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Battery maintenance question

mmcbeat

mmcbeat

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For a number of reasons I’m driving my Ram very little right now, sometimes it will set for several days. Temporary situation. Anyhow, looking back to my motorcycle days when most riding was on the weekends, I have been putting a trickle charger on my Ram every couple of weeks. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Does the IBS (intelligent battery sensor) react in any way to a trickle charger? My Ram has the standard 5.7 Hemi, without the start/stop feature. Thanks.
 
mmcbeat said:
For a number of reasons I’m driving my Ram very little right now, sometimes it will set for several days. Temporary situation. Anyhow, looking back to my motorcycle days when most riding was on the weekends, I have been putting a trickle charger on my Ram every couple of weeks. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Does the IBS (intelligent battery sensor) react in any way to a trickle charger? My Ram has the standard 5.7 Hemi, without the start/stop feature. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Do you have an Etorque or no? I was one of the group that has been very skittish of my 12v battery with an ET system, but once it was explained to me, I was ok with it.

I'm like you, I'm working from home permanently, so I am lucky if I even put 50 miles on it per week.

Here's the thread that's been discussing battery charging. There are a couple other threads out there too:

5thgenrams.com

What Voltage Should Etorque Be at?

I have a 2019 etorque i just replaced the battery got stranded twice thats enough.... Im wondering what is the voltage parameters should it be at when driving when everything is on vs normal driving with no lights or ac? im also curious at what voltage during driving is considered to low and...
5thgenrams.com 5thgenrams.com
 
My 2019 straight hemi needed weekly-or every two weeks overnight charging with a 4 amp unit as it wasn't being driven enough (500 miles a month). The battery lasted almost eaxctly 27 months and failed the day before I traded it off. (It jumped but still). The resting voltage prior to charging was always 12.1 or 12.2 per my multimeter, which to me was too low for a flooded lead acid battery.

I always clipped the negative of the charger to a nearby ground bolt as that's what I had learned would bypass the BMS on my previous F150.
 
cervelo15 said:
Do you have an Etorque or no? I was one of the group that has been very skittish of my 12v battery with an ET system, but once it was explained to me, I was ok with it.

I'm like you, I'm working from home permanently, so I am lucky if I even put 50 miles on it per week.

Here's the thread that's been discussing battery charging. There are a couple other threads out there too:

5thgenrams.com

What Voltage Should Etorque Be at?

I have a 2019 etorque i just replaced the battery got stranded twice thats enough.... Im wondering what is the voltage parameters should it be at when driving when everything is on vs normal driving with no lights or ac? im also curious at what voltage during driving is considered to low and...
5thgenrams.com 5thgenrams.com
Click to expand...
No etorque, just the standard 5.7. I should have been a little more specific. I’m using a battery tender, not a trickle charger per se, 1.25 amp. It’s the IBS that I’m not familiar with.
 
Nomoretruck said:
My 2019 straight hemi needed weekly-or every two weeks overnight charging with a 4 amp unit as it wasn't being driven enough (500 miles a month). The battery lasted almost eaxctly 27 months and failed the day before I traded it off. (It jumped but still). The resting voltage prior to charging was always 12.1 or 12.2 per my multimeter, which to me was too low for a flooded lead acid battery.

I always clipped the negative of the charger to a nearby ground bolt as that's what I had learned would bypass the BMS on my previous F150.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will try the negative ground bolt instead of the battery terminal.
 
Deltron battery tender, Install a battery tender pigtail on your battery, when your not using it keep it plugged in. It will keep your battery charger & ready to go, I have them on everything.
 
I plan on installing a noco onboard trickle charger in the engine bay along with a noco plug port in the bed of my truck so I can easily plug in the block heater and charger in one go without opening the hood. I haven’t had any issues over the summer with the battery, but cold weather typically brings out battery issues.
 
I chose to go with the Granite Digital Charger, Maintainer, Cleaner & Tester - 50 Watt (6 & 12 Volt).

  1. It is 50 Watts so it will charge the battery quickly
  2. Uses a pulsing technology to desulfate the battery
  3. Low Voltage Monitor with audible Alarm
Granite-Digital_Batter_Saver1.png



www.batterysaver.com

Charger, Maintainer, Cleaner & Tester - 50 Watt (6 & 12 Volt)​

This 50 Watt device Charges, Maintains, PULSE Cleans & Tests a Vehicle Battery. Works with All Standard Lead Acid battery types and sizes.
www.batterysaver.com
 
Sascwatch said:
I plan on installing a noco onboard trickle charger in the engine bay along with a noco plug port in the bed of my truck so I can easily plug in the block heater and charger in one go without opening the hood. I haven’t had any issues over the summer with the battery, but cold weather typically brings out battery issues.
Click to expand...

I have a noco (and a two-to-one noco external plug) to do just what you're thinking. But, I'm going to mount the exterior plug down on the air-dam on the front passenger side. That way, when I back out, the cord will drop off should I forget to unplug it. (Like I did that one time 25 years ago. Ouch.)
 
I have a solar panel trickle charger that you can plug into the cig plug and lay on the dash. Works pretty good.
 
theblet said:
I have a solar panel trickle charger that you can plug into the cig plug and lay on the dash. Works pretty good.
Click to expand...
Now that I am interested in. Can you share the brand info?
 
Nomoretruck said:
My 2019 straight hemi needed weekly-or every two weeks overnight charging with a 4 amp unit as it wasn't being driven enough (500 miles a month). The battery lasted almost eaxctly 27 months and failed the day before I traded it off. (It jumped but still). The resting voltage prior to charging was always 12.1 or 12.2 per my multimeter, which to me was too low for a flooded lead acid battery.

I always clipped the negative of the charger to a nearby ground bolt as that's what I had learned would bypass the BMS on my previous F150.
Click to expand...
mmcbeat said:
For a number of reasons I’m driving my Ram very little right now, sometimes it will set for several days. Temporary situation. Anyhow, looking back to my motorcycle days when most riding was on the weekends, I have been putting a trickle charger on my Ram every couple of weeks. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Does the IBS (intelligent battery sensor) react in any way to a trickle charger? My Ram has the standard 5.7 Hemi, without the start/stop feature. Thanks.
Click to expand...
First of all, you do not ever want to bypass the IBS when charging. RAM has a TSB out on this. That is called "Blind Charging". The IBS carefully monitors all electrical current going into and out of the battery to properly report the battery's condition. When you charge the battery, the IBS should record the charge going into the battery. If it doesn't, it may report an incorrect battery condition.

The battery's negative (-) post is connected directly to the IBS. From the IBS the connection then goes to chassis ground. So, anything connected to chassis ground goes through the IBS. When you connect a battery charger, connect the charger's Red + lead to the battery's positive (+) terminal and the Black (-) lead to chassis ground or to the IBS's top terminal. This is the proper connection for charging. Do not connect the battery charger's Black (-) lead directly to the battery's Negative (-) post. This will bypass the IBS and can result in an improper battery condition report from the IBS.
 
Last edited:
HAL9001 said:
First of all, you do not ever want to bypass the IBS when charging. RAM has a TSB out on this. That is called "Blind Charging". The IBS carefully monitors all electrical current going into and out of the battery to properly report the battery's condition. When you charge the battery, the IBS should record the charge going into the battery. If it doesn't, it may report an incorrect battery condition.

The battery's negative (-) post is connected directly to the IBS. From the IBS the connection then goes to chassis ground. So, anything connected to chassis ground goes through the IBS. When you connect a battery charger, connect the charger's Red + lead to the battery's positive (+) terminal and the Black (-) lead to chassis ground or to the IBS's top terminal. This is the proper connection for charging. Do not connect the battery charger's Black (-) lead directly to the battery's Negative (-) post. This will bypass the IBS and can result in an improper battery condition report from the IBS.
Click to expand...
Extremely timely post since I'm about to install a quick connect for trickle charging...
 
theblet said:
I have a solar panel trickle charger that you can plug into the cig plug and lay on the dash. Works pretty good.
Click to expand...


I know this thread is a couple months old. But hopefully you will see this.

I was under the impression the power ports on these trucks were all keyed. I know the one on the dash of my truck in that little tray area turns off after I shut the truck off because thats where I plug in my dash cam.

Is there another in the truck that is direct to the battery??? (My old 2006 Jeep Wrangler had one of each. They were labeled which made it great.) I have a solar panel with cig lighter plug on it I got from a volkswagen dealer years ago. They put them in some vehicles that are shipped to the US. A buddy was a salesman at a VW dealer and he got me one for cheap. It is branded as a VW part. I thought of using it but like I said, thought they were all keyed and not direct to battery.
 
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