less than a year old and dead battery?

[Electronut]

Well I feel better finding this post because my new 2022 2500 Laramie with only 7600 miles and 8 months old had battery go completely dead tonight. When I went to start everything went bonkers. Battery was getting warm and smelled like rotton eggs too nNot a daily driver so always keep on a Battery Tender.

I was heading to the motorcycle track this weekend (today actually) and couldn't jerk around waiting to take to the dealer so went to Advanced Auto and bought a Die Hard Platinum AGM. Set me back almost $300 but hoping dealer does something here under warranty. I kept the battery and didn't turn in for the core refund yet so can present it. Battery looks like it had a bad cell when tested at AA. Showed OK voltage but practically no cranking amps. I have their report too that I can show the dealer.

What was interesting is that my voltage always hovered between 14.4 to 14.6v when running which I thought was high. Shutdown voltage too which was around 13.1 to 13.3v. This new Die Hard runs at 14.1 to 14.2 v and when off is at 12.7v which is more like normal. So I think there was definitely something wrong with the original Mopar battery installed in the truck. I also knew this was strange because I had to reconfigure the engine shutoff voltage settings for my Victron DC to DC charger when towing my travel trailer because voltage never got low enough to trigger it to go off so would have depleted the truck battery. I shouldn't have had to made that change at all and was puzzled why the voltage was so high. I thought maybe was just the function of the truck electronics but now I know it was the battery.

I do however have the check engine light on and won't clear on its own and was hoping once voltage regulated it would dissappear but it hasn't. Looks like I will need to have dealer clear as I don't have an OBD device for this truck.

 

[AH64ID]

Well I feel better finding this post because my new 2022 2500 Laramie with only 7600 miles and 8 months old had battery go completely dead tonight. When I went to start everything went bonkers. Battery was getting warm and smelled like rotton eggs too nNot a daily driver so always keep on a Battery Tender.

I was heading to the motorcycle track this weekend (today actually) and couldn't jerk around waiting to take to the dealer so went to Advanced Auto and bought a Die Hard Platinum AGM. Set me back almost $300 but hoping dealer does something here under warranty. I kept the battery and didn't turn in for the core refund yet so can present it. Battery looks like it had a bad cell when tested at AA. Showed OK voltage but practically no cranking amps. I have their report too that I can show the dealer.

What was interesting is that my voltage always hovered between 14.4 to 14.6v when running which I thought was high. Shutdown voltage too which was around 13.1 to 13.3v. This new Die Hard runs at 14.1 to 14.2 v and when off is at 12.7v which is more like normal. So I think there was definitely something wrong with the original Mopar battery installed in the truck. I also knew this was strange because I had to reconfigure the engine shutoff voltage settings for my Victron DC to DC charger when towing my travel trailer because voltage never got low enough to trigger it to go off so would have depleted the truck battery. I shouldn't have had to made that change at all and was puzzled why the voltage was so high. I thought maybe was just the function of the truck electronics but now I know it was the battery.

I do however have the check engine light on and won't clear on its own and was hoping once voltage regulated it would dissappear but it hasn't. Looks like I will need to have dealer clear as I don't have an OBD device for this truck.

Voltage while running is controlled by the ECM. If it’s high it’s because the truck was programmed that way. The batteries won’t drive voltage up, only the ECM can do that.

Not that the OEM batteries are quality, but it’s not uncommon for good batteries to hold above 12.7V without a charge. The 10 year old lifelines in my RV still hold 13.0-13.1V after a couple months of no charge/drain, and those are good batteries. 12.7 is 100% SOC on basic 12V batteries, not all 12V batteries.

What kind of battery tender? Many don’t stop charging when the battery is full, and that shortens battery life.

 

[Electronut]

Voltage while running is controlled by the ECM. If it’s high it’s because the truck was programmed that way.

What kind of battery tender? Many don’t stop charging when the battery is full, and that shortens battery life.

Reputable Deltran Battery Tender. Use on my 2016 Jeep as well that sat for months at a time. Sat entire Summer in fact until now as I will be selling it. Never an issue and still has the original battery.

Deltran has a storage mode once battery is topped off. Signified with it's front LEDs. Also tells you when battery is at over 80% charge.

If it was programmed that way why has it reduced with the new battery? Doesn't add up. Should have remained constant and same voltage the Mopar battery was running at then.

 

[AH64ID]

Reputable Deltran Battery Tender. Use on my 2016 Jeep as well that sat for months at a time. Sat entire Summer in fact until now as I will be selling it. Never an issue and still has the original battery.

Deltran has a storage mode once battery is topped off. Signified with it's front LEDs. Also tells you when battery is at over 80% charge.

If it was programmed that way why has it reduced with the new battery? Doesn't add up. Should have remained constant and same voltage the Mopar battery was running at then.

Per Deltrans FAQ’s the charge voltage never stops, even in storage mode. That’s not great for battery life.

The OEM battery quality has really declined over the last decade, so there is no surprise the 2916 Jeep has better batteries than the 2022 Ram.

Charge voltage varies quite a bit based on battery temp. Are you comparing charge voltage between batteries at the same temp? And same SOC?

How were the connections when you replaced the battery? Was the IBS properly tightened from the factory?

 

[Electronut]

Per Deltrans FAQ’s the charge voltage never stops, even in storage mode. That’s not great for battery life.

The OEM battery quality has really declined over the last decade, so there is no surprise the 2916 Jeep has better batteries than the 2022 Ram.

Charge voltage varies quite a bit based on battery temp. Are you comparing charge voltage between batteries at the same temp? And same SOC?

How were the connections when you replaced the battery? Was the IBS properly tightened from the factory?

So you are telling me Deltran makes and markets their tenders to eventually fail batteries? Doesn't add up. The voltage charge is so low that it's no different than the batteries receiving a constant charge off the alternator and actually a heck of alot less than that even with the tender. Hence why it's a trickle charger. If charge voltage exceeded the batt specs then I would agree with you being an issue if left on for a long period. That's not what Deltran markets and been using for years. 12v lead acid car batteries all work in same voltage parameters. My Jeep battery is OK with the Deltran and not OK with the new Ram? No way man. Battery was clearly bad.

Trucks are in my indoor garage of my home when on tenders. All the connections on the 2500 battery appeared fine.

 

[CdnHO]

Not too sure any of those automatic chargers ever shut down completely since there is always a slight parasitic draw on most newer vehicles. Checked mine the other day after it sat 24 hours and it was drawing 30 milliamps and that has to be replaced at some point. Think I will test that theory with my NOCO on board charger.

 

[Electronut]

Not too sure any of those automatic chargers ever shut down completely since there is always a slight parasitic draw on most newer vehicles. Checked mine the other day after is sat 24 hours and it was drawing 30 milliamps and that has to be replaced at some point. Think I will test that theory with my NOCO on board charger.

Correct. They don't shut down and always push out the nominal voltage. All newer vehicles have draw so why even more important to have on a trickle charger.

 

[AH64ID]

Not too sure any of those automatic chargers ever shut down completely since there is always a slight parasitic draw on most newer vehicles. Checked mine the other day after it sat 24 hours and it was drawing 30 milliamps and that has to be replaced at some point. Think I will test that theory with my NOCO on board charger.

The NOCO's will stop charging when the battery SOC is 100%, they then top the battery off as needed. Even with the draw of the vehicle they will still shut down and not provide a constant charge voltage, which is better for battery life.

So you are telling me Deltran makes and markets their tenders to eventually fail batteries? Doesn't add up.

"The battery was on a tender 24/7, I don't know why it failed" is not an uncommon phrase. Many tenders aren't the best for battery life.

The voltage charge is so low that it's no different than the batteries receiving a constant charge off the alternator and actually a heck of alot less than that even with the tender. Hence why it's a trickle charger. If charge voltage exceeded the batt specs then I would agree with you being an issue if left on for a long period. That's not what Deltran markets and been using for years. 12v lead acid car batteries all work in same voltage parameters. My Jeep battery is OK with the Deltran and not OK with the new Ram? No way man.

Don't confuse voltage with amperage, trickle chargers are low amperage not low voltage. Trickle chargers can apply the same voltage as the alternator would. The difference between an alternator and a trickle charger is that one only works when the engine is running, the trickle charger is 24/7. At this point my batteries have have over 3000 hours of trickle charger time and only 421 alternator hours, that's a substantial difference. Newer vehicles also don't run a constant charge voltage like older ones did, they vary the charge voltage based on battery SOC, temp, and engine run time.

Battery was clearly bad.

Trucks are in my indoor garage of my home when on tenders. All the connections on the 2500 battery appeared fine.

Yes the battery was definitely bad, just pointing out some information about the trucks charge voltage and battery tenders. The bad battery could have easily caused the truck to run a higher charge voltage, but that wouldn't explain the resting voltage of the battery. How long after shutdown where you checking it?

 

[Redfour5]

Well I feel better finding this post because my new 2022 2500 Laramie with only 7600 miles and 8 months old had battery go completely dead tonight. When I went to start everything went bonkers. Battery was getting warm and smelled like rotton eggs too nNot a daily driver so always keep on a Battery Tender.

I was heading to the motorcycle track this weekend (today actually) and couldn't jerk around waiting to take to the dealer so went to Advanced Auto and bought a Die Hard Platinum AGM. Set me back almost $300 but hoping dealer does something here under warranty. I kept the battery and didn't turn in for the core refund yet so can present it. Battery looks like it had a bad cell when tested at AA. Showed OK voltage but practically no cranking amps. I have their report too that I can show the dealer.

What was interesting is that my voltage always hovered between 14.4 to 14.6v when running which I thought was high. Shutdown voltage too which was around 13.1 to 13.3v. This new Die Hard runs at 14.1 to 14.2 v and when off is at 12.7v which is more like normal. So I think there was definitely something wrong with the original Mopar battery installed in the truck. I also knew this was strange because I had to reconfigure the engine shutoff voltage settings for my Victron DC to DC charger when towing my travel trailer because voltage never got low enough to trigger it to go off so would have depleted the truck battery. I shouldn't have had to made that change at all and was puzzled why the voltage was so high. I thought maybe was just the function of the truck electronics but now I know it was the battery.

I do however have the check engine light on and won't clear on its own and was hoping once voltage regulated it would dissappear but it hasn't. Looks like I will need to have dealer clear as I don't have an OBD device for this truck.

Sometimes you get a good one, like the six year old one in my Renegade in Montana including two years at 41 below zero and weeks each year in the double digits below, that will not die but sure did hate the cold last year is fine in the summer but occasionally you get a bad one... That appears to be your case. I will be changing out the Renegade irrespective here in a month or so and if there was a battery hall of fame, I would submit the OEM one in the Renegade to it.

 

[CdnHO]

Not too sure any of those automatic chargers ever shut down completely since there is always a slight parasitic draw on most newer vehicles. Checked mine the other day after it sat 24 hours and it was drawing 30 milliamps and that has to be replaced at some point. Think I will test that theory with my NOCO on board charger.

Yesterday I got a chance to test my theory on my 2021 Longhorn and have got to admit @AH64ID was right; at least as far as the NOCO on-board chargers are concerned. The battery was pretty well fully charged to start with. I had to start the truck to turn it around in order to reach a 120 volt outlet for the NOCO charger. So starting the truck did take some out of the batteries. I locked all the doors and tripped the hood latch to insure nothing would be drawing current. I also placed my fob about 50 feet from the truck. I used two Fluke meters. One meter to measure the current going into the batteries from the NOCO and another to monitor the battery voltage. See the photo attached that was taken toward the end of the test. I inserted an adaptor into the NOCO fuse holder for the current measurment connected to the Fluke 87.

Initially the NOCO charged at a rate of 4 amps as the battery voltage started to rise as was expected. After a few hours the current dropped to 400 milliamps and and stayed there as the voltage rose slowly to around 13.6 volts. This took several hours. I tried to keep and eye on it every hour or so. At some point the the NOCO shut down and the battery voltage slowly dropped as it was no longer receiving a charge. I also noted the current meter was showing a negative .23 milliamps (a tiny amount); presumably due to the battery monitoring circuit in the NOCO. I aslo noted that as soon as I touched the door handle, the current produced by the NOCO shot up to 400 milliamps presumably because I woke up one or more modules. Not sure how much the battery voltage dropped as it was getting late but probably stabilized at a nominal voltage.

 

[Will_T]

I also placed my fob about 50 feet from the truck.

I had an issue when I first got the truck in that the fob was continually communicating with the truck and waking up the dash lights even though the fob was stored about 100' from the truck. Put the fobs in a faraday pouch and that stopped. I still use a tender at home whenever the truck is going to be parked for more than a day though. When on a trip I do not take the tender but use the pouches. Have not had any further issues with the battery being drained. If parked while camping, I do try to remember to start the truck every few days if not using it.

 

[flan]

My buddies ram 1500 with the Hemi/etorque wouldn’t start the other am at work, just a click. I asked if oem battery and that was a yes. Quick jump start and off he went for a replacement. He was surprised it was needed already but I explained the lousy quality everyone had been having lately. It was the first am in the upper 40s this season so far as well. I imagine there will be a rash of these posts popping up within the next month or so as the northern states begin to cool off. I know my number is close to being pulled.

 

[Jeff1759]

Same experience here. While camping, around 8-9k miles, 8 months, and dead battery on a holiday weekend.
Replaced battery at my own expense as dealer rubbed me the wrong way on warranty process.
I do the same as Will_T...faraday pouch at home and while camping, battery connected to tender when truck is parked for awhile.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Regarding the fobs waking up the dash lights/ truck, Is it a higher end trim level or tech package? Must have proximity entry or something, correct?

 

[CdnHO]

Regarding the fobs waking up the dash lights/ truck, Is it a higher end trim level or tech package? Must have proximity entry or something, correct?

Not sure how the fob and truck interact or how frequently. When I was doing the testing, the fob was a considerable distance away. My truck has proximity entry and just touching the door handle (without opening the door) significatnly increased the draw on the battery to 400 milliamps. I would think if the truck was just sitting for a considerable length of time, any constant interaction between the fob and truck would eventually have a significant drain on the batteries. Not that it would kill them to the point of not starting but the constant cycling of discharge and charge would shorten the life of the batteries. Perhaps a truck that is used every day would have batteries that last longer. This would only apply to trucks with the proximity entry feature. Just my theory.

 

[AH64ID]

Regarding the fobs waking up the dash lights/ truck, Is it a higher end trim level or tech package? Must have proximity entry or something, correct?

Both my 18 and 22 have had proximity entry. The 22 doesn't care if the key fob is kept outside the truck 10-20' away, but the 18 seemed to "notice" it more. The 18 also randomly made computer noises when parked, even if the key fob was in a different building.

On the 18 keyless go with proximity entry was an option, its standard on my 22.

 

[Electronut]

After shutdown where you checking it?

Not with a multimeter. However after running and powering off the dash said the voltage would be between 13.2 to 13.4v which was high. This new AGM Die Hard battery has a resting 12.7 to 12.8v so on the money.

I know I had a bad battery since the truck being new because my voltages were off. Just took a little while for one of the cells to finally fail, having no CCA power putting me in this state.

Dealer said they would make it right and replace the battery no problem but now I'm thinking do I really want that crap standard Mopar lead acid in the truck anyway? I just upgraded to this Die Hard Platinum AGM which is a much better battery but now I'm out $300 of my own money which I didn't have to be since dealer said will cover under warranty. Decisions.. decisions. Wondering if I should eat this cost now.

Also, the check engine light did clear itself on its own on my longer drive down to the motorcycle track. Just took a bit for the truck electronics to realize the voltages were back in proper range so no diagnostics code tool was necessary to clear.

I also did spring for the NOCO 10 amp charger for the peace of mind for healthier battery maintenance so appreciate that model being brought up in this thread. This truck is not a daily driver and especially with Winter coming it will be in the garage.

 

[phatboy64]

Not sure how the fob and truck interact or how frequently. When I was doing the testing, the fob was a considerable distance away. My truck has proximity entry and just touching the door handle (without opening the door) significatnly increased the draw on the battery to 400 milliamps. I would think if the truck was just sitting for a considerable length of time, any constant interaction between the fob and truck would eventually have a significant drain on the batteries. Not that it would kill them to the point of not starting but the constant cycling of discharge and charge would shorten the life of the batteries. Perhaps a truck that is used every day would have batteries that last longer. This would only apply to trucks with the proximity entry feature. Just my theory.

Strange. I always keep my second fob in the center console compartment and never take it out. I have done his on my 2014 Longhorn and now on my 2023 Limited. This summer I let the truck sit about six weeks while I was out of town and had no issues with the battery when I returned. I would think that if the fob was constantly communicating with the truck when is close proximity the fob battery would be dead.

 

[Redfour5]

Bad thing I've found out about the shops and their new fancy equipment is they are mainly button pushers. Hook up the machine, get it running, then come back later and see if the machine found a fault.
I had a miss in a motor one day. Took it to a dealer. Next day they return the car and said they couldn't find anything. I could feel the miss when driving.
Called another dealer. Asked if they technicians or button pushers. Manager said they had techs, so I took the car to them.
Next day I get a call that it has a bad coil. Said the machine couldn't detect it, but the tech could see it when he was watching the scope.
Never went back to the first dealer for any work.

"Bad thing I've found out about the shops and their new fancy equipment is they are mainly button pushers." My 2015 Outdoorsman with 70K miles started stopping on the highway at 65 mph pulling a trailer in like May of 2021, no codes, just a message to shut it down while its still coasting and restart it. Only occasionally, so I guess I was OK. I took it into the dealership and they had it three days and couldn't figure it out and needed to keep it until a technician came in in about two weeks. I called my old friend back in Indiana who had been a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep...blah blah technican for like 30 years. On the phone he goes, its in the starter system. It's most likely this part but if not, they need to work their way up the system... He asked if I had a bunch of keys on my keychain I was like Mea Culpa. He said get em off. So, I go tell the techs at my dealership and they say they still have to wait for the "guy" from FCA/Stellantis, whomever they are now. And then the salesman shows up and says hey, we will give you 29K for your truck with 70K miles on it. And I say, you mean the one you would only give me 17K for 9 months earlier? He says yes, and I said, done deal and got a new one. It was marked up, but still with the trade equity, I made out like a bandit.

So, yes, the new guys can't find their behinds with both hands unless the computer tells them where its located and what to do. I wonder how they wipe their bottoms... My guy, friend back in Indy grew up having to figure out what was going on and fix it. I have to wonder what is going to happen to the world if the computers don't have the answers. Oh, my friend is now retired and the dealership he worked for has him on speed dial and call him up paying him for his time upon occasion....