Battery maintaining for lots of short trips and sitting for several days.

[Jake1050]

I was trying to find information about the battery (12v) in the truck. I was trying to find out if it would benefit me to connect my Noco 1 amp from time to time for no other reason than I drive short trips and my truck sits for more than a week at a time in the summer when I'm riding the motorcycle to work. Questions follow:
1. Do our trucks come with AGM batteries or they regular lead acid? My charger has a setting for AGM but I could not find info in manual stating anything about AGM.
2. Is a 1 amp smart battery maintainer too small to do anything?
3. Should I connect maintainer to the BMS sensor or directly to negative battery terminal on battery.
4. Any other information I should know?

 

[John Jensen]

1 - You have an AGM battery, probably a 850 CC Amp size
2 - 1 amp is too small
3 - direct to battey + & -
4 - Get a maintainer for the battery size

 

[Jako]

My 2019 Ram had lead acid and was replaced under warranty at 2 years with lead acid.

See Post #14 & #20 as far as connecting your negative to chassis ground.

Resetting battery life in ECU when changed

Someone told me that you need to reset the “battery life” on newer vehicles when you change it. I’ve never heard of this. He pointed me to the video below. Any idea if 5th gen rams need this reset?

5thgenrams.com

Any other info:

https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/battery.46348/page-3#post-811259

 

[bigdodge]

1 - You have an AGM battery, probably a 850 CC Amp size

you sure?

 

[DEG]

I'm pretty sure the factory battery in my truck is just a standard sealed lead acid battery and not an AGM battery. There is no indication on the battery or in the part number description on the MOPAR site that it's an AGM.

1A should be more than adequate to maintain the charge in your battery. It will just take a long time to fully charge a low battery. If you are not needing a charger, but just a maintainer then 1A is fine.

I connect battery maintainers directly to the battery terminals with the quick disconnect terminal leads that comes with the trickle charger; not the alligator clip leads.

If you are not positive whether or not you have an AGM battery it might be safer to use the AGM setting on your charger or maintainer. It's my understanding you can damage an AGM battery using a normal battery charging mode, but you won't damage a standard lead acid if you use AGM mode; it just many not fully top off.

Either way, I'm not sure you will need a maintainer. My trucks often sit for more than a week, even during extreme cold, and they still start. When I noticed my last truck battery getting weak after sitting it was when the truck was 5 years old and overdue for a new battery anyway.

However, they are cheap piece of mind as long as you remember to unplug it before driving away.

I drape one of these over the steering wheel of my clay cart and mower to remind me to unplug the battery maintainer.

 

[John Jensen]

you sure?

I was until I read post #3

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

I have never looked at my battery to pay attention. I agree with @DEG . A 1 amp maintainer is fine. You don't want to cook the battery.it won't charge a dead battery but will maintain a good one. That connector he pictured is great. On my SxS I put a surface mount one in. Probably don't want to do that to your Ram though.

 

[Jake1050]

Looking at the top of the battery there is nothing that says AGM or Absorbed Glass Mat and looking up the part number on the top label pulls up hits on the internet that also say nothing about AGM. That being said assuming my truck was built in 2020 I think I will just look to replace it this fall. Reading about the F-150 battery monitoring system and how to reset it got me wondering about my truck because it does also have that battery monitoring "block" thingy attached to the negative battery connector.

 

[John Jensen]

Looking at the top of the battery there is nothing that says AGM or Absorbed Glass Mat and looking up the part number on the top label pulls up hits on the internet that also say nothing about AGM.

The info is not on top of the battery, it is on the label on the side of the battery. AGM batteries do not have raised vent caps. Strange that a part number lookup doesn't describe the battery

 

[DEG]

The info is not on top of the battery, it is on the label on the side of the battery. AGM batteries do not have raised vent caps. Strange that a part number lookup doesn't describe the battery

A large number of flooded lead acid batteries also do not have raise vent caps or visible fill ports.

I read a post somewhere that only the Diesel 1500s come with an AGM battery. This is also consistent with parts searches by vehicle through major parts retailers. If I search Advance Auto for a battery for my 23 with a Hemi the top few returns are standard flooded lead acid batteries. However, if I do the same search but change my engine to the EcoDiesel the only batteries that return are AGM batteries.


NAPA Battery


Duracell Battery

 

[John Jensen]

My 2019 Ram had lead acid and was replaced under warranty at 2 years with lead acid.

See Post #14 & #20 as far as connecting your negative to chassis ground.

Resetting battery life in ECU when changed

Someone told me that you need to reset the “battery life” on newer vehicles when you change it. I’ve never heard of this. He pointed me to the video below. Any idea if 5th gen rams need this reset?

5thgenrams.com

Any other info:

https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/battery.46348/page-3#post-811259

That's because you have a gasser

 

[John Jensen]

I'm pretty sure the factory battery in my truck is just a standard sealed lead acid battery and not an AGM battery. There is no indication on the battery or in the part number description on the MOPAR site that it's an AGM.

Your signature doesn't show what engine you have. If it's a gasser you won't have an AGM

 

[John Jensen]

you sure?

Yes, I am sure. See post #10, it confirms

 

[DEG]

Your signature doesn't show what engine you have.

I believe it does. As far as I know only gas Ram's use eTorque.

If it's a gasser you won't have an AGM

Yes that's what I told you, but you told the OP with a Hemi he had an AGM battery. Are you spinning now?

 

[theblet]

I was trying to find information about the battery (12v) in the truck. I was trying to find out if it would benefit me to connect my Noco 1 amp from time to time for no other reason than I drive short trips and my truck sits for more than a week at a time in the summer when I'm riding the motorcycle to work. Questions follow:
1. Do our trucks come with AGM batteries or they regular lead acid? My charger has a setting for AGM but I could not find info in manual stating anything about AGM.
2. Is a 1 amp smart battery maintainer too small to do anything?
3. Should I connect maintainer to the BMS sensor or directly to negative battery terminal on battery.
4. Any other information I should know?

Stock battery is lead acid as far as I know. Double check your battery to make sure. 1 amp charger should be fine for maintaining the charge. Always charge to the sensor, not directly to the battery post.

Sounds like you’re good to go

 

[John Jensen]

I believe it does. As far as I know only gas Ram's use eTorque.



Yes that's what I told you, but you told the OP with a Hemi he had an AGM battery. Are you spinning now?

I'm not spinning anything. I was wrong and have tried to correct the issue of what trucks get an AGM and what ones don't. Your attitude sucks

 

[spyder]

Unless there's a problem with the truck and/or battery, sitting for a week or two isn't going to hurt anything.