I have a Dodge ram 1500 outdoorsman four-wheel-drive 2016 model I’ve had no problems until now I added some speakers to the back and was going to add a subwoofer so I ran a mainline to the battery terminal I didn’t use a remote switch I just had a toggle switch to turn the power off however it drained my battery and I had to jump it off so I went to buy a new battery after buying the battery which was under warranty I was still having electrical issues it is now gone from having a battery light on my truck to a check engine light to just about every light you can imagine my dashboard looks like a Christmas tree I was told it’s this so-called TPim. So I pulled out this unit and found six plugs which I plugged back in and now one of the plugs apparently is not working correctly because either it’s just blowing fuses or not showing power can you tell me what I need to do I will say that I just found your site and before I had a chance to look at your YouTube video on how to check shorts in a truck or vehicle which by the way I have not done yet being that it’s 11 o’clock at night I’m gonna try that in the morning but I have a TP I am on the way to me as I’m assuming I have a shorted TP I am and something got screwed up in there can you give me your thoughts
You need to wire a relay into that line from the battery with the switch. If you change that tpim and there are still issues like this im guessing your alternator got fried or something. Usually the first thing my mind thinks after anyone says Christmas tree on the dash all of the sudden.
This is a scenario I've seen many times over the years. The sub woofers are high current devices (400W / 12VDC = 33 amps) which sucked the life out of your battery as your alternator probably couldn't keep up with the current demand (you were running your vehicle while playing your sound system - right?). When you jump started your vehicle, you probably jumped a running vehicle to your battery and started your vehicle...this leads to both vehicles running together and two alternators running against each other at the same time. Alternators do NOT put out pure DC like a battery. In fact, the battery acts like a capacitor to smooth out the ripple to be a smooth DC output. But a dead battery cannot do this hardly at all. With two alternators running together, the voltage spikes can damage the alternator rectifiers, which may fail immediately or days, weeks or even months later.
The fix? Check all of your power connections from the alternator, battery, and the engine to frame ground strap. Also check the ground connection to your sub-woofer amp(s). Physically remove and clean the ground connections with a wire brush. As suggested, use an automotive relay to turn your amp's on and off.
Next, replace the battery and the alternator together. (one can cause the other to fail). Most alternators today have integral regulators. If yours has a separate regulator, replace that as well. If you want to continue to use your sub woofers at high power, consider a bigger alternator.
