Well it finally happened.....

[Frank246]

2015 Laramie with 93K miles on it and no problems. I expected to go forever I guess, but it should have been no surprise to me I guess.

I didn't really do much at all to her. She just kept humming along and never failed me as I traveled all over this country.

Even Blackstone gave me excellent reviews and said the engine look really good.

For 7 years she gave all she had and then some. Extra lights and about every accessory they put on these things. She rode great and I always kept her wrapped up in a blanket.

The only hint of a warning was yesterday when she didn't start up right away and after a 10 sec. pause, started. Ran fine the rest of the day.

So why do these things fail "when you least expect it", or as they say, "At the worst time"....like there is ever a good time?

Traveled this week from Charleston, SC to Dallas, TX. Ran fine and even for 2 days in 110 degree weather (one day actually 114).

But maybe that was what did it in.

Attending a funeral and being a pall bearer at the church parking lot she said good bye.

Fortunately, there was an Auto Zone within a mile and a 900cca AGM put her back on the road!

Sometimes I guess we should be thankful for the small things in life!

 

[1shadowsabre]

That was a funny post! You had me
On a side note..... sorry you had to attend a funeral

 

[Frank246]

Appreciate the note.
We all wonder/worry when something happens and the dreaded engine failure always lurks in the back of our minds. Wouldn't want to make light of those failures, but a little light humor once in a while never hurts.

Thanks

 

[TC Diesel]

Wait until that happens in Your Tesla, it won't be the local auto parts store fix.

 

[Frank246]

Well, it was a nice story with the battery......but it seems it hasn't ended there!

Yesterday morning, got into the truck, started it up and all was good, it seemed.

Drove for an hour and stopped for lunch. Came out 90 mins later.....SAME NO START PROBLEM!

We waited for about 10 mins. and tried again....started right up without any indication of a problem. Just like before the battery was swapped out.

Went to a local Dallas dealer and after telling them the symptoms they check for a code and there were none. They said they couldn't get on it today, but if we wanted to we could come back next Wed. and their diesel mechanic might have time to look at it.

Obviously we need to get back home and not real comfortable with not having any idea of what the problem might be AND if it was going to get worse. Facing East Texas with a failed truck was not my idea of a fun time with the wife and two dogs.

Went to a second dealer. After much chit/chat in the service center, was told they could get on it Monday or Tuesday, but have to leave the truck now or not be in the queue until maybe a week. Left the truck and found a ride back to the campground.....an hour away.

I have the MoPar MAXI insurance for 100K and 93K on the truck. Not sure if that will do any good, but at least something might pop up.

Symptoms:
1 Truck may or may not start at any give time.
2. Engine hot or cold was not a defining state
3. When it failed to start, each time, it acted like it was going to, more than a solenoid click and "about maybe a revolution or two.
4. Would do NOTHING if attempted immedicably following the failure ....not dash lights/media screen/ nothing just like a totally dead battery.
5. After anywhere from 15-20 sec., truck would start up like nothing was wrong.
6.. When running, all the temps and gauges, and indicators on the readouts showed normal as they have for the past 5 years.
7. Only one things did change before the battery replacement and that was the voltage readout changed from 14 to 13v. This is why we thought it might be battery related and with a 7 year old battery....well certainly a place to look first.
8. After the battery replacement...NOTE: the voltage readout REMAINED at the 13v level...not down or up and no change with A/C, radio, lights , etc.

Any ideas??

 

[1shadowsabre]

Wait until that happens in Your Tesla, it won't be the local auto parts store fix.

If you are talking to me (I have a Tesla) year you are correct! Nothing at Auto Zone for an electric car but wipers. Here is another fact for many EV owners.... Almost all EV's have a regular 12 v car battery that runs some of the basic functions of the vehicle and if it goes bad then the EV won't run!

 

[TC Diesel]

Frank246, its likely the big connecter under the dash driver side. disconnect and re-connect...

 

[Frank246]

I know that might be so I did check it and ensured that it was/is tight. Unfortunately, it is so intermittent and thus hard to diagnose. I won't be surprised if the dealer does the diagnostic and charges me for it, and sayes they can't find anything wrong.
While that won't surprise me too much, I'm just concerned that when I head out back from Dallas to Charleston, SC, there are some very long miles of nothing or very small one light towns and could be a really bad problem sitting by the road in a 100+ temp waiting for someone to pick us and two dogs up.

Hopefully they will even be able to get on it on Monday or Tuesday. No guarantee.

Thanks for the input. Certainly the place to look for trouble.

Thanks

 

[1shadowsabre]

I know that might be so I did check it and ensured that it was/is tight. Unfortunately, it is so intermittent and thus hard to diagnose. I won't be surprised if the dealer does the diagnostic and charges me for it, and sayes they can't find anything wrong.
While that won't surprise me too much, I'm just concerned that when I head out back from Dallas to Charleston, SC, there are some very long miles of nothing or very small one light towns and could be a really bad problem sitting by the road in a 100+ temp waiting for someone to pick us and two dogs up.

Hopefully they will even be able to get on it on Monday or Tuesday. No guarantee.

Thanks for the input. Certainly the place to look for trouble.

Thanks

Dang, I sure hope they find something concrete..... I don't have a lot of experience but I did replace a battery a few months ago and my vehicle wouldn't start after about a week. I did some poking around and found that the negative battery cable had not quite seated right and had wiggled a little loose. I had to lightly tap it down and then tighten it and all has been well since then.
Hopefully it is something simple for you!

 

[Frank246]

That would be great if it really does come back to the battery.

Thanks

 

[rodd]

My vote is battery related. I have got brand new batteries that failed in a week or so. For the past 9 moths or so I didn't notice a slow crank on my truck but my radio touch screen would freeze but the buttons on the steering wheel for the stereo worked. I would do this almost every morning. Once the truck had been driven around for 15 min or so I would shut off the truck and restart it and it would work. A couple weeks ago I got in and it wouldn't start. Went to o'reilly and put the new battery in and the crank was much faster and the stereo touch screen hasn't failed since. I

 

[Frank246]

Sounds like that might be it and even though we replaced the battery, it still has the same issue. The interesting thing is that after the 10-15 sec. it cranks very strong every time. No noticeable weakness or slowness or hard starting at all. Just the way it has for 4+ years. Certainly will check the battery again and the connections.

Thanks