Batteries toast again…

[pinco]

My 3 year old X2 AGM 94R batteries are struggling to start, and don’t with the grid heater in the cold .
They’re still under warranty for another year but batteries plus wants me to bring them in for a load test (must be charged). I tested one with my own actron load tester and the result was “weak”, which is marginal. I’m hoping that “weak” is enough for their own load testing process. Weak + Grid heater = click/no start.

ChatGPT told me that the ram 3500 6.7l has upped their battery requirements from H7 to H8 ? Is this the case? Does anyone know. I’ll upgrade if I can fit an H8 in there I guess.

Thanks!

 

[unclelala]

I’ll upgrade if I can fit an H8 in there I guess.

I was thinking of doing the same thing. Doing a quick google search it seems that a little mod of the tray and strapping
is necessary but according to most is not that difficult to do.

 

[RamCares]

Hi there, @pinco!

If you're looking for any support regarding your battery replacement let us know. We'd be happy to work alongside you and your dealer if desired.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[stillhere]

isn't "weak" more related to state of charge than it is health of the battery?

 

[pinco]

isn't "weak" more related to state of charge than it is health of the battery?

No, it’s the result of a load test

Hi there, @pinco!

If you're looking for any support regarding your battery replacement let us know. We'd be happy to work alongside you and your dealer if desired.

Hannah
Ram Cares

i appreciate you Hannah.
What can I do to eliminate replacing so many batteries? My truck was new in 3/2020. I just put my 3rd battery set in the truck. The stock batteries are not nearly powerful enough, especially for cold starts with the grid heater. I love my ram BUT:

* Stock Nexen tires exploded on me at less than 10k, nobody cared….i still have one that I kept, can I get reimbursed? $1800 out the window.

* WiFi never worked and At&T continued to bill me anyway. It was escalated with no result. I gave up

* Batteries …..

 

[stillhere]

Assume you ran that test after having full charged them on an appropriate charger with it set to AGM battery type? Are you testing with both batteries hooked up or one at a time?

I recently put an X2 in my 6.4L HEMI. One thing I've noticed is that the onboard computer never seems to want to charge them to actual full charge. I only see it get to about 12.5-12.6 volts. Pretty sure full charge is more like 13v for an AGM.

 

[stillhere]

I was thinking of doing the same thing. Doing a quick google search it seems that a little mod of the tray and strapping
is necessary but according to most is not that difficult to do.

I was thinking about doing this on my 6.4 HEMI as well. Wonder if I can just cut off the side of the tray closest to the firewall to allow for the extra width of an H8 and then just rig up an additional strap to hold it from sliding back and forth.

 

[AH64ID]

How long does your truck sit between days it’s driven?

Do you always allow for the full WTS? You can bypass it if you do, which is good for the batteries and alternator. Above 10°F the grid heater is for emissions and below 10°F it’s still on for much longer than needed.

 

[HarryN]

I am not sure where you are located, but I have been adding a small solar trickle charger to all of my vehicles.

 

[stillhere]

This is a good idea my last truck I had 135 watts of solar.

I have 170 watts going into this truck once it warms up enough to install. That will solve all my issues for sure.

 

[pinco]

Assume you ran that test after having full charged them on an appropriate charger with it set to AGM battery type? Are you testing with both batteries hooked up or one at a time?

I recently put an X2 in my 6.4L HEMI. One thing I've noticed is that the onboard computer never seems to want to charge them to actual full charge. I only see it get to about 12.5-12.6 volts. Pretty sure full charge is more like 13v for an AGM.

Yes, fully charged, with batteries disconnected. The one that read “weak” was replaced for free after it failed their test.

 

[stillhere]

Nice. That’s good you got a replacement.

I’m curious as to what’s cooking batteries in these trucks.

 

[pinco]

How long does your truck sit between days it’s driven?

Do you always allow for the full WTS? You can bypass it if you do, which is good for the batteries and alternator. Above 10°F the grid heater is for emissions and below 10°F it’s still on for much longer than needed.

I never tried bypassing the WTS, and I’m glad you mentioned trying that. The truck is always on a Noco 5amp AGM trickle charger when it sits for more than 2-3 days. I usually plug in the block heater when it’s cold but sometimes forget. Turns out just one of the batteries was bad, and they replaced it for nothing which makes them worth the purchase price.

 

[HarryN]

This is a good idea my last truck I had 135 watts of solar.

I have 170 watts going into this truck once it warms up enough to install. That will solve all my issues for sure.

Are you running accessories off of the starter battery pack ? For example a fuel heater, refrigerator, fans, etc ?

 

[motorhead426]

I never tried bypassing the WTS, and I’m glad you mentioned trying that. The truck is always on a Noco 5amp AGM trickle charger when it sits for more than 2-3 days. I usually plug in the block heater when it’s cold but sometimes forget. Turns out just one of the batteries was bad, and they replaced it for nothing which makes them worth the purchase price.

Do you typical only change them 1 at a time? I've always been told that with a multi battery setup you should change them all at once. So if you replace one when its weak and the other is "good" (maybe 80% is good?) then you install a new battery with the old "good" battery. This tends to weaken the system by the old battery feeding off the new one... and the cycle continues. Any opinions on this? Or, maybe you are changing them in pairs...

 

[motorhead426]

Assume you ran that test after having full charged them on an appropriate charger with it set to AGM battery type? Are you testing with both batteries hooked up or one at a time?

I recently put an X2 in my 6.4L HEMI. One thing I've noticed is that the onboard computer never seems to want to charge them to actual full charge. I only see it get to about 12.5-12.6 volts. Pretty sure full charge is more like 13v for an AGM.

This comment made me start to think a bit.

I have a NOCO charger in my garage for the generator and it has a specific mode for each type of battery. I also have a NOCO just for flooded batteries. It made me wonder, "does the truck need to know what kind of battery it is?" Can anyone explain to me why different types of batteries need a different method of charging? I bet the truck is just going by what the factory battery type is and isn't giving the AGM its full potential. I put an AGM in my wifes van about a year ago and starting to wonder if this is going to be a problem.

 

[stillhere]

I’ve attempted to research this and have found no conclusive evidence that these trucks have a BMS config for battery type. My Ford and BMW did but still in search of whether this ram does.

 

[stillhere]

Are you running accessories off of the starter battery pack ? For example a fuel heater, refrigerator, fans, etc ?

I have a LFP battery, inverter and 12v fridge in the bed that is charged via a DC to DC charger off the starter battery. I'm debating whether the solar setup will go directly to the LFP battery or the starter battery...or if I split the solar and run part to the starter battery and part to the LFP. The latter will be the only way I can keep the starter battery topped off unless I hook it up to a charger when parked but that's just not practical for me.

 

[AH64ID]

This comment made me start to think a bit.

I have a NOCO charger in my garage for the generator and it has a specific mode for each type of battery. I also have a NOCO just for flooded batteries. It made me wonder, "does the truck need to know what kind of battery it is?" Can anyone explain to me why different types of batteries need a different method of charging? I bet the truck is just going by what the factory battery type is and isn't giving the AGM its full potential. I put an AGM in my wifes van about a year ago and starting to wonder if this is going to be a problem.

Different charge profiles are based on internal resistance of different battery types being different.

The charge profile in the trucks will work for flooded and AGM batteries, so nothing to worry about about there.

I have a LFP battery, inverter and 12v fridge in the bed that is charged via a DC to DC charger off the starter battery. I'm debating whether the solar setup will go directly to the LFP battery or the starter battery...or if I split the solar and run part to the starter battery and part to the LFP. The latter will be the only way I can keep the starter battery topped off unless I hook it up to a charger when parked but that's just not practical for me.

Hook it up to the starting battery and continue to use the DC-DC charger for the bed battery.

 

[stillhere]

Hook it up to the starting battery and continue to use the DC-DC charger for the bed battery.

I considered this...just depends on how much I drive to keep the LFP full in the summer when running the fridge. I could also hook it up such that I can quick toggle the solar input to LFP vs. starter batt.