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2024 Tailgate Release w/ out 12VDC

TW720HVY

TW720HVY

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Long story short, I damaged my 2024 2500 tailgate, picked up the damaged and newly painted tailgate from the body shop last night. My thought process was to just put the tailgate on without plugging all the wires back into it, since as soon as I got home the new tailgate will be going on after I strip all the latches and wire bundle out of the old damaged tailgate. The tailgate now cannot be removed due to the fact there's no 12VDC power supply to the handle and latches.

After a quick search I learned that the 2024s no longer have the mechanical latch release.

I am hoping someone knows which of the three leads needs power to release the latches. Of course the wire colors at the plug are not the same wire colors at the latches, and I do not want to energize the wrong wire to engage the locking mechanism.

Attaching some photos of the plug and wires....


IMG_2185.jpegIMG_2186.jpegIMG_2187.jpeg
 
Update...

Went to the nearest dealership, and they had no idea how to release the gate. Called the dealership that I bought it from and it appeared this was the first they're hearing of not being able to manually release the 2024+ tail gates.

Worked with a friend and connected 12VDC to every single pin connection and even connected the 4 pin plug on his truck to mine with jumpers. Nothing released the trail gate.

This brings me to a MAJOR concern, I haul horses with gooseneck trailers and if I god for bid get into an accident and lose 12VDC or if some happens to my 12VDC supply I can not unhook from the trailer to get another truck under them, to get off the road or to somewhere safe.

I never thought in a million years I'd be in this position with a pick up truck's tailgate, call me naive or blissfully ignorant. Either way, you haul with a gooseneck or 5th wheel, and there's an electrical issue, you're not getting whatever it is you're pulling off these trucks without the jaws of life.

If I learn how after dropping it off at a different dealership I will post it here.

In the meantime, I am seriously considering looking at the GMC and and Ford to see if they have the same 12VDC tailgate issues. Another thing I could consider is a steel flatbed, but this kind of pisses me off considering I'm $2000 (parts and paint) into replacing this F'ing tailgate.
 
I believe that the latches are activate through a ground signal that is controlled by the body control module. You should be able to remove the access panel from the tailgate and release the latches manually.
 
The two that connect to the tailgate plastic block do not control the tailgate latch. There's a third one that does standalone from the cover. I think my tailgate latch still works without electrical power. I'm going to check it when I get home. I purposely did not hook up the power to it since it's a pain in the butt to me to be able to open and close the tailgate without having a key fob or power on or whatever
 
CdnHO said:
I believe that the latches are activate through a ground signal that is controlled by the body control module. You should be able to remove the access panel from the tailgate and release the latches manually.
Click to expand...

The access panel is off, and there is no longer a manual latch release.

There's two additional wires on the 2024 that's not on years prior truck tailgates, and on the 2024 there's two 20 or 22 gauge wires going to the latches.
 
Great White North Eh said:
I dunno I think your truck is telling you it wants a flatty. Seriously though I hope that you crack the case.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

Here's the real kick in the balls, our 3500 has kissed our horse trailer twice and I mean kissed, both times it required paint-less dent removal. Our tailgate are tissue paper thin! I've been wanting a flatbed for it ever since, just haven't pulled the trigger, had this latest tailgate screw up happened on our 3500 I would've be jumping for joy with a trip to the local CW dealer a days later.

This latest tailgate problem was a result of forgetting I had the tailgate down with a dump trailer attached. The jack went right thought it!
 
TW720HVY said:
Long story short, I damaged my 2024 2500 tailgate, picked up the damaged and newly painted tailgate from the body shop last night. My thought process was to just put the tailgate on without plugging all the wires back into it, since as soon as I got home the new tailgate will be going on after I strip all the latches and wire bundle out of the old damaged tailgate. The tailgate now cannot be removed due to the fact there's no 12VDC power supply to the handle and latches.

After a quick search I learned that the 2024s no longer have the mechanical latch release.

I am hoping someone knows which of the three leads needs power to release the latches. Of course the wire colors at the plug are not the same wire colors at the latches, and I do not want to energize the wrong wire to engage the locking mechanism.

Attaching some photos of the plug and wires....


View attachment 87653View attachment 87654View attachment 87655
Click to expand...
The 2024 latches are the same as the 2019-2025 1500 latches (because they now have the tailgate ajar sensor). They still have a plastic manual release nub, you’re just not looking in the right spot for it. From your pic, it’s on the other side out of view where the arrow is pointing:
IMG_2377.jpeg
 
Yes, a stupid design. Now you go me worried, arrgghh. I did check mine, and sure enough if I lock it with the key fob, the signal is getting thru even though I disconnected what I though was the simple two conductor connector. The white round connector in your photo and X in mine is the camera connection. So the connection for the tailgate electrical latch must be the one I circled. 1752374747980.png
 
Jimmy07 said:
The 2024 latches are the same as the 2019-2025 1500 latches (because they now have the tailgate ajar sensor). They still have a plastic manual release nub, you’re just not looking in the right spot for it. From your pic, it’s on the other side out of view where the arrow is pointing:
View attachment 87700
Click to expand...

Thank you for your help Jimmy, but I am not seeing a latch or release. I took these pictures from the top and do not see the release.
 

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gurdbonk said:
Yes, a stupid design. Now you go me worried, arrgghh. I did check mine, and sure enough if I lock it with the key fob, the signal is getting thru even though I disconnected what I though was the simple two conductor connector. The white round connector in your photo and X in mine is the camera connection. So the connection for the tailgate electrical latch must be the one I circled. View attachment 87709
Click to expand...

That 4 pin connector is what we powered with my friends 2022 and nothing released.
 
CdnHO said:
Not sure if this video helps. Seems easy.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the link, unfortunately ours is a 2024 and those latches are no longer on the newer trucks.

Even had a friend in Missouri who's a Parts Manager for a Ram dealer, and the info he sent me isn't tracking with the VIN and what's coming up on his end.

Dropping it off evening at a dealership in our area for them to troubleshoot this issue. I am out of options and patience at this point in time.
 
Update:

For a moment the dealership thought I had some kind of "aftermarket" latch and asked me if I changed them or if it was in an accident. Told him no, he was on my side and believed me.

He said it's not wiring they've even seen before with that heat shrink.

He also told me they worked on the "old" latches a lot, and the good news is they haven't seen any new trucks come in with tailgate latch issue,s so there's that. But he completely understands my concerns of needing to be able to release the tailgate when I am hauling horses and I lose 12VDC for whatever reason, while I understand the risk is low, but nonetheless it's still a risk.

The Ram technician manually forced the latches open with some kind of metal interior clip tool. I am glad it's open, but I don't need to be on the side of the road trying to figure out how to force it open.

Something to think about if you haul livestock with these newer trucks. Not sure how I am going to handle this going forward, but it's sure as hell going to be a question I ask in the future if I decide to get a new truck.

On a side note, I sold my 2022 2500 to a friend, I really loved that truck. It was throwing an excessive regen code around Christmas and the local dealership said it probably needs a new exhaust filter and that they had trucks waiting months for them. And of course the only diesel tech this N TX dealership had was off for the rest of the year. That freaked me out given how much I use this truck, however my friend didn't have problem with it. Of course he clears the codes and changed the fuel filters with the code to never show up again. Found an awesome deal on this truck at year end and bought it, but it NEVER felt right, in fact I really don't like this truck, and I figured out why today, it has build date of 9/11. I've been in the airline industry since 1996, and my career has been absolute garbage since then. This all makes sense now!
 
I have a 2025 3500. The latches do have a manual release. With tailgate closed, the drivers side latch would be on the forward side of the latch and activated by pushing the lever up. Just have to feel around for it. On the passenger side you will have to pull the tab so you will need a hook ( bent wire) to pull it.

The latch was designed to have pull rods attached but that would cost Ram $0.05 per truck. I have removed the latches, installed said rods and reinstalled them.
 
ToddS said:
I have a 2025 3500. The latches do have a manual release. With tailgate closed, the drivers side latch would be on the forward side of the latch and activated by pushing the lever up. Just have to feel around for it. On the passenger side you will have to pull the tab so you will need a hook ( bent wire) to pull it.

The latch was designed to have pull rods attached but that would cost Ram $0.05 per truck. I have removed the latches, installed said rods and reinstalled them.
Click to expand...

So, does this mean this latch is only on 2024s?

If some want to look, I'd like to know what everyone learns.

Meanwhile, both my friend and current dealership has this reference come up with my VIN...

1226088233727912396.jpeg
 
That photo is not at all like my latch. I will try to post a photo tomorrow.

I do not think they operate on 12 volts. Tried to open gate by applying power to connector and ended up frying both latches. Had to purchase new replacements. $92 each.
 
ToddS said:
That photo is not at all like my latch. I will try to post a photo tomorrow.

I do not think they operate on 12 volts. Tried to open gate by applying power to connector and ended up frying both latches. Had to purchase new replacements. $92 each.
Click to expand...

That doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy, we tried the same thing and got a humming noise at the latch. Did yours make any noise?
 
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