i Have a 2020 Ram 1500 Limited eTorque. My issues started at 17,120 miles. My truck was hooked up to my trailer which has an electric trailer brake. My truck was parked with trailer hooked up for 24 hours. I went out to start the truck and it was dead. I hooked up my battery charger to my starter battery and fully charged it . After my starter battery was charged, the truck started but the engine light stayed lit. I drove 2.5 hours home and during the drive, I had several indicator Lights and warning tones intermittently going off. I can’t remember which ones. I took the truck into the dealership the next morning and the dealership told me the truck literally died just as they were pulling into the garage. After a few days of trouble shooting the issue, they determined that the lithium eTorque battery needed to be replaced. It took another couple of days to get this approved from FCA. The dealership told me the part was shipped and it took another week in a half to receive the part. There were excuses about shipping and tracking numbers from FCA and why it was taking so long. I was told the new battery was close to $4,000 if I had to pay for it but it was covered under my warranty. It’s a nightmare to get to the battery as they have to remove the back seat and real liner to get to it.
This past November 2022, my wife was supposed to pick me up at the airport but said my battery was dead when she tried to start my vehicle which had not been driven in 4 days. Mileage was around 40,000. I talked her through jumping the starter battery with my jump pack that I always have in my truck now because of the unreliability of my truck starting. I had her hook up the battery pack and leave it on the battery for 10 minutes before starting. The truck started but the engine light stayed on for about an hour as she was driving the 2 hours to pick me up. About 3 weeks later, same thing happened again. Last week January 7, 2023 my truck was parked for about 20 hours outside in single digit temperatures. Mileage on truck is now about 47,000 miles. I started my truck and it turned over rather slugishly but I attributed that to the cold temps. I got in my truck and drove the 18 miles to the store. I noticed as soon as I left that the engine light was on. I arrived at the store, turned the truck off and did my shopping. I left the store and then drove to the convenient store about 6 blocks away. i received another audible warning and A visual message on the dash. I parked my truck at the store and ran in to grab a gallon of milk, came out and my truck would not start. I tried again and it wouldn’t turn over completely. I tried a third time and nothing. I got out of my truck and grabbed the jump pack in my back seat. I noticed a electrical type smell or order from something that may have heated up near the rear seat. I hooked up the jump pack and tried to jump my truck but it wouldn’t quite turn over. I tried again only this time I left the jump pack hooked to the battery for 10 minutes. The truck turned over and started but the engine light remained on. I drove the 18 miles home and immediately hooked up my Ctek battery charger to my starter battery. My truck sat outside in single degree temps until next morning with charger connected. I disconnected my charger as the battery was fully charged the next morning. About an hour later, I started my truck with the remote start and it started and ran for about 10 seconds and shut off. I went outside and entered the vehicle and started it again and it stayed running but engine light stayed on again. I drove about 5 miles and stopped at two stores but left the truck running at all times because I didn’t want to get stranded. Left truck parked outside overnight in about 15 degree temps. Next day truck started but engine light was still on. I read another post about someone having a truck topper and an auxiliary 12 volt plug in the topper. i Have the same feature in my Leer topper So I decided to unplug it to see if this is a possible parasitic drain on my eTroque battery. It’s only been 2 days but I will monitor this to see if the issue goes away. I’m assuming the only way the eTorque battery can charge is if the truck Is running and moving. My AGM starter battery was tested and it exceeds specs so no problems there. My assumption is if the eTorque battery is dead, you’re dead in the water and can’t start the vehicle unless you have a jump pack or cables. Your starter battery can be fully charged but if the eTorque battery is drained, you can’t start the truck so my advice is to always carry a jump pack. This is an aggravating constant problem that I haven’t been able to diagnose nor has the dealership. Early indications of this issue are the sudden audible and visual warning lights that come on unexpectedly, engine light stays on, remote running boards dont’stow immediately like usual, truck starts sluggishly. Be advised, if these things happen, you’re eTorque battery is drained or not functioning properly and you will probably get stuck if you drive a short distance and shut the truck off. I now also unplug my electric trailer brake from the truck when parked for several hours as I can’t trust the eTorque battery because of possible parasitic drain. I’ll advise if I see any improvements with functions now that the 12 volt power block is disconnected from the truck. Sorry for the long winded explanation but this is a frustrating and unpredictable problem and I hope sharing my information can help other truck owners with this terrible issue.
john
