I have a 2015 Ram 1500 with 107,000km. The truck has never had a problem until now. I took my daughter who is learning to drive for short trip in a field. It was a little bumpy. Without turning the truck off, I then drove home several miles.

The next day, when I started the truck it will only run for two seconds. It then shuts off. Before towing the truck, I looked for any obvious issues with wiring disconnected, etc. I found nothing.

The vehicle was towed to a Dodge dealer. They have spent a total of eight hours attempting to diagnose the issue. They have been unable to do so.

I became concerned with the length of diagnostic time and spent some time visiting with their technician. It is a smaller dealership and appears to have only one technician.

He indicated he had tested every wiring connection point and nearly every wire in every harness running from the front to the back of the vehicle. He told me that he had found the fuel pump module was outputting only 7.6 volts to the fuel pump. While I watched he swapped that module for one from another working truck. It also gave the same 7.6 volts without the pump connected. He asked me if I thought it should be 12 volts or 7.6 volts. I suggested that he check the service manual for the proper voltage. He indicated that he wasn't aware of anywhere to find out what the voltage should be.

I asked what his computer was finding. But, he did not have it connected. He said he didn't see a point in looking at freezeframe data to see what the issue was.

I showed him how to manually power the fuel pump to prove it was indeed running. I also showed him how to short the ASD relay in an effort to see if something was forcing the truck off by ASD. He seemed unaware of either procedure.

I asked that he call the Chrysler helpline given the amount of time he had spent on the vehicle without a solution. He has declined to call support and now wants to change the fuel pump "incase it isn't getting enough power". He refused to connected a pressure meter to the service port to see what psi of fuel is being provided. Even if the 7.6 volts is an issue, its present without the pump connected so certainly doesn't make me suspect the pump is causing the low voltage.

I've declined authorization for the pump and it is my intention to move the vehicle to a different dealership and start over. I don't feel starting to swap parts without first connecting the computer is a great idea.

The most obvious cause to me would be an immobilizer issue. I've tried both keys with the same result. There is no indication on the dash security light of a problem. There is no "check engine" light either.

The truck runs the same amount of time after it starts whether you idle, rev the engine or put it in gear and drive. It then stops the same way each time.

We've tried holding the key in the "start" position incase its a run position issue with the keyfob. However, the truck still stops and then simply restarts when the key is held there.

Has anyone seen a similar issue in such a new model ram 1500? I feel its the PCM shutting the truck down for some reason as opposed to an actual failed fuel pump / relay, etc. Even when I manually power the pump, the truck runs the same amount of time and stops.

Even if we assume I somehow damaged the fuel pump with a rough ride, the issue should have shown up immediately, not only the next day. In my mind if the pump is weak, the truck should idle fine but stall due to lack of fuel under a load condition. There was no warning of the issue and no symptoms of "getting worse" leading to this failure - it was simply instant.

At the moment we are $800 into the first dealerships failure to diagnose, plus a $500 towing fee to get the next dealership. Plus, the cost to diagnose and repair once there. Any suggestions from anyone who has seem something similar are more than welcome. I suspect its a rare but rather simple issue once you know whats causing it!

 

Does the truck immediately restart, and then run for the same amount of time, and die?

I would contest the 8 hour labor charge..... he hasn't even done basic troubleshooting... did he EVER plug a computer into it? If not, he is not doing his job properly.

 

The truck does restart. He says he plugged the computer in when he first saw the truck to read stored codes.

 

And did it have anything interesting to say?

That sounds a lot like a failing security system, or something similar.