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Battery trouble

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tj.balkun

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Hi everyone,I have a 2019 Ram 2500 6.4. I had to replace my battery due to the charge not holding. (After 4 years of having the truck, normal) After replacing the factory battery with a new SuperStart Platinum, waited overnight for all systems to reset as other forums stated, and the next day truck was fine. No indicator lights, etc. Drove it as I normally would and out of nowhere “service shifter”, “service air ride suspension”, check engine light, service traction control light all came on and went into limp mode and Wouldn’t shift out of first gear. Took it straight to the dealership and $3,300 later of playing guess the part they still don’t know what it is. They’ve called me 5 times saying it’s all set ready to go, get there turn the truck on, drive it off the lot no problem then within 24hrs all the lights come back on. They have replaced an Air ride module, and 2 starbut connectors in the dash. My inner voice is screaming it’s the battery, they never synced it, they’re running you around for parts and money, etc. My question to everyone is that has anyone else experienced this and or could it just be the syncing of the battery was overlooked and never done? Anything helps at this point! Thanks
 

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tj.balkun said:
Hi everyone,I have a 2019 Ram 2500 6.4. I had to replace my battery due to the charge not holding. (After 4 years of having the truck, normal) After replacing the factory battery with a new SuperStart Platinum, waited overnight for all systems to reset as other forums stated, and the next day truck was fine. No indicator lights, etc. Drove it as I normally would and out of nowhere “service shifter”, “service air ride suspension”, check engine light, service traction control light all came on and went into limp mode and Wouldn’t shift out of first gear. Took it straight to the dealership and $3,300 later of playing guess the part they still don’t know what it is. They’ve called me 5 times saying it’s all set ready to go, get there turn the truck on, drive it off the lot no problem then within 24hrs all the lights come back on. They have replaced an Air ride module, and 2 starbut connectors in the dash. My inner voice is screaming it’s the battery, they never synced it, they’re running you around for parts and money, etc. My question to everyone is that has anyone else experienced this and or could it just be the syncing of the battery was overlooked and never done? Anything helps at this point! Thanks
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What does “syncing the battery” mean?
 
They charged you $3300?!

Never heard of syncing the battery either. Check all the fuses under the hood, give all a good press. I believe there to be 2 ground connections as well. Make sure they are clean and tight.


Sent from me
 
I’ve always been told that after the battery is installed in the newer RAM vehicles with all the electronics, they have to “sync” the battery. Basically put it in, plug in the odb, and serialize the battery number with the truck. So I’m wondering if was over looked. And I’m located in RI everything is 3x the cost what it normally would be. Dealer said they’ve checked all the grounds, and at one point thought it was mice. Made an insurance claim then they told me it wasn’t so it was cancelled. Basically I’m feeling jerked around but he dealership. So I’m hoping an independent mechanic that has previous ram tech services will figure it out
 
tj.balkun said:
I’ve always been told that after the battery is installed in the newer RAM vehicles with all the electronics, they have to “sync” the battery. Basically put it in, plug in the odb, and serialize the battery number with the truck. So I’m wondering if was over looked. And I’m located in RI everything is 3x the cost what it normally would be. Dealer said they’ve checked all the grounds, and at one point thought it was mice. Made an insurance claim then they told me it wasn’t so it was cancelled. Basically I’m feeling jerked around but he dealership. So I’m hoping an independent mechanic that has previous ram tech services will figure it out
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I suspect most users here are wondering "who always told you that?" No, there is no "syncing" the battery as far as I know. I changed out both batteries in my garage when the originals went bad. No need to have taken it to the dealer.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Sounds like you need to find a different location for having service done on your truck.
 
tj.balkun said:
I’ve always been told that after the battery is installed in the newer RAM vehicles with all the electronics, they have to “sync” the battery. Basically put it in, plug in the odb, and serialize the battery number with the truck. So I’m wondering if was over looked. And I’m located in RI everything is 3x the cost what it normally would be. Dealer said they’ve checked all the grounds, and at one point thought it was mice. Made an insurance claim then they told me it wasn’t so it was cancelled. Basically I’m feeling jerked around but he dealership. So I’m hoping an independent mechanic that has previous ram tech services will figure it out
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There's definitely no such thing as syncing a battery, or really doing anything on the truck after replacing the battery. You take the old one out and put the new one in. Sometimes it may take a drive or two before all systems show things properly (like HVAC, nav, radio, etc), but that's it.

I can't say what your other issues are, but they're definitely not the battery. I'd find another dealer.
 
Boy, we learn something new all the time. Hopefully someone can confirm whether or not this is necessary on any of our trucks, along with the years and models applicable. Also, can it be done with AlphaOBD and Jscan and does it require the security bypass cable.

However, with all that said, I didn’t see anything in the Batteriesplus link that should cause all of the issues cited in the OP. It sounds like it’s all related to battery management.

I would think the issues arise from something that happened while changing the battery. It could be coincidental timing but that seems unlikely. When I change a battery in a vehicle, I alway try to do it such that the vehicle never loses power. You have to be very careful with the battery cables. On the other hand, disconnecting the batteries for 30 minutes seems to be the solution to some other problems, so who knows.

It would be nice if someone knowledgeable could weigh in on all of this.

Everything is getting more complex. We got a new washer and dryer. The damn thing had to be connected to our wi-fi network to “initialize” it.
 
Dodgeman said:
Boy, we learn something new all the time. Hopefully someone can confirm whether or not this is necessary on any of our trucks, along with the years and models applicable. Also, can it be done with AlphaOBD and Jscan and does it require the security bypass cable.

However, with all that said, I didn’t see anything in the Batteriesplus link that should cause all of the issues cited in the OP. It sounds like it’s all related to battery management.

I would think the issues arise from something that happened while changing the battery. It could be coincidental timing but that seems unlikely. When I change a battery in a vehicle, I alway try to do it such that the vehicle never loses power. You have to be very careful with the battery cables. On the other hand, disconnecting the batteries for 30 minutes seems to be the solution to some other problems, so who knows.

It would be nice if someone knowledgeable could weigh in on all of this.

Everything is getting more complex. We got a new washer and dryer. The damn thing had to be connected to our wi-fi network to “initialize” it.
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It is not necessary. There is nothing to do.
 
jsalbre said:
The Rams do not. The “memory” for the IBS is reset when power is removed completely. It takes a bit of time to learn the battery.
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It looks like you answered some of my questions. If I read it correctly, one does need to let the system go to “0”, (everything disconnected) to reset the system for the new batteries. Is that correct?
 
Dodgeman said:
It looks like you answered some of my questions. If I read it correctly, one does need to let the system go to “0”, (everything disconnected) to reset the system for the new batteries. Is that correct?
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My 2019 manual mentions an IBS but nothing about needing to 'register' a new battery... I've already replaced the battery once and and an actually getting ready to do it again tomorrow.
 
I ordered a cheap Wieze $144.90 AGM from Walmart for my 2020 2500 6.4 last summer. Took the old one out and went in for a glass of tea while I topped off the charge on the new one. Went back out about 30 minutes later and put the new on in. No issues at all and mine has all of the FCW, ACC, rear air leveling stuff. I did have one error last month for service air suspension but a quick search on here and I pulled fuse 59 for a couple of minutes and no more issues so far.
 
tj.balkun said:
Hi everyone,I have a 2019 Ram 2500 6.4. I had to replace my battery due to the charge not holding. (After 4 years of having the truck, normal) After replacing the factory battery with a new SuperStart Platinum, waited overnight for all systems to reset as other forums stated, and the next day truck was fine. No indicator lights, etc. Drove it as I normally would and out of nowhere “service shifter”, “service air ride suspension”, check engine light, service traction control light all came on and went into limp mode and Wouldn’t shift out of first gear. Took it straight to the dealership and $3,300 later of playing guess the part they still don’t know what it is. They’ve called me 5 times saying it’s all set ready to go, get there turn the truck on, drive it off the lot no problem then within 24hrs all the lights come back on. They have replaced an Air ride module, and 2 starbut connectors in the dash. My inner voice is screaming it’s the battery, they never synced it, they’re running you around for parts and money, etc. My question to everyone is that has anyone else experienced this and or could it just be the syncing of the battery was overlooked and never done? Anything helps at this point! Thanks
Click to expand...

You should check the grounds yourself, and look to see if your salt filled air has started corroding them.

When I replaced my battery I waited the amount of time it took to close the hood, shut the door, and press the Start button before driving away w/o problems.
 
Last edited:
I also have a 2019 Ram 2500 with a 6.4 and in an abundance of caution I asked around for advice before swapping my battery. Turns out you need to do absolutely nothing special just remove the old battery and install the new battery.

Here is that thread I started but TL;DR you don’t need to do anything special.

Rockcrawlindude

Thread 'Battery change tips'

Final edit: to change the battery you will want a 10mm wrench for the terminals and a 10mm socket on an extension for the hold-down. Recommend a 13mm socket to remove the upper fender brace and a trim tool to pop the push lock tab holding the positive cable. Memory saver doesn’t seem necessary.

[start original post] Think I’m due for a new battery. Last two starts were longer than normal crank time and just went to open my tailgate and the tailgate latches sounded puny and didn’t unlatch. Voltage was 12.2. Cranked the truck and the tailgate opened with normal power.

I’m not a wait til it...
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I do recommend checking grounds, terminals and fuses for proper seating/tightness
 
I have two batteries. So if I do a “hot” swap of each one, being very careful of cable ends and keeping the truck energized the whole time, am I asking for trouble?
 
Dodgeman said:
It looks like you answered some of my questions. If I read it correctly, one does need to let the system go to “0”, (everything disconnected) to reset the system for the new batteries. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Nope, shouldn't matter.

Dodgeman said:
I have two batteries. So if I do a “hot” swap of each one, being very careful of cable ends and keeping the truck energized the whole time, am I asking for trouble?
Click to expand...

You'll be fine. The truck will work it out. The only reason it needs to know the battery levels is for load shedding if it thinks they're running low, and for control of the alternator output. If it's not confident in its assessment then it'll just be more conservative until it is.
 
This is a long shot but I read your first post again and reminded me of a very similar issue I had in my 04 but i was transmission related. Fortunately still under warranty. Anyway, a couple wires in the harness to the transmission were chafed. I was getting really irritated having to go back to the dealer several times. At least they were cool about the whole thing. Anyway, could be something random like that. Or, like others have said check grounds.
 
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