he’ll tell me the procedure.

 

[d_THRILL]

Would you be able to contact your salesman to ask how the hard reset is performed?

I second this request! We would all forever be in your debt! Thank you!

 

[RIC3BOY]

I second this request! We would all forever be in your debt! Thank you!

You know, the only thing I haven't tried, and apparently its a common thing with FCA vehicles - was to disconnect both positive and negative terminals on the battery, and connect both positive and negative wires together. I wonder if that's the answer?

I've tried all the other possible resets, but no results or resolution.

 

[d_THRILL]

You know, the only thing I haven't tried, and apparently its a common thing with FCA vehicles - was to disconnect both positive and negative terminals on the battery, and connect both positive and negative wires together. I wonder if that's the answer?

I've tried all the other possible resets, but no results or resolution.

Sounds dangerous! Hope it has no effect on the alternator or any other circuits.

 

[RIC3BOY]

Sounds dangerous! Hope it has no effect on the alternator or any other circuits.

That's why I'm hesitant on trying it. Looking at the comments, it looks like its mainly older vehicles. I'm not sure if our trucks even apply to it.

I'm holding off until I hear what that hard reset can be...

 

[Quicker10u]

I had this happen once and coincidentally, my back up camera 'BSOD' that morning as well. However, I simply shut the truck off, un-synced my phone, re synced my phone and the problem went away on it's own. I've been trouble free for a month or so now.

 

[Jasonml24]

I second this request! We would all forever be in your debt! Thank you!

Called the dealership and my salesman is off today. I’ll call again tomorrow and see if I can get the answer.