ETorque battery safety

[brian42]

It's the same as those of us "common folk" without the eTorque.

Long gone are the days where you had to write down all your settings and presets before disconnecting your battery. As mikeru82 said, it seems to be almost all EEPROM nowadays instead of volatile memory (RAM...no pun intended ).

When I disconnected my battery I don't think I had to re-do any settings. Coming from a 2003 Ford F-250 I was ready for everything to be "factory reset".

I was having problems and the dealership told me to disconnect the batter for 30 minutes or so and see if that helps. Seemed logical as that's what I've been used to doing for the last 35 years. It did not fix the problem so I took it in for the dealership to look at it. When I dropped it off I told them that disconnecting the battery didn't fix the problem and I was told to never disconnect the battery as it could cause problems in these newer vehicles. Somebody needs to train their maintenance staff so they have the same answer...

 

[User_3336]

Looks like its cooled by two fans.

 

[mikeru82]

It's the same as those of us "common folk" without the eTorque.

Long gone are the days where you had to write down all your settings and presets before disconnecting your battery. As mikeru82 said, it seems to be almost all EEPROM nowadays instead of volatile memory (RAM...no pun intended ).

When I disconnected my battery I don't think I had to re-do any settings. Coming from a 2003 Ford F-250 I was ready for everything to be "factory reset".

I was having problems and the dealership told me to disconnect the batter for 30 minutes or so and see if that helps. Seemed logical as that's what I've been used to doing for the last 35 years. It did not fix the problem so I took it in for the dealership to look at it. When I dropped it off I told them that disconnecting the battery didn't fix the problem and I was told to never disconnect the battery as it could cause problems in these newer vehicles. Somebody needs to train their maintenance staff so they have the same answer...

I've disconnected my battery several times to add various things such as the Mopar bed lighting kit. The instructions say to disconnect the battery, and those instructions were provided by Mopar. I seriously doubt their claim that you'll do any harm by disconnecting the battery.

 

[brian42]

I seriously doubt their claim that you'll do any harm by disconnecting the battery.

I agree.

Having a design that would damage the vehicle if it had a dead battery would not be a smart engineering approach.

 

[RBJ]

This video doesn’t address the battery charging issue but, for a good RAM engineer’s explanation of eTorque, how it operates and it’s benefits, watch this YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/Nwnw452p2ZA

 

[stevj]

As for the battery being disconnected concerns, every procedure I've seen in the FSM that requires an electrical connector be disconnected, there is:
Step 1. Disconnect and isolate the negative battery cable(s) (Refer to 08 - Electrical/Battery System/Standard Procedure).

Steve

 

[Thundersnow]

If the 12 volt battery is completely discharged the system will use the 48 volt battery to start the vehicle. It will then charge the 12 volt battery so it may make jump starts unnecessary

I recently had a dead starter battery. The truck just made some very loud popping noises and a bunch of codes were thrown on the dash when I pushed the start. I’ve read on here this is common for 5th gen rams with dead batteries. Per your comment shouldn’t the 48v pack started the truck? The dealer warrantied the dead battery but I had to arrange a tow as even a jump start wouldn't work. I was told it was due to the dead battery still being connected. In any case I’m looking to test that theory with a jumper pack. Theoretically if I disconnect the 12v starter batter and attach the jump pack shouldn’t it still start and run?

2021 5.7 etorque limited.

 

[BowDown]

I recently had a dead starter battery. The truck just made some very loud popping noises and a bunch of codes were thrown on the dash when I pushed the start. I’ve read on here this is common for 5th gen rams with dead batteries. Per your comment shouldn’t the 48v pack started the truck? The dealer warrantied the dead battery but I had to arrange a tow as even a jump start wouldn't work. I was told it was due to the dead battery still being connected. In any case I’m looking to test that theory with a jumper pack. Theoretically if I disconnect the 12v starter batter and attach the jump pack shouldn’t it still start and run?

2021 5.7 etorque limited.

No.
The 48V battery only starts the engine using the MGU (eTorque motor), it doesn't interact with the 12volt starter. The MGU only starts the engine in an auto start/stop condition

 

[RBJ]

I owned a GMC Denali and now have a 2021 RAM with Hemi V8 eTorque and own two Battery Tenders which have worked flawlessly for years. Both vehicles, if left garaged for 5 days or more would experience parasitic battery drain, prohibiting starting them. As a result, not wanting to risk overcharging, believing “simple is best” I use this battery maintainer model available at Amazon for $52.86:

Battery Tender Plus Charger and Maintainer: Automatic 12V Powersports Battery Charger and Maintainer for Motorcycle, ATVs, and More - 12 Volt, 1.25 Amp Battery Chargers - 022-0185G-DL-WH

Since then, I do not encounter a dead 12V battery.

 

[Thundersnow]

No.
The 48V battery only starts the engine using the MGU (eTorque motor), it doesn't interact with the 12volt starter. The MGU only starts the engine in an auto start/stop condition

I see! Thanks for the clarity. Do you know if, given a dead starter battery, can the 5.7 eTorque be jump started via conventional methods? For some reason when I had a dead battery my Jumper pack didn't make a difference. However looking back, now I’m second guessing if it was charged sufficiently.

 

[BowDown]

I see! Thanks for the clarity. Do you know if, given a dead starter battery, can the 5.7 eTorque be jump started via conventional methods? For some reason when I had a dead battery my Jumper pack didn't make a difference. However looking back, now I’m second guessing if it was charged sufficiently.

It can, my factory battery died out of blue about a month ago. Had a friend come out and give me a jump start, after about 2 minutes of is car idling charging my battery, it started right up. I bought a new Duracell AGM battery and a NOCO Boost X GBX45

 

[Thundersnow]

It can, my factory battery died out of blue about a month ago. Had a friend come out and give me a jump start, after about 2 minutes of is car idling charging my battery, it started right up. I bought a new Duracell AGM battery and a NOCO Boost X GBX45

Got it! AGM will be my next upgrade. Thanks for the help.

 

[BowDown]

Got it! AGM will be my next upgrade. Thanks for the help.

When you buy the battery, by the H8. It'll fit, remove the stopper and it drops right in. More power and it cost the same as a h7.

If you have access to Sam's club, you can get a Duracell AGM h7 or H8 battery for $489 versus the $250 everywhere else. Duracell is made by East Penn batteries, one of the better, higher quality battery manufacturers

 

[Puch-tdi]

If the 12 volt battery is completely discharged the system will use the 48 volt battery to start the vehicle. It will then charge the 12 volt battery so it may make jump starts unnecessary

Thats quite impossible, if the 12v battery is dead the 48V is isolated wich means it cannot start the engine.
Therefor there still is an explanation in the manual how to jumpstart the car.