I just bought an '85 Ram Cummins 3500 a couple months ago. I love the old truck, but I'm still getting use to some of its little quirks. I accidentally locked the wheel after the truck was parked and shut off. It is SO TOUGH to unlock, that I can't do it by myself. It sat about 48 hours before I worked up the nerve to ask a neighbor to help. Well, we got it unlocked and the wheel free, but the battery is DEAD. Absolutely nothing, not even a dome light! I jumped it for about 5 minutes (not long enough) with my neighbors car. The best I could get out of it was the interior lights on and the "click, click, click" noise. Any ideas? It's never shown ANY issues with the battery, not even in 30 something degree temps. Is it even possible for the wheel locking to drain a battery like that?

 

Nope. The steering wheel lock won't have any effect on draining the battery, and I have no idea why it would be hard to unlock.

 

Thank you for your response. I'm going to call AAA in the morning and have them test the battery. I just can't figure out what could have possibly drained the battery that badly! Hopefully it's just the battery and not something else! Maybe I SHOULD look into why it is soooo hard to unlock. It's happened several times now and if I'm alone, I'm up a creek without a paddle! Thanks again!

 

My 98 sometimes doesn't turn off completely when I turn key to lock position, leaving a drain on the battery. I have learned to always wiggle the key to make sure it is off. If your battery was discharged to the dead position it will probably need to be charged beofre starting. The diesel engines require a lot of voltage to crank the engine.

 

By the way diesels should have 2 batteries.