Stalkker66
New Member
Hey guys,
I have a strange electrical issue here, well 2 of them..... Hopefully I can capture these issues clearly for you all to diagnose. Any further questions please ask.
Truck: 2020 Ram 1500, Bighorn, 5.7L (non E-torque). No major modification. I only added LED low beam/fog light bulbs and a power commander for better gas pedal throttle response about a year ago. Issue 1 has been for a few years now, Issue 2 has been for a few days so I do not suspect these modifications.
Issue 1:
For a while now i have had pulsing lights... all lights (Interior lighting, headlights, fog lights) that pulse with what looks like the engine idle speed. Give slight throttle and it improves. So, i suspected the typical suspects (Alternator output, battery health, loose or corroded cables/grounds). All checks look good with exception to battery load test (don't have one and haven't gone to parts store to have them check yet). So, next thought was the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). So I went into AlphaOBD and to the settings first changing all lights to LED setting to see if this deactivated the PWM based on forums, but still same issue. Then saw posts on setting the low beam headlights to HID instead of LED try to remove PWM and still same issue. So not sure the solution here..... could this be BCM or TIPM issues or perhaps the "Big 3" cabling might help this? I am hitting a wall aside from possible bad battery load test that I have yet to do. Battery is 2 years old, AGM from Walmart.
Second issue (more recent):
First off, I live in NE so we still have cold nights/mornings. I generally go to work at 5am, so the engine and battery are cold. I usually auto start the truck for about 5 minutes before i leave and then head out to work. Lately, along with the above pulsing light issue that's still an issue, I have now come across a new issue. I get full 12v vehicle power loss when i come to a stop at the first stop light i encounter. Going about 25mph, approaching a stop, when I take my foot off the gas and apply the break, slowing down to an almost stop (approx. 5/10 mph), all power in my vehicle drops (dimming lights, heater blower speed reduces etc.), like a huge drain on the system, like a wench kicked in for a second and then all power returns to full voltage, about 14.7 according to the dash readout. Then does not do this the rest of the day until the next morning (same scenario). This seems strange to me as well. Especially with no loose wiring I can find. Could this also be a phantom issue between either the battery issue (keep in mind i have checked all charging with exception to load test), BCM or TIPM issue? All my features work or seem to anyways. It doesn't seem like a part is starting to fail and putting a load on the system, like an AC compressor or something.
I would appreciate some guidance on other steps or ideas. I'd prefer not to spend a lot of money on this.
I have a strange electrical issue here, well 2 of them..... Hopefully I can capture these issues clearly for you all to diagnose. Any further questions please ask.
Truck: 2020 Ram 1500, Bighorn, 5.7L (non E-torque). No major modification. I only added LED low beam/fog light bulbs and a power commander for better gas pedal throttle response about a year ago. Issue 1 has been for a few years now, Issue 2 has been for a few days so I do not suspect these modifications.
Issue 1:
For a while now i have had pulsing lights... all lights (Interior lighting, headlights, fog lights) that pulse with what looks like the engine idle speed. Give slight throttle and it improves. So, i suspected the typical suspects (Alternator output, battery health, loose or corroded cables/grounds). All checks look good with exception to battery load test (don't have one and haven't gone to parts store to have them check yet). So, next thought was the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). So I went into AlphaOBD and to the settings first changing all lights to LED setting to see if this deactivated the PWM based on forums, but still same issue. Then saw posts on setting the low beam headlights to HID instead of LED try to remove PWM and still same issue. So not sure the solution here..... could this be BCM or TIPM issues or perhaps the "Big 3" cabling might help this? I am hitting a wall aside from possible bad battery load test that I have yet to do. Battery is 2 years old, AGM from Walmart.
Second issue (more recent):
First off, I live in NE so we still have cold nights/mornings. I generally go to work at 5am, so the engine and battery are cold. I usually auto start the truck for about 5 minutes before i leave and then head out to work. Lately, along with the above pulsing light issue that's still an issue, I have now come across a new issue. I get full 12v vehicle power loss when i come to a stop at the first stop light i encounter. Going about 25mph, approaching a stop, when I take my foot off the gas and apply the break, slowing down to an almost stop (approx. 5/10 mph), all power in my vehicle drops (dimming lights, heater blower speed reduces etc.), like a huge drain on the system, like a wench kicked in for a second and then all power returns to full voltage, about 14.7 according to the dash readout. Then does not do this the rest of the day until the next morning (same scenario). This seems strange to me as well. Especially with no loose wiring I can find. Could this also be a phantom issue between either the battery issue (keep in mind i have checked all charging with exception to load test), BCM or TIPM issue? All my features work or seem to anyways. It doesn't seem like a part is starting to fail and putting a load on the system, like an AC compressor or something.
I would appreciate some guidance on other steps or ideas. I'd prefer not to spend a lot of money on this.
