2022 Mega 3500, Loud droning noise on highway

[coolspringsfarm]

Just picked up my 2022 Mega 3500 Limited yesterday at Mark Dodge. Drove home 490 miles. At highway speeds (65-80 MPH), the truck has an aggravating and extremely LOUD droning noise in the cab. Was so bad, I had to stop once to take a break from it. The drone also happened once at an off ramp when stopped at a stop sign. I ran through all the trouble shooting I could. A/C, exhaust brake, tow/haul on/off with no change. Under throttle load is where it steadily happens. At 80 MPH on interstate, I shifted to Neutral and let it coast for 20 seconds. Went Cadillac quiet and when I shifted back into Drive and reset cruise, it came right back. Not the tires. Transmission temps steady at 167. I searched forums and saw cab mounts, torque converter, exhaust hangars, seat belts, seats and other possibilities. Anyone have a direction they could point me in to troubleshoot? Sure hope I can isolate as the droning noise is unbearable. Thanks

 

[SilverRam22]

My 03 had a bad ring and pinion set up from the factory. Would make a loud whining noise unless it wasn't under load. Dealership replaced it under warranty once they took a drive with me. Just a thought.

 

[gimmie11s]

Sounds drivetrain related. Ring and pinion or unbalanced drive shaft?

Is there any vibration with the drone?

 

[coolspringsfarm]

Sounds drivetrain related. Ring and pinion or unbalanced drive shaft?

Is there any vibration with the drone?

There doesn't appear to be any vibrations. I'm a Heli pilot and pretty keen on picking up weird vibrations. I placed my hands all over the dash/door/seats. Didn't feel anything abnormal. Just a loud drone. Will keep driving it and try to isolate.

 

[coolspringsfarm]

My 03 had a bad ring and pinion set up from the factory. Would make a loud whining noise unless it wasn't under load. Dealership replaced it under warranty once they took a drive with me. Just a thought.

Will take to dealer. Dreading that more than getting wisdom teeth pulled!

 

[gimmie11s]

Will take to dealer. Dreading that more than getting wisdom teeth pulled!

Totally agree. Dealer is last resort, my friend. Do your damndest to try and figure it out yourself first, then escalate to a repeatable dealer if the repair requires that.

 

[SilverRam22]

Will take to dealer. Dreading that more than getting wisdom teeth pulled!

Yeah i know. They always come back with it "seems normal". I pulled the rear driveline on my 03 and drove it in front wheel drive carefully to see. Not sure i would recommend it on a new truck with all the technology or even tell the dealer you did it nowadays. But its an option.

 

[LateToTheParty]

Malfunctioning ANC?

 

[Firebird]

Malfunctioning ANC?

That was my thought too. Bad frame dampers possibly too?

 

[coolspringsfarm]

Malfunctioning ANC?

I wondered that also. No way to isolate as it is default on. I tried to lower all four windows a little at a time to see if there was a change....nothing. I fly with Bose ANC helmet and you can really tell when they are turned off. My gut says it's an exhaust or engine clamp/mount that is resonating through the entire chassis. Could be tranny or diiferential. Really no noticeable vibrations, just a loud, low freq droning noise. Will work up the courage to go to dealer and begin those shenanigans.

 

[LateToTheParty]

I wondered that also. No way to isolate as it is default on. I tried to lower all four windows a little at a time to see if there was a change....nothing. I fly with Bose ANC helmet and you can really tell when they are turned off. My gut says it's an exhaust or engine clamp/mount that is resonating through the entire chassis. Could be tranny or diiferential. Really no noticeable vibrations, just a loud, low freq droning noise. Will work up the courage to go to dealer and begin those shenanigans.

Actually you can remove the fuse then go for a drive to test out the theory. You won't have radio until you put the fuse back, but it is a quick and easy test.

 

[dslbrnr]

Mine had a bad drone, especially under power through the gears. Crawled under the truck and found the heat shield above the exhaust making contact with the cab. Just bent it away so it didn't make any contact. Very thin and easy to bend. While I was under I also found the plate under the DEF tank rattled when I tapped on it. Removed the two bolts and stuck some small pieces of foam between the plate and bolted it back on. Noise gone but not sure which fixed it.
Wouldn't hurt to crawl under and take a look!

 

[coolspringsfarm]

I pulled fuse F71 (ANC/AMP) to see if it was blown. It wasn't, but I was very suprised how easy it was to pull out. I checked all fuses and I'd say over 90% of them were not pushed all the way in. I reinstalled the fuse and then started the truck up. The radio did a funky noise (I think ANC doing self test/recalibrating maybe?) and then settled in. Took for a 30 mile drive and I believe it may be fixed. Never heard the droning again at speed or at idle. Still going to climb under truck and check everything I can to see if anything is loose. Thanks for all the input. Hope I have no more troubles.

 

[gimmie11s]

Dang, good call on the ANC! I wouldn't have guessed that.

 

[love2build]

I pulled fuse F71 (ANC/AMP) to see if it was blown. It wasn't, but I was very suprised how easy it was to pull out. I checked all fuses and I'd say over 90% of them were not pushed all the way in. I reinstalled the fuse and then started the truck up. The radio did a funky noise (I think ANC doing self test/recalibrating maybe?) and then settled in. Took for a 30 mile drive and I believe it may be fixed. Never heard the droning again at speed or at idle. Still going to climb under truck and check everything I can to see if anything is loose. Thanks for all the input. Hope I have no more troubles.

I checked all my fuses under the hood in both places (have aux) and I was absolutely stunned that everything was about 1/8+” out of its socket. There was a definitive click when I pushed everything back into place. Wild…

 

[jetrinka]

I’ve read this business of loose fuses in multiple threads so I went out and checked all mine. I definitely got a decent 1/32nd of an inch out of each one but I certainly wouldn’t call it loose. Certainly not enough to cause any connection problems

 

[Dmacmilitant]

I think I have the same issue. Almost sounds like a little bit of bass coming from the stereo. It’s not all the time and tonight I realized that if I open the driver door just a little bit, the drone completely goes away, so it must be the ANC.

I’ll try the fuse solution tomorrow and see if that helps.

Has yours remained fixed since messing with the fuse?

 

[JimKIII]

I pulled fuse F71 (ANC/AMP) to see if it was blown. It wasn't, but I was very suprised how easy it was to pull out. I checked all fuses and I'd say over 90% of them were not pushed all the way in. I reinstalled the fuse and then started the truck up. The radio did a funky noise (I think ANC doing self test/recalibrating maybe?) and then settled in. Took for a 30 mile drive and I believe it may be fixed. Never heard the droning again at speed or at idle. Still going to climb under truck and check everything I can to see if anything is loose. Thanks for all the input. Hope I have no more troubles.

This forum is a wonderful place to learn from those who have been there!

 

[Dmacmilitant]

It’s definitely the ANC on my truck. Pulled the fuse (which also takes out the whole stereo) and the droning noise is gone. Put the fuse back in and the noise is back. Sometimes it gets really loud. I can feel the bass rumbling from the subwoofer and the vibrations run throughout the truck. Hmmm, not sure where to go from here. It does seem to go away once I start driving and turning the stereo on.

I have the 17 speaker HK system by the way.

 

[Erik]

It’s definitely the ANC on my truck. Pulled the fuse (which also takes out the whole stereo) and the droning noise is gone. Put the fuse back in and the noise is back. Sometimes it gets really loud. I can feel the bass rumbling from the subwoofer and the vibrations run throughout the truck. Hmmm, not sure where to go from here. It does seem to go away once I start driving and turning the stereo on.

I have the 17 speaker HK system by the way.

same issue confirmed by pulling fuse with my 4 day old 2500 Laramie. Also have a blue screen for my cargo camera with no zoom on the back up cam. Excellent COVID quality control, THANKS RAM!!