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Wide body won't start

7K views 49 replies 16 participants last post by  DodgeCares 
#1 ·
Hey guys, not sure if y’all have run into this problem but just tried to get into my car and start it and it wouldn’t do anything. The display said push the key fob to the actual push button and when I did that it made funny noises through the speaker system. It is set in the run position with a light on and will not cut off even though the car is not on and there’s no lights on the dash. The only light showing Is the run button and all the lights on the shifter. I’m unable to get into the trunk to look at the battery. Have you guys had this trouble before and what was the culprit? And how does one get into the truck if the battery is there but it will not pop due to no power?
 
#3 ·
Thanks . Yeah I went thru back seat and popped trunk. Checked the battery and it’s at 8.4 volts. Def low but not sure why. I have 2700 miles on the car.
To answer your other question, at first it would go back to off, then after touching the fob to button and pressing, it just stayed on run and wouldn’t change to off or acc. I also noticed leaving it alone that the shifter lit up on all gears in red and a little later went white. I unplugged negative on battery and haven’t hooked it up yet.
 
#4 ·
"The battery languished and died during the chip shortage" would be my guess. A lot of batteries spend months doing nothing when they usually would have spent a few weeks. Lead-Acid cheap batteries don't like that at all. my old top-of-the-line Die Hard died flat dead after sitting in my old truck for about one month, and it was relatively new.
 
#5 ·
Would it even have done that if I drive the car to to three times a week? I literally was just in it two days ago after washing it and cleaning the interior. And I usually drive it at least twice a week sometimes three. I mean I guess that is possible because from what I’m reading apparently a lot of the red our cars are having issues with batteries but it still makes no sense.
 
#6 ·
About 2 1/2 months ago I had went to the grocery store and was in there for about five or six minutes. I’ll come back out and tried to crank it and it did something similar. I waited like 15 seconds and hit the button again and it started right up. I just thought it was a fluke and it hasn’t done it again up until now but this time has gotten or it won’t even crank the car at all.
 
#10 ·
since it’s still under warranty, I’m going to call dealer on Monday and use the warranty that should cover it. I hate to charge it and take it because of the potential of it giving a false 12.4 volts after getting there if the alternator is working properly and they say nothing is wrong.
 
#11 ·
I’ve seen car batteries go bad after 3-5 years. Garage queens are notorious for this and a battery tender may get you closer to the 5yr mark. Check your battery for the production sticker. Should be a month/year sticker somewhere on it. Battery on my Charger went bad after 1 year of ownership. Battery was over 3 years old. Dodge put an older battery on my vehicle.
 
#15 ·
Yeah my brother bought the Redeye I now have and barely drove it. The battery was so dead we couldnt get it to jump start, it was making all the speaker noises, so we took it to autozone had it charged and its always started since, but in my opinion it doesnt seem as strong as it should be. I should take it somewhere and have it checked but with only 900 miles on it and a year old its definitely under warranty. So maybe get it checked and charged really good would be my suggestion.
 
#17 ·
Yeah man- that guy a exactly how mine went down. Mine is def for not driving it. I live in South Carolina and wasn’t no way I wasn’t driving this past winter especially it being just a few months old. It’s got 2700 miles on it.
jusy sucks it would have to go bad but n July 4th weekend! Ugh

Speaking of: happy 4th of July to everyone; especially our vets!
 
#20 ·
All right let’s see if you guys have an answer for this. Yesterday I checked it with The negative cable unhooked and it was reading 8.4 V. I have not reattached the cable and let it sit until just a few minutes ago and check the battery voltage and it was 10.6 V. Maybe I’m missing something but how does battery voltage go up just sitting there if there hasn’t been no charge put on it or anything done to it?
 
#21 ·
First, what I would do before going through the trouble of bringing it to the dealer is to do what the dealer would likely do, give it a good charge. Give it a slow charge overnight or until it indicates full charge, probably best with the neg cable off. If the problem recurs, then go to the dealer as a last resort. Then the dealer will probably do the same thing and you will get the same result. After that, the troubleshooting will start.

Re: increase in V, it is possible that the normal draw on the (mostly dead) bat when it was connected gave you the 8.4, and immediately after removing the neg, it was still about the same. After being disconnected the battery recovered a bit (the juice comes from a chemical reaction). If you reconnect, it would likely go back to 8.4 quickly. I would expect a mostly dead bat to act like this.

Either you have a bad bat or your car is killing the bat. Start first with the bat.
 
#25 ·
Well , this morning I placed neg cable back in thr battery and it dropped immediately to 8.4volts again so def a draw most likely somewhere. Rockster I def get what you are saying with a mild draw when locked but that is a substantial drop in voltage right after attaching cable. ( however when in my garage, I never lock the car so is what you are saying is it pulls more when not locked?)
I put a jump box on it and checked voltage and was hitting 12.4 but as soon as I hit button to start, it started acting crazy again throwing up different messages on dash . I put another jump box that was some stronger and the same thing happened. So I called the dealership and FCA is coming out to pick it up. Dealer said everything would be covered.
 
#29 ·
Well old guy, meet other old guy and I agree lol. I think this old guy has a hard time understanding why you pay 83K for a car and 2700 miles later I am having issues. And yes I know sometimes things just happen for years ago I never had any issues like that.
So here’s an update, took it to the dealer today and when they tried to crank it of course it would not crank or do anything. They checked the voltage and it was reading 4 V. They put it on the charger and charged it for several hours and it cranked right up. The technician said that all the sales and the battery checked out good and there was nothing wrong with it. Of course one of the first questions he asked me was how often I Drive the car and if I wasn’t driving it a lot to put it on a trickle charger. I told him that I drive it a minimum of two times a week and usually for about 20 minutes each time which is more than enough to charge the battery. The only thing I don’t do is lock the car at home which is where it always stays. Like one of the guys on here said, he said the same thing. If it’s not locked it could be drawing some power into always lock it no matter what but he still recommended put it on a trickle charge regardless.
I’m not trying to be obstinate and I’ll do exactly what he said and what you guys have recommended but I guess in my head I have a hard time buying a brand new freaking car and driving it twice a week minimum and still needing to do those recommendations, but I am old guy am back in the day Chevelle’s and Camaros didn’t have all these electronics running everything
 
#30 · (Edited)
Zo6defector:

It's one thing to charge the battery; what was the results of the Load Test after charging?? If it didn't pass a Load Test, you still don't know.

When driving, what is the Voltmeter reading on your Performance Pages??

Do you have a separate Voltmeter you can hook up to the battery terminals under the hood??
 
#33 ·
I ask about the load test the service writer said the technician said it passed with flying colors. I’m a little skeptical of that since I didn’t see it myself so I guess I’m stuck at his word.
As far as my voltage on performance pages, I have paid much attention to it till today after get the car back, but in thr drive back home, it was reading 13.8 consistently.

And yes sir, I do have a voltmeter to check under the hood when needed but nothing can place continuously while driving, but I guarantee I will be glued to the performance pages as well as an external meter.
 
#31 ·
One of the unfortunate and fortunate things about these cars is the computers, and they can't take a joke. If they don't get what they like, they completely puke, full voltage is one example.

In winter I keep the float charger (which is not actually a charger) on it. I did this on my 04 GTO for about 6 years and you never have that winter battery weakness. 20 min driving is not much time, these cars barely warm up in that time. It is possible you could have been consuming more power than replacing. In this case, the float charger would be a good idea. Get a float charger, monitor your voltage, and if it ever drops below 11.8, put a slow charger on it. (I get 12.5 under the hood with the ignition off, and 12.3 in the run position, engine off.)

It is possible your battery is bad, maybe next time you fully charge it or go for a 2 hour trip, let it sit for a couple days then take it to a auto parts store for a load test. If you have a bad bat, make sure you prove it and get replaced before the warranty expires. Good luck!
 
#34 ·
I guess thinking about it I’ve never had a vehicle with this amount of electronics on it And A learning curve in my brain is the fact the car is that sensitive for continuous charging power if 20 minutes in there is not enough driving. That doesn’t compute in my head which I need to get past because apparently with these cars it needs it.
Please forgive my stupidity but I’ve never heard of a float charger, what exactly is a difference between it and a trickle charger or normal charger I guess some people would say?
When I had it on a trickle charger today it was reading 12.4 V in the off position but I never checked it in the run position so that’s some thing I need to do as well so thanks for that tip.
And I will definitely do that here soon, I may this weekend just take it on a trip and then let it sit for a while and take it to a part store and get a check. I really do believe the battery is bad. The service writer stated that if it did it again to bring it back and they would probably just have to put a battery in it at no cost. I wanted to say I want to go and do that now because of the battery drop to 4 V it’s never going to be a full charge consistently,.
 
#32 ·
Change the battery. Yes out of pocket. Easiest battery swap known to man. When that fixes it take it back to the dealer and demand a new Mopar battery. Either return the other one or keep it on a trickle charger as a spare. You got a bad one and I dont trust their diagnosis. I drive mine less that you (once or twice a month) and dont start it between. Never locked. Always starts. You need a battery. Change it yourself.
 
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#35 ·
Slowpoke- i’m with you on that man. I completely agree and honestly it’s like I keep saying, it’s hard for me to fathom having to do all this maintenance even if you don’t drive it that much to keep it started but I’ve never had a machine with as much electronics. I personally think I will be back to the dealership soon for a new battery. I would go out and buy one myself but he did tell me if it does it again that they would just go ahead and put a new one in it.
 
#36 ·
A trickle charger will give you a slow charge. A float charger is not meant to actually charge a drained battery, only to hold it at full charge. I have seen float chargers melt when on a battery that needed a charge. I use the cheapo float charger from Harbor Freight, but that concept horrifies many HC owners, there are a few threads on the high end ones.
 
#42 ·
Don't fret, this is simple:

The dealer already took a shot at fixing it hopefully fully charging it. Now try to drive at least 1-2 times a week for 30+ min (forget the float charger for now).

If the prob recurs, get the dealer to fix. The dealer already tried the easy fix, now he will know to go to the next level.

In winter when you drive it less than once a week, use the float charger.

(Forget the stuff about the key fob.)
 
#47 ·
Hi Zo6defector,
Please feel free to keep us updated regarding your situation. If we can be of any additional support, we're just a PM away.

Rob
Dodge Cares
 
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