I have a 2001 Ram Off-Road package. Recently, I got to spend 15 months in Iraq and the truck sat for 99% of that time. My wife had the battery replaced just before I got home but now I am having all kinds of electrical issues. While driving at speed, my ABS, brake, seat belt, engine lights came on and then I lost my tachometer and speedometer went to zero. My radio kept playing but I could not adjust the volume or change the station. I did the on-off think with the key and I got a “Ground” indicator on the odometer. I rechecked the battery ground, disconnected the battery (had the battery checked) and everything seems to be OK…for now. The only exception is that my radio will not power up and the fuse is OK. I had another problem before I deployed was the heated mirrors pop my blower fuse whenever I try to use them. Tracking this stuff down is a little more than I car to tackle but I don’t want to get taken for a ride at a dealership either. I had an alarm and a remote start in stalled after I purchased the truck new in 2001 and it has worked fine. I’m not sure what a dealer would say to working on a modified system. I live in Northern Virginia and was looking for a reference to someone or a garage that might be able to help me with these electrical woes. Any pointers or ideas would be appreciated.

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pm XXL 1500, he's a dealership tech in VA, don't know if he can give you a deal, but at least he knows his stuff and can point you in the right direction.

Also, you've got way more grounds on the truck than just the battery. Check the ground running to the PDC (black box next to battery), the grounds up and around the PCM (passensger side firewall with all the wires going into it.) That's the truck's computer. There's a ground off the edge of the computer that goes up to the firewall. on the driver's side there's a ground for the wi[per motor. There's a ground on the power steering pump under a mounting bolt, and I believe there might be a ground under one of the valve covers as well.

I would inspect the PDC and PCM grounds very carefully as those can cause massive problems if they aren't functioning properly. You might also have a bad short in your fuse box in the cab. I'd pull the cover panel under the dash and peek back there with a flashlight and see what you can find.