OK I say this is a strange pattern lately to me because I'm not a mechanic or anyting. But I have notices 1-2 times out of every 10 starts on my 97 Ram it stuggles to start. i hope I'm not being too vague on what i'm noticing. But does this mean that either A my starter is going out. B my starter cylanoid is going out. Or can it be something diffrerent all together?

 

Might even be the battery. You can get the starter and battery tested at most any parts store.

 

Alright I will give that a try. Thank you HeyYou I can always count you for a replie

 

also check the battery terminals. clean terminals of any corrosion.

describe the no start - is it that "the starter doesn't turn", or it turns slow, or you hear a clicking/fluttering noise?
or
the starter turns the engine just fine but it won't run?

 

If the battery is sulphated, it will fail the load test at the shop. Three guesses as to what they will suggest you do next. Bring your wallet.

Anyway, I've had good luck with one of the better smart chargers that includes a de-sulphation stage. I actually have extra batteries now because I was able to bring a couple back to the point where they load test good and hold a charge well.

I bought a CTEK 3300, there are others made by Soneil sold under ACI, Cansai, and various contract brands (eg Motomaster). Yamaha, BMW and Mercedes branded chargers from the dealer are made by CTEK, but don't buy one ... they're dealer-priced.

The Battery Tender brands are good chargers but generally don't have the anti-sulfation stage, so they won't work to desulphate. These chargers also have the proper cycles for gel cells and smaller batteries (motorcycle, lawn tractor, etc).

They can be permanently mounted in a vehicle. About $60. The CTEK 7002 will provide 12V 7A to a vehicle if you remove the battery, preserving settings. It's also got a more advanced charge cycle (8 cycles) which can help a battery that has beed deep-discharged, and a special cycle to initiate charge in very cold weather, but it will run a bit over $100.

You can get the CTEKs easily on eBay and from lots of online vendors. Don't pay list price.

 

I know every so often at random times my truck will not start. I have to crank it a few times to get it going. I first tested my fuel pressure at the rail and i figured out that my fuel pump/regulator is bad. It fluctuates between like 20 and 60 PSI when it should be (i think) 44.2 PSI +- 5 PSI. I havent replaced it yet because it all still works fine just every so often no start.

I would go grab a cheap fuel pressure tester and check that just in case.

 

Not a Ram, but our 2006 Ford Five-hundred starting doing that a couple of years ago. It would start fine if it hadn't sat long, but was a difficult start after sitting more than a day. Turned out to be a bad injector that was leaking into the cylinder. It took it a few seconds of turning over to clear out the cylinder before the engine would fire. Just a thought.

 

the starter turns and it sounds like it wants to start then all of a sudden sometimes makes either a sputtering sound, a few times it made a gargling sound then I shut it off and try and start it again and it starts up just fine.


@Johnny2Bad (They can be permanently mounted in a vehicle. About $60. The CTEK 7002 will provide 12V 7A to a vehicle if you remove the battery, preserving settings. It's also got a more advanced charge cycle (8 cycles) which can help a battery that has beed deep-discharged, and a special cycle to initiate charge in very cold weather, but it will run a bit over $100.)

Do you have any pictures or anything on where to mount this, or anything other info on this that can help me out?

@mibzzer15 my fuel pump was replaced last summer. But I will give that a try as well.

@LoneWolfArcher thats kind of funny my girlfriend drives one of those the floor has been lowered all leather back seats have been lifted up a bit and scooted back farther. not a cheap car at all I like to drive it every so often

 

Yeah our is a Limited, it is a sweet driver. Primarily the wife's car.

Your description definitely sounds like something ignition/injector related. When was the last time the plugs were changed?

 

Well, I have too many vehicles to do the perma-mount, so I don't.

I used to have three transformer-based chargers around, sold 'em all on Kijiji after I put the CTEK through it's paces. One of the best purchases I've ever made, actually. Very happy with it.

But just letting you know that it's rated for permanent connection to the battery (most aren't), has low ripple (Mfr rates it as under 100 mV; WAY lower than a conventional charger) so it won't affect vehicle electronics. Ripple is unwanted noise that sits on top of the charge current and has some damaging effects on battery life and plays havoc with computers and stuff connected to the circuit. It's Alternating Current; a charger is ideally 100% DC.

It's expensive to filter out ripple in a power supply so an electronics company will get the bean counters to yell at the engineers to forget about it. 100mV would be low enough for the machines that go "bing" they strap you to at a hospital. Made in Sweden.

The Soneil ones are made in Canada, but are hard to find. They don't market directly to consumers, so you'd have to do some research to find out what brands they make. Same technology, but the CTEKs are way easier to find. If you were in Canada you could buy the Motomaster ones sold by Canadian Tire, but I have no idea what brand you'd look for in the 'States. And since Canadian Tire is hardly Wall-Mart, it might be cheaper to get a CTEK instead, even if you were in Canada.

I looked at the ripple current on mine with an Oscilloscope while hooked up to a 12V battery which was powering an audio amplifier and speakers; you'd hear anything beyond a few mV. Worked great, quiet as a mouse, measured 63 mV under charge, no spikes. It has connectors designed for permanent installation, and it's small. Like about the size of a dollar bill and 2" tall. So, anywhere, really.

They suggest you mount it a few feet from the battery, to keep acid vapour from getting at the electronics. It gets a little warm. Bout all you need to know, I guess. Wheel fender, maybe?

Expensive Site (full list; lots of info):

http://smartercharger.com/

Do a search on eBay for CTEK [model number] and you'll see lots of discount vendors. Lots of OEMs sell a branded copy at the Dealer; maybe you want the Aston Martin one for $360? Or the Lamborghini one for $250? Might make the Ram go faster ;-) The Yamaha one is usually at the bike/sled/4-wheeler/outboard dealers, and I think it's not too unreasonably priced.