Truck won’t start.

[ironman8282]

Seeing if anyone has any ideas … so I put my new y pipe on my truck yesterday got done fired it up let it run a while went got gas ran some errands came home went to go to dinner hit remote start and it just made a loud click but no start… cycled the ignition a few times and bam it started thought it was odd but hey … drive to dinner come out remote start loud click nothing wouldn’t start no matter what I did. Got a ride to auto zone put a new battery in still same thing.. climbed underneath made sure I didn’t melt any wires or damage anything during install. I swapped relays around no luck It’s acting like the starter is locked up just wondering if anyone else has had a starter drop dead like that or any other issues

 

[ironman8282]

Forgot to mention that going to the dealer is out lol not a shred of warranty left between cam install and all the other mods. Gonna try to pull the starter today and bench test it didn’t get truck towed home till late and had to work so didn’t fool with it anymore last night

 

[djevox]

Maybe some type of vapor lock if the starter works. Can you rotate the crankshaft by hand? (For after the bench test if starter works)

 

[Scram1500]

Check all your grounds?

 

[Rlaf75]

One loud click would indicate a starter issue. Check to make sure no wire's got melted on the new exhaust. If you got somebody to give you a hand, block the wheels so it doesnt run you over, get under the truck and GENTLY tap the starter with a hammer or screwdriver while someone tries to start it. If no wires are shorted out on the exhaust and it starts after tapping the starter then replace the starter

 

[djevox]

I’m not wishing this on the OP, but a locked up engine will exhibit the same behavior. A starter is not always the problem.

 

[ironman8282]

I’m not wishing this on the OP, but a locked up engine will exhibit the same behavior. A starter is not always the problem.

Yeah I’m aware locked up engine is def not off the table due to the mods I have done although I have hopes that isn’t it showed no signs of issues and typically the few I have seen locked up at least sounded like starter tried to spin but couldn’t push through .. either way just got off work headed home to yank starter and bench test and go from there thanks for the reply’s so far

 

[ironman8282]

Good news so far engine spins with ratchet… bad news starter bench test ok so battery new starter spins on the bench but in the truck **** just goes click lol that’s my kind of luck… guess it’s time to start going through all these circuits .. any body else got any ideas

 

[djevox]

Good news so far engine spins with ratchet… bad news starter bench test ok so battery new starter spins on the bench but in the truck **** just goes click lol that’s my kind of luck… guess it’s time to start going through all these circuits .. any body else got any ideas

No, that’s great news. There are a lot of steps you can take, but here are a few.

Ensure you have full voltage on the feed wire (small wire) when attempting to start. I’m assuming it’s 5 volts, but I haven’t looked at a starting system diagram yet.

Ensure there’s no voltage drop on the 12v circuit (large wire).

Check battery connections.

See if new battery passes a load test. You never know, the new one might have a bad cell.

I’d be surprised if you have ground problems, but voltage drop should ID that.

Considering you replaced the y-pipe before this problem occurred, I’d also take a very close look at everything electrical in the vicinity.

Edit: There’s something I just thought of: also pull ECM and BCM codes to see if there’s actually something funky going on.

 

[ironman8282]

I’m headed to go get a new starter now I’m taking a shot in the dark maybe this one looks good on the bench but under a load it won’t cut it … gonna out new one in then start checking voltage … I did try to pull codes nothing showing . I also just got the heck of it reflashed the tunes just to make sure . Looked everywhere around the y pipe exhaust just to make sure there is. Otho g near it no signs of burn or pinched wires

 

[djevox]

I’m headed to go get a new starter now I’m taking a shot in the dark maybe this one looks good on the bench but under a load it won’t cut it … gonna out new one in then start checking voltage … I did try to pull codes nothing showing . I also just got the heck of it reflashed the tunes just to make sure . Looked everywhere around the y pipe exhaust just to make sure there is. Otho g near it no signs of burn or pinched wires

Hope it’s what you mentioned and it gets fixed quickly.

 

[ironman8282]

Well not sure why but no voltage on the yellow wire when you push the button … trying to find a wiring diagram but doesn’t seem easy to come by

 

[RamCares]

Hello @ironman8282!

We're sorry to hear about your vehicle's starting concerns and would like to offer our assistance alongside a dealer appointment. Our team also understands if you would like to troubleshoot with the rest of the forum community first, but should your decide to confer with your dealer let us know via private chat.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[djevox]

Well not sure why but no voltage on the yellow wire when you push the button … trying to find a wiring diagram but doesn’t seem easy to come by

If you can’t find anything and can’t get anywhere with the dealer, let me know. I’ll need some info on your truck to get the correct diagrams.

 

[ironman8282]

Well little update … truck is running. Late last night after checking every damn fuse , ground wire every connection I could possibly think of I had starter back in checked voltage again inlaid under truck and told my son to hit the button so I could check voltage again on the signal wire … bam the damn thing started … I have no real answer why I didn’t find anything to fix… I proceeded to start and stop the truck probably 50 times used remote start prob 20 times drive the truck shutting it off multiple times . No answer but now I’m just waiting for it to strand me again in the future. Wise man told me years ago demons don’t die they only hide so I’m sure it’ll show it’s head again

 

[ironman8282]

The only concern and I’m not sure if it has anything to do with it is that you’ll see in the pics I’m gonna post the starter and wiring is extremely close to my headers and y pipe … I was beating on the truck pretty hard after I installed the new y pipe so did it create enough heat to do something I have no idea the pic shows the starter loose almost out but when it’s mounted it does have a hestshield like I said not sure if that has anything to do with it at all

 

[djevox]

Could be a few things:

Loose connection on the feed wire (Probably not likely considering you touched it so much and there was consistency with it not working).

You caused an issue with one of the pins in the connector for the feed wire and you’re just making ok contact now.

Heat is actually a problem, and is causing intermittent issues with the solenoid. (not very likely, but possible)

Looking at how close that is and no matter what fix you choose, I think you should get some 20 or 22 gauge sheet steel and hand-bend a heat shield.

 

[Rlaf75]

My bet is still on the starter. I suggested tapping on it with someone trying to start it and basically you did when you removed it and bench tested it. The jarring from removing it did the tapping for you. It may be working now but it will act up again

 

[djevox]

My bet is still on the starter. I suggested tapping on it with someone trying to start it and basically you did when you removed it and bench tested it. The jarring from removing it did the tapping for you. It may be working now but it will act up again

Didn’t he say he replaced the starter?

 

[djevox]

I just thought of something else. Instead of making a heat shield, you could also wrap the piping.