'19 6.4 Hemi, lost coolant and now only clicks at the fuse box

[bvnewton98]

Daughter was driving, stopped at stop sign and simultaneously she said the engine temp light came on the dash (lit up red) then immediately, it began to count down and then it stopped. towed to dealership and they immediately said that it required a "Radiator, starter, complete engine", for a cost of 17K. I talked to the mechanic, and he told me that the engine still rotates, but it wasn't easy.
I read one post where another 2500 owner had the same issue. He replaced the starter, and the engine fired right up!
at any rate, I wanted to get an opinion and learn from some of you. This is my first Ram, actually, it's my Army retirement truck, so trading it is not an option.
he is what it is doing:
When you push the button, there is a click in the fuse/relay box only. nothing at the starter, only a click on the box itself.

any help.....AND I MEAN ANYTHING WILL BE APPRECIATED!

 

[Rowdy Dalton]

Much more complicated. It sounds like either your water pump blew, head gasket blew, or there was a leak in the cooling system somewhere. This could cause it to overheat. Is there coolant left, any? Where was it lost from? I would take it to another mechanic and have them scope the cylinders. That will tell a lot. The engine might be locked up, and toast, which would be why the starter won't turn over.
In any case, when your engine shows it is overheating, pull over and stop immediately, or this can and will happen. Keep us posted.

 

[dreamalaska]

Any Extended Warranty or no? If not, research to find a reliable shop (through friends, yelp, google, etc) that can give you an honest opinion. Yes, you’ll have to cover towing it over to a different shop, but unless you’re absolutely sure what the dealer is telling you is true, for $17K it’s definitely worth a second opinion. BTW, what do that dealer’s online independent reviews look like? That’s a good place to start to determine their veracity. I have seen numerous posts where the starters in these have a sad failure rate - today’s truck parts aren’t what they were back in the day. As always, IMO, YMMV.