2022 6.4 intermittent battery drain.

[DARLAHALL1440]

I have a 2020 RAM Power Wagon soooo appropriately named Beth Dutton. Just started this mess in February of this year. I have had it to the dealership twice and their words are 'We can't make it replicate what you say it is doing'.. 'You'll have to leave it with us for a few days... (easier said than done when my dealership doesn't believe in loaners anymore).. Sooooo freaking sick and tired of dealing with this issue. I have noticed that this tends to occur when it has rained or the air is heavier with moisture. Most of the time I can let it run the cycle of trying to start a few times and eventually Beth decides that she will wake up and let me have my way to go somewhere.

 

[Zoc]

I have a 2020 RAM Power Wagon soooo appropriately named Beth Dutton. Just started this mess in February of this year. I have had it to the dealership twice and their words are 'We can't make it replicate what you say it is doing'.. 'You'll have to leave it with us for a few days... (easier said than done when my dealership doesn't believe in loaners anymore).. Sooooo freaking sick and tired of dealing with this issue. I have noticed that this tends to occur when it has rained or the air is heavier with moisture. Most of the time I can let it run the cycle of trying to start a few times and eventually Beth decides that she will wake up and let me have my way to go somewhere.

My truck spent 72 days in total at the dealership. The you should contact FCA 844-521-8188 and start a case file. FCA can have Chrysler engineers talk to the knuckle head mechanics at the dealership to "try" and solve your problem. Have them check the Gateway module and the BCM. I got so sick of dealing with this that I sold my RAM and I am now a happy Ford owner.

 

[DARLAHALL1440]

My truck spent 72 days in total at the dealership. The you should contact FCA 844-521-8188 and start a case file. FCA can have Chrysler engineers talk to the knuckle head mechanics at the dealership to "try" and solve your problem. Have them check the Gateway module and the BCM. I got so sick of dealing with this that I sold my RAM and I am now a happy Ford owner.

Hopefully we have the issue resolved... I had my oil changed back in July at my local tire shop, and Beth decided that was the perfect time to act up. (Thank God, actually) When I went to leave of course she wouldn't start. Shop owner walked out with a hammer and said get in, roll the windows down, and try to start it.. as he crawled under the truck to see if anything happened when I pushed the button. Sure enough, sparks were flying out of my starter. VERY OBVIOUS ISSUE. He used that hammer I mentioned on said starter and tah-daaahhh she started. Said loose wire on the starter. Husband put it on the lift, fixed wiring on the starter and no issues since. But 8 different people at my dealership couldn't find that????? Now, every time my green ECO light comes on, there's vibration noise coming from the engine area. ONLY HAPPENS WHEN GREEN ECO LIGHT COMES ON. Anyone got anything about that?

 

[jadmt]

Hopefully we have the issue resolved... I had my oil changed back in July at my local tire shop, and Beth decided that was the perfect time to act up. (Thank God, actually) When I went to leave of course she wouldn't start. Shop owner walked out with a hammer and said get in, roll the windows down, and try to start it.. as he crawled under the truck to see if anything happened when I pushed the button. Sure enough, sparks were flying out of my starter. VERY OBVIOUS ISSUE. He used that hammer I mentioned on said starter and tah-daaahhh she started. Said loose wire on the starter. Husband put it on the lift, fixed wiring on the starter and no issues since. But 8 different people at my dealership couldn't find that????? Now, every time my green ECO light comes on, there's vibration noise coming from the engine area. ONLY HAPPENS WHEN GREEN ECO LIGHT COMES ON. Anyone got anything about that?

the vibration is because your mds is kicking in ie half your cylinders are kicking off. Some people notice it others don't. some covid era trucks did not have the vibration dampers installed on the frame due to shortages.

 

[Justin_Jackson]

I have. 2019 Limited Diesel. Go to start truck and find dead battery. Jump it and run all day showing 14.1v from the alternator. Next morning same dead battery. Alternator tested good and both batteries good. Changed nothing and problem just cured itself. 3 months later dead battery 3 mornings in a row. Took to dealsership that spent 5 days chasing a drain and could not find one. Then, problem went away for a few more months. Not it’s back to dead sometimes and fine after a day or to. Any ideas?

 

[flan]

I have. 2019 Limited Diesel. Go to start truck and find dead battery. Jump it and run all day showing 14.1v from the alternator. Next morning same dead battery. Alternator tested good and both batteries good. Changed nothing and problem just cured itself. 3 months later dead battery 3 mornings in a row. Took to dealsership that spent 5 days chasing a drain and could not find one. Then, problem went away for a few more months. Not it’s back to dead sometimes and fine after a day or to. Any ideas?

Was the temperature about the same all times? Extreme highs or lows will treat the batteries differently. 2019 oem batteries is starting to push the replacement envelope a bit, the oem had a great reputation for a long time but not so much lately.

 

[Deltron]

My truck did this. Killed both batteries. Dealer said the separate Alpine amplifier wasn't turning off. Replaced amp and both batteries. We'll see.

 

[Michael5705]

The low voltage alarm is a good idea but its a little over kill in my opinion. Even if the issue was intermittent it takes a whole 10 seconds to open the hood to see how many amps the truck is pulling off the battery. Pop your hood and let the truck sit long enough for everything to power down and start troubleshooting.

I do agree with the poster above that the dealer should be correcting the issue. However, they all seem to be very busy and backed up so if you can isolate the power draw you may be able to run without this component until the dealer can get you in.

A few years too late, but I'm experiencing a similar issue as well. I have a 2021 RAM Power Wagon, 6.4L Hemi. I purchased it in Oct 2021. O/A June/July 2024 the battery just died. No add-ons to it. Charged it enough to jump it and figured the battery was bad. I put a Die Hard battery in it, but then approximately a week ago (7 Nov 2024) it died again. Charged it again, and it held the charge. Made an appointment w/local RAM dealer, but in the mean time I noticed one evening coming up from hunting about dark I noticed that the main screen on the dash displayed "Depress brake and push on to start" and the UConnect screen was beginning its startup mode. My key fob was nowhere near the vehicle, it was in the house. I watched this for about 10 - 15 minutes and it would cycle these screens through the UConnect screen and then shut off for about 5 seconds, then start again. I don't know how long this went on, since it was late in the evening. I figured either the battery would be dead in the morning or not. In the morning it wasn't, but when I got home it started doing it again. I did video the issue so that I could show the service manager at my appointment.

When I finally got to my RAM appointment and showed the service manager, he didn't have any idea; however acknowledged that something was drawing the battery. He noted as did I, that there was no "check engine" light. RAM had it all day yesterday 14 Nov 2024, and when I checked on it, the SM stated that they haven't been able to duplicate the issue and the mechanic was waiting on that. OK, how friggin' stupid are mechanics these days? Do they just wait around for an intermittent issue to happen so they can verify it? What happened to basic troubleshooting? So, they have it today as well and I'm betting that I'll get it back today with nothing done, because it didn't do it while they had it. Putting the burden back on the customer to deal with when the battery goes dead, or something else happens. Sort of like the issue I have with the XM Satellite radio's signal issue getting steadily worse. I would lose connectivity in areas where the signal is expectedly blocked (trees, buildings, tunnels, etc.). However, it started losing the signal in wide open spaces even when the truck is parked. SM states that it's just the way XMS is and nothing he can do. It's almost to the point where I can't eve listen to XMS due to such a bad signal.

 

[rasmo22HD]

I'm dealing with the same problem... 2022. Dealership has had the truck going on three weeks now... they have no clue. Oh, and I finally got a rental today. They said I couldn't get one until they actually tore into it. I guess troubleshooting doesn't count as "broke "

I finally got my truck back. Seems the only thing done was a battery change and a software updates. I expect it to happen again

 

[rasmo22HD]

The low voltage alarm is a good idea but its a little over kill in my opinion. Even if the issue was intermittent it takes a whole 10 seconds to open the hood to see how many amps the truck is pulling off the battery. Pop your hood and let the truck sit long enough for everything to power down and start troubleshooting.

I do agree with the poster above that the dealer should be correcting the issue. However, they all seem to be very busy and backed up so if you can isolate the power draw you may be able to run without this component until the dealer can get you in.

I see you're using an aircraft maintenance badge on your profile... nice, I'm a retired USAF F-16 Crew Cheif myself. Retired 18 years

 

[rasmo22HD]

When you jumped your truck was the radio on? If they find the problem please post and I'll do the same. Good luck!

No

 

[Michael5705]

I finally got my truck back. Seems the only thing done was a battery change and a software updates. I expect it to happen again

Dude, when I left RAM dealership they said they couldn't duplicate the problem. I was pissed. All they did was turn the truck on and turn it off. I specifically told the SM that the mech needed to let it run for a while then shut it off. So, I drove it home and guess what? It was doing it again. Since it was late, I didn't go back to the dealership. However, the next day I had to take the trash to the dump. After that I drove to the dealership and parked at the service parking lot. I shut the truck off and waited. After about 5 minutes, guess what? You got it! the truck started going through the stupid cycle. I walked into the SM and told them that it's doing it now, to get the mech and for the both of them to walk out with me to view the issue. They went and they couldn't believe it was doing what the video that I showed the SM. I left the truck, they "diagnosed" it and couldn't find anything wrong (yeah). So they did a reset of all the modules and made a SWAG that it was the "body module" that may the the culprit. So they ordered a new one, but they're on backorder, so who knows when that will come it. The SM said that it was still doing the start cycle; however, there was no loud "pop" from the speakers and the UConnect screen wasn't coming on with the cycle. Progress right? Nope. I drove it yesterday, quite a bit. I was impressed that the intermittent reception w/SXM had gone away! I couldn't believe it. The wife was happy too. I thought the reset of that module was the trick! Nope. We went to dinner that night and I check the truck before getting into it and the cycle went back to the same cycle it did when the issue first arose. The "pop", start engine screen, Uconnect screen, and the start button. When we drove it, the SXM was back to constant connectivity issues. So this morning I get to deal with RAM again to explain that hopefully the body module will fix it all; however, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Riddick]

I see you're using an aircraft maintenance badge on your profile... nice, I'm a retired USAF F-16 Crew Cheif myself. Retired 18 years

Yes sir, retired USAF maintainer (21 yrs), worked B-52, AF-1, and E-4B. Currently following my wife around as she finishes up. Thank you for your service.

 

[Danny Cameo]

Good afternoon, I've got a 2022 power wagon, I started having similar issues about a year ago. The truck would not remote start, even have to get in and start it by pushing the button. Then it just died, took it to the dealer, I knew the tech he said that they bench tested the battery and it tested good. So I got the truck back, about 3 months ago I started getting errors from the USB ports just under the screen. I took photos of it, took it in about 2 months ago and I was told they could not replicate it. It kept happening to the point I was plugging in my phone from the USB ports in the back of the truck. As every time I plug in the phone I would get the message in the picture. Then 4 days ago, drove the truck to work, which is a good long drive to charge up the battery. Mixed with city driving and freeway driving. Got in the truck to go home would not start. Then all this crazy warnings started cycling through on the front of the dash. Every warning there was cycled through. Every time I tried to start the truck. I took a video it is posted below. I just got notification from the dealership again they charge the battery as I had to pull the negative cable and wrap it in a rag and have it flat deck towed into the dealership. Buy request of shop foreman. They finally got to it today and after charging up the battery they are telling me there are no problems. And that the battery is holding a charge? I'm getting sick of this I'm ready to sell this. Anybody who has any ideas? Parasitic drain? I just don't think the dealerships looking hard enough. I can handle the odd gremlin, this is just ridiculous. The truck would not cycle to the off position. It was stuck in run. The only way to turn it off was the pull the negative and wrap right around it. To add insult to injury, the power wagon is 2 km away from being out of bumper to bumper warranty. So if they don't find it this time, next time when they actually put some effort in, I'm paying for it. That's a bunch of crap.

 

[Deltron]

So if they don't find it this time, next time when they actually put some effort in, I'm paying for it. That's a bunch of crap.

Customer pay is MUCH better for them then warranty pay.

 

[Danny Cameo]

Customer pay is MUCH better for them then warranty pay.

Yes it's much less hassle for them. Unless it's a given item. But since the battery has been bench tested and is fine, it's not the battery. So either something draining it or the gremlins are running wild. I've been reading everything from the phone app that controls, remote start, valet, GPS map where the truck is, speed control etc can or has put a drain on the system. Or it's the starter. Which I'm not even sure they checked it today. I just can't figure out a battery that's good, to cause the screen to go blank and every security warning, from shifter problem to ABS you name it, there were ones I'd never even heard of. Cycling through and through while signal lights flashed while they were not in the on position. Got to love the electrical Gremlins. The funny thing is when the incident happened, I sent a message to one of the techs at this dealership, sent him the video. Sent a tech that is a friend of mine and another dealership. Both of them told me they didn't think it was the battery. They were right about the battery. But what is it? Now I'm going to get it back tomorrow morning, if they're going to watch it overnight and see if it starts in the morning. After being charged properly at a dealership yes it will start in the morning. Then the next time as I mentioned it happens guess who pays. I'm not leaving there tomorrow until, there is some investigation.

 

[BadKarma]

Dealer said it is probably a computer module not shutting down. Ok, well this intermittent problem is going to be very difficult to find just dropping the truck off. IMHO.

My truck occasionally will not power off. Like the motor will shut off, but all the electronics will stay on. Used to happen more frequently when new.

Since I’ve had it going on 2 years and some change I’ve now had to replace the battery recently and it hasn’t happened lately.

However, last week I noticed my battery gauge rapidly fluctuating so I went and checked the DIC and it was fluctuating there as well ranging from 13.7 to 14.1. Happened for that day only and had been fine for exactly 7 days averaging the normal 14.2. Then today it started rapidly fluctuating again, but this time between 13.8 and 13.9. Now I’m out of my bumper to bumper warranty so kinda bummed. Turned off it sits at 12.66v

 

[silverheep]

Dude, when I left RAM dealership they said they couldn't duplicate the problem. I was pissed. All they did was turn the truck on and turn it off. I specifically told the SM that the mech needed to let it run for a while then shut it off. So, I drove it home and guess what? It was doing it again. Since it was late, I didn't go back to the dealership. However, the next day I had to take the trash to the dump. After that I drove to the dealership and parked at the service parking lot. I shut the truck off and waited. After about 5 minutes, guess what? You got it! the truck started going through the stupid cycle. I walked into the SM and told them that it's doing it now, to get the mech and for the both of them to walk out with me to view the issue. They went and they couldn't believe it was doing what the video that I showed the SM. I left the truck, they "diagnosed" it and couldn't find anything wrong (yeah). So they did a reset of all the modules and made a SWAG that it was the "body module" that may the the culprit. So they ordered a new one, but they're on backorder, so who knows when that will come it. The SM said that it was still doing the start cycle; however, there was no loud "pop" from the speakers and the UConnect screen wasn't coming on with the cycle. Progress right? Nope. I drove it yesterday, quite a bit. I was impressed that the intermittent reception w/SXM had gone away! I couldn't believe it. The wife was happy too. I thought the reset of that module was the trick! Nope. We went to dinner that night and I check the truck before getting into it and the cycle went back to the same cycle it did when the issue first arose. The "pop", start engine screen, Uconnect screen, and the start button. When we drove it, the SXM was back to constant connectivity issues. So this morning I get to deal with RAM again to explain that hopefully the body module will fix it all; however, I'm not holding my breath.

I’m trying to track down an issue similar to this - did the new BCM fix the issue?

 

[Danny Cameo]

I hear your pain, when mine froze up I was told by two teks That the PCM had locked up, they get it to the dealership and recharge the battery and everything is fine. The problem is no matter what the battery holds things don't work, subscriptions to traffic services for example don't work, they want me to do manual updates I've done still doesn't work. So they tell me I have to pay the dealership to figure it out. Over and over again. It's so frustrating it's ridiculous.

 

[SFeno]

Time to get out the amp meter. This will show you there is a parasitic draw on the battery. Once you verify this leave it hooked up and start pulling fuses until you figure out what's causing it.

My 2024 Ram 3500 Diesel has been in the shop 5 times; they cannot find the parasitic draw. Amp meter won't tell you squat. I now travel with an inverter and 2 battery chargers so I can start my truck. It now has @ 4,400 miles! The batteries have been dead over 15 times. I bought it new from Nyle Maxwell Ram, Austin, TX. They have suggested I take it to a different Ram dealer!