Went to start my 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie (3500 miles) this morning and it was dead as a door nail. No lights had been left on or doors ajar. What's really strange is the ignition won't release the key. No inside lights working now, totally dead. It was last driven day before yesterday, everything fine, no indications of a weak battery, etc. Last Wednesday it was in the shop for some Uconnect module updates but no signs of any issues when I picked it up--- until today.

Any ideas?

 

Take the battery and have it checked.
Have you tried jump starting the truck?
When the battery in my 09 failed, it was ok one day and the next dead.

 

Just waiting on the tow truck to arrive ( under Chrysler care). I was going to throw a charger on it but after talking to my service rep I decided to let them track down the problem. For the battery to go bad so fast and with no warning. That key grab thing is really wierd though. This thing is always garaged and pampered to say the least. 3500 miles in six months.

 

The key grab is normal for a dead battery. When I changed out the spark plugs, I reset the computer by disconnecting the negative cable and then went inside and inserted the key and turned as if to turn the truck on (this is a gen3 procedure for clearing the computer, so I tried it on my gen4). The key was stuck and would not release until I hooked the battery back up.

 

Smiley,

Could also be the gear shift cable being out of position or a bad wireless ignition node(WIN). Hopefully the dealer can find the problem and correct it quickly for you. Please keep us updated on the cause of failure.

 

Where is the Battery Backup just in case I ever have a dead battery.

 

Lol - what he meant was the key was stuck until he hooked up the battery again

 

Let us know what they find out at the dealer.