Starting problem

[Bill's Ram]

I just purchased a 2019 Ram Big Horn. Two days ago, with only 377 miles on it, I tried starting the truck. ( The truck was low on fuel but the warning light for low fuel was not on.) The brake pedal was harder to push down on than normal. The starter would engage but the engine would not fire. Three people, including the tow truck driver tried starting the truck with all the same results as above. After towing to a Chrysler dealer three miles from my house, the dealership called and said the truck started the first time they tried. They said no codes showed on their computer. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[Richard320]

I have not. But I remember a nightmare car we had in the shop a few years ago with similar complaints. It turned out to be the aftermarket alarm -- dealer installed -- that tapped into the serial bus. It would short it intermittently and stop all communications between modules, so the antitheft (chip in key fob reader) wouldn't tell the ECM it was okay to start, so it wouldn't.

 

[Bill's Ram]

Thank's Richard! We tried both key fobs before it was towed. Hoping someone had the same problem and a solution. My wife is afraid to take the truck out of the garage!

 

[Stevenc150]

If u dont experience anymore probs...(not saying this is the case but...) it's not unheard of for bad dealerships to have screwed something up before the sell...then it comes back in & they fix said screw-up, then call u and say, "Truck worked just fine for us..." Because if anything holds true for automobiles, it's that there are good dealerships & really $hitty ones

If it does act up again, myself I would try opening the fuse box under the hood and make sure all those fuses & relays are seated really good. Press them down hard. Then unplug battery overnight just for the good 'ol fashion computer reset. Then reconnect the next morning and hope for no more probs.

If u still have probs after all that...find a dealership with a good rep

 

[Paultg]

Is it possible it has something to do with:
A. Electronic park brake: do you have the auto park brake setting enabled in UConnect
B. That the gear shift knob was not in park completely?

Maybe towing it by messing with either somehow cleared the issue and when at the dealer it was all set.

I assume you didnt try to start it once they got it up on the flatbed.
I also assume they had to mess with gear selector and park brake for the towing.

 

[Sascwatch]

I had similar issues, it was a loose ground wire on the engine.

On a side note our key fobs have a backup incase the battery dies, you can push the start button with the fob and it should go if that is the issue.

 

[Bill's Ram]

If u dont experience anymore probs...(not saying this is the case but...) it's not unheard of for bad dealerships to have screwed something up before the sell...then it comes back in & they fix said screw-up, then call u and say, "Truck worked just fine for us..." Because if anything holds true for automobiles, it's that there are good dealerships & really $hitty ones

If it does act up again, myself I would try opening the fuse box under the hood and make sure all those fuses & relays are seated really good. Press them down hard. Then unplug battery overnight just for the good 'ol fashion computer reset. Then reconnect the next morning and hope for no more probs.

If u still have probs after all that...find a dealership with a good rep

I hope that isn't the case! The dealership I bought the truck at is 45 miles away. The truck was towed to the local dealer. I called the dealership and explained what happened and they said if it happens again, they would try to have the truck towed back to them. I will try your suggestions if it happens again. Thanks for your response.

 

[Bill's Ram]

Is it possible it has something to do with:
A. Electronic park brake: do you have the auto park brake setting enabled in UConnect
B. That the gear shift knob was not in park completely?

Maybe towing it by messing with either somehow cleared the issue and when at the dealer it was all set.

I assume you didnt try to start it once they got it up on the flatbed.
I also assume they had to mess with gear selector and park brake for the towing.

I haven't had time to even look at UConnect yet! I guess it is time to get familiar with that.
I tried moving the gear shift knob, that didn't help, if I remember correctly, we couldn't move the gear selector.
No we didn't try starting it on the flat bed, good idea!
The tow driver had to call someone for advise on moving the truck out of my garage. He did receive a call and popped open a panel, left of the steering wheel to pull a lever which unlocked the wheels. Thanks for your response!

 

[Scram1500]

The brake pedal will get harder the more you press it if the truck isn't running, there isn't any vacuum to assist the power brakes. The fact that it cranked and didn't start makes me think fuel, maybe because you said it was low on fuel, but it could just as easily be spark. Was this old gas from the truck sitting on the lot?

 

[Bill's Ram]

I don't think so, the truck was full when I picked it up from the dealer. I haven't had the prob;em since. Plan on keeping it as close to full as I can. Thanks for the reply!

 

[jrami]

Had the same thing happen to me yesterday. I stopped at a convenience store to get a soda, took all of five minutes and when I got back in the truck it wouldn't start. It's a 2020 1500 Lone Star with less than 600 miles. Tried to start it 3-4 times and nothing was happening. Then I noticed that my 8.4 inch UConnect screen was asking me to enter my "Anti-Theft Pin#". I never set-up a pin# for anything on the truck. I also got two messages on my instrument cluster, one said to have the airbag system serviced and the other said to have the anti-lock brakes serviced. While sitting in the truck I locked and unlocked it using the key fob. After I did this twice, it started right up. The check engine light and the airbag light were both on as I drove back to work. I called the dealership and scheduled a service appointment for Tuesday. When I got off of work the truck started right up and both the check engine and airbag lights had turned off. Haven't had any issues since.

 

[ramButz]

I just purchased a 2019 Ram Big Horn. Two days ago, with only 377 miles on it, I tried starting the truck. ( The truck was low on fuel but the warning light for low fuel was not on.) The brake pedal was harder to push down on than normal. The starter would engage but the engine would not fire. Three people, including the tow truck driver tried starting the truck with all the same results as above. After towing to a Chrysler dealer three miles from my house, the dealership called and said the truck started the first time they tried. They said no codes showed on their computer. Has anyone else had this problem?

that is the same exact thing that happens to me.i kept thinking it was the battery.i had a tow truck come to give me a jump start.as soon as he saw that all the lights were on.he put the "Car Starter'jumper"anyway.and ask me to get inside and start it.nothing...so he gets in and put a lot of presure on the foot.i mean he push it in deep....thing fired over like no tomorrow.so now i think its not the battery but something with that brake system for starting !

 

[emccarty]

My 2020 1500 did this today. 1600 miles on it. Brake pedal was hard on a cold start and it wouldn't even try to turn over. I could hear the fuel pump kick on and that was it. Took my car and when I got back home tried again. The brake pedal was still hard so I pressed on it harder, and the truck fired right up. I have no clue what caused it. It had been sitting for 6 days since I drove it last.

 

[ramButz]

My 2020 1500 did this today. 1600 miles on it. Brake pedal was hard on a cold start and it wouldn't even try to turn over. I could hear the fuel pump kick on and that was it. Took my car and when I got back home tried again. The brake pedal was still hard so I pressed on it harder, and the truck fired right up. I have no clue what caused it. It had been sitting for 6 days since I drove it last.

im with ya brother.as i have read on this is that if you press that brake hard enough.all you need to get at least 1/8th of and inch down(which aint much)yes it will fire over.i don this when i get that "Hard"pedal.also a "Tow"truck driver showed me that also .we had a little laugh on that...but it worked.took it to the dealership.and i had them check the "Vacuum brake booster "for a leak.all checked out fine..(so they say)but just to give you a heads up so you wont get stranded.

 

[Knguyen94]

i have this same issue with my 2019 ram. Scheduled an appointment but I decided to see if anyone else had this same issue.

this exact same thing happened to me after we had an ice storm in Texas. So I figured it had something to do with that cause truck started after a few tries. And happened again last month and this morning.

Did anyone figure out the issue or solution?

 

[ramButz]

i have this same issue with my 2019 ram. Scheduled an appointment but I decided to see if anyone else had this same issue.

this exact same thing happened to me after we had an ice storm in Texas. So I figured it had something to do with that cause truck started after a few tries. And happened again last month and this morning.

Did anyone figure out the issue or solution?

i think it has to do with the "ECM"(hope im saying it right ).unfortunatley i happens with you(us)by time you take it to the dealer.the problem is fixed and they cant detect it.like with the "TowTruck"driver.cause he was right there in that situation .no it will not leave a "Code"or anything.but how did you get it started

 

[Knguyen94]

i think it has to do with the "ECM"(hope im saying it right ).unfortunatley i happens with you(us)by time you take it to the dealer.the problem is fixed and they cant detect it.like with the "TowTruck"driver.cause he was right there in that situation .no it will not leave a "Code"or anything.but how did you get it started

The second time it did it, I made sure everything was off. My headlights were off (not auto) and my ac was off and then I tried again and it worked. And was doing that method since lol. And then it recently did it again and that “method” didn’t work and I just sat there for a while and I adjusted my pedals all the way back and pumped the brakes and it started right up. My appointment is not until Thursday but i know they won’t find the issue if they don’t experience it themselves. Truck runs perfectly fine though. It just has that issue once in a while and looks like it’s a common mystery with a lot of people.

 

[ramButz]

The second time it did it, I made sure everything was off. My headlights were off (not auto) and my ac was off and then I tried again and it worked. And was doing that method since lol. And then it recently did it again and that “method” didn’t work and I just sat there for a while and I adjusted my pedals all the way back and pumped the brakes and it started right up. My appointment is not until Thursday but i know they won’t find the issue if they don’t experience it themselves. Truck runs perfectly fine though. It just has that issue once in a while and looks like it’s a common mystery with a lot of people.

you are right on all accounts.you really dont have to turn off your lights or anything like that.just mash the "F*&K"on that brake.another guy also had this happen to him and said that the brake only has to go down 1/8 of and inch,not much but you have to press it that hard(with my bad old age eyes i cant even see and 1/8th of and inch )and it will engage.it happen to me again and i did just that and it started fine.it is happening to our trucks.just not as much for "FCA"to investigate.yeah i took my in (as stated before)they will not find anything.no malfunction(brake) or codes

 

[19 North]

Does it have a rough idle or seem higher than normal at any time? Kind of sounds like a vacuum leak.
I wouldn’t rule out a bad ground either.

 

[Knguyen94]

Does it have a rough idle or seem higher than normal at any time? Kind of sounds like a vacuum leak.
I wouldn’t rule out a bad ground either.

Nope none of that. Once it starts up, the truck is perfectly fine. That’s the only issue I have with the truck and it only happened three different times now.