Etorque left me dead at light

[Patsy1099]

Mine has not restarted a couple times also. Quite scary actually. I unhooked the battery and made sure it was charged. After that It stayed at about 14.5 volts when running or when it shut off. After about 700miles since I unhooked the battery, it started dropping down to 13volts when it shut off. A couple times it has dropped below 12 volts and then that's when it won't restart. I took it back to the dealer but they said with no codes and them not being able to replicate it, there is nothing they can do. I went and talked to another dealer, he seemed very concerned, said he was going to talk with his techs when they got back from lunch and get back to me. He never called. I tried calling him a couple days later and left him a message. Still no call. I don't know what to do. I Wish whatever was causing it would completely fail so I could just get it fixed.

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I would reach out to @RamCares and have the issue escalated and the dealer contacted

 

[Danieln99]

Just got a check engine light and code p0a8200. Had to stop at a dealer while i was on a trip. They were very helpful and cleared the code and tried some reprogramming. Said if it came back on i would need a new 48v battery pack. Didnt make it more than 10 miles and it came back on. They said i should make it home. Hopefully they are right!

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[YoAdrian]

(EDIT: Fixed picture.) No solution sadly but a similar problem occurring here with eTorque. Had truck over two years w/14v+ while running, and no stop/start problems, BUT after shutting down and going in to the store today for 10 minutes, I started up to a low voltage light and CEL.

The battery just tested good, so I suspect an eTorque failure of some sort. Hey @JXL118 any tips from your repair on where that bad eTorque ground was so I can check mine?

Warning brief side rant: Have Lifetime MaxCare so that's good, but they won't pay for a rental until AFTER they troubleshoot and they can't get me in for two weeks, and they'll only cover five days, so that's BAD. @RamCares is that really how MaxCare works? My local service folks are terrific, they're just slammed, and they don't control the policies. MaxCare just is not quite the safety net you might think it is. End rant.

Will add more to the story as I learn.

 

[IvoryHemi]

Have Lifetime MaxCare so that's good

Unfortunately eTorque isn’t covered.

Lifetime MaxCare exclusions:

Hybrid components: hybrid charging system, hybrid electric cooling system, hybrid power inverter system



You might have a chance getting it covered under the Federal Emissions Warranty

 

[YoAdrian]

Unfortunately eTorque isn’t covered.

Lifetime MaxCare exclusions:

Hybrid components: hybrid charging system, hybrid electric cooling system, hybrid power inverter system

You might have a chance getting it covered under the Federal Emissions Warranty

Thanks. Long ago when I purchased the Ram warranty I was told explicitly in response to a direct question on the topic that eTorque WAS COVERED. There are old posts here with some of my communications. Sounds like they have pulled a fast one on me in the last couple years. Yet more evidence against MaxCare, now it's feeling like an insurance policy with all the most likely dangers written in as fine print exceptions. Will update once I find out how they are going to deal with this...

 

[Cbty2050]

Maxcare isn't what it use to be. In the last couple of years they have changed(I think they went third party) and it is a joke now. Good luck with the repairs

 

[YoAdrian]

...after shutting down and going in to the store today for 10 minutes, I started up to a low voltage light and CEL.

The battery just tested good, so I suspect an eTorque failure of some sort. Hey @JXL118 any tips from your repair on where that bad eTorque ground was so I can check mine?
View attachment 124846

UPDATE: Still awaiting my service appt to troubleshoot the eTorque problem, so I charged the main battery overnight at home. Voltage looked good the next morning, so started her up. CEL is still on, but appears the eTorque system is now (maybe?) charging the main battery again (indicates 14.5 volts as it should, see pic). Not sure why, but will monitor battery charge while continuing to wait for my appt.

Shut down:

Started up:

 

[Aseras]

Someone needs to sue the everloving crap out of them for the IMS system being such a complete total failure across the entire lineup of vehicles.

 

[teamroper60]

UPDATE: Still awaiting my service appt to troubleshoot the eTorque problem, so I charged the main battery overnight at home. Voltage looked good the next morning, so started her up. CEL is still on, but appears the eTorque system is now (maybe?) charging the main battery again (indicates 14.5 volts as it should, see pic). Not sure why, but will monitor battery charge while continuing to wait for my appt.

Shut down:
View attachment 124952
Started up:
View attachment 124953

I dont know enough about this system yet but I do know that on my boat, if the batteries get low enough, the onboard charger wont recharge them. You have to use an automotive charger at that point to get it up to a level where that charger can kick on. Perhaps the etorque system is like that as well?? If so, that would explain why it is working now.

 

[Cbty2050]

Someone needs to sue the everloving crap out of them for the IMS system being such a complete total failure across the entire lineup of vehicles.

Do it!

 

[YoAdrian]

I dont know enough about this system yet but I do know that on my boat, if the batteries get low enough, the onboard charger wont recharge them. You have to use an automotive charger at that point to get it up to a level where that charger can kick on. Perhaps the etorque system is like that as well?? If so, that would explain why it is working now.

Yep I considered that possible system logic after seeing it going to full voltage again, don't know if that's exactly how eTorque is designed... but still don't know how the battery dropped so low in the first place if it was charging fine initially. Possibly pilot error of course, but no lights or systems were left on during my short store jaunt. We'll see...

 

[YoAdrian]

End of my story happily, Ram service department found the trouble code "P0A78-00 DRIVE MOTOR A INVERTER PERFORMANCE", which came back after clearing, and caused them to diagnose a failed motor generator (that big eTorque box on top of the engine, sort of a starter/alternator), Mopar # 68438054-AE. Replaced under warranty. The one shiny thing on my Ram, at least for a hot minute.

Glad my truck's running again, and glad I didn't have to pay for that part (on sale for only $994.80!).

 

[tbnolefan]

End of my story happily, Ram service department found the trouble code "P0A78-00 DRIVE MOTOR A INVERTER PERFORMANCE", which came back after clearing, and caused them to diagnose a failed motor generator (that big eTorque box on top of the engine, sort of a starter/alternator), Mopar # 68438054-AE. Replaced under warranty. The one shiny thing on my Ram, at least for a hot minute.

Glad my truck's running again, and glad I didn't have to pay for that part (on sale for only $994.80!).

Was it covered under your regular warranty or the extended warranty?

 

[YoAdrian]

Was it covered under your regular warranty or the extended warranty?

Not sure, receipt just says warranty and I decided not to ask... given the details here from Zeigler I'm guessing the 8/80k Federal Emissions Warranty.

 

[BluegrassMotorsport]

My truck shut off while driving(!) last week. Luckily it was at a low speed. The truck put itself into park aggressively and put the parking brake on. When I restarted it, I had low voltage as well. I drove it for a few minutes and restarted it - full voltage. Looking back I wish I hadn't done that and drove straight to a dealer so they could diagnose it. Now I'll probably never know unless it happens again. Then again if that happens, I'll probably kick it to the curb and move on to something else. Absolutely love this truck but imagine if that was on the interstate...

 

[YoAdrian]

My truck shut off while driving(!) last week. Luckily it was at a low speed. The truck put itself into park aggressively and put the parking brake on. When I restarted it, I had low voltage as well. I drove it for a few minutes and restarted it - full voltage. Looking back I wish I hadn't done that and drove straight to a dealer so they could diagnose it. Now I'll probably never know unless it happens again. Then again if that happens, I'll probably kick it to the curb and move on to something else. Absolutely love this truck but imagine if that was on the interstate...

Odd combination of behaviors, unsettling I'm sure. If there's a silver lining, it's that problem codes are stored so your service techs will at least be able to read something. My voltage was back to normal and the CEL was gone by the time they got to it, but the code was still in there.

That parking brake thing sounds a lot like what the truck does when you open the door while in Drive without the seatbelt buckled. Somebody literally got ran over and killed, since then our trucks won't let us be in drive without a seatbelt and with the door open. Any chance you opened the door to watch out for a curb, jump out quickly, or something? I catch myself doing it. Please don't take this the wrong way, obviously low battery indicates a problem, and it should not have shut off... but be watchful for other "bonus" things going on to when trouble shooting. Maybe the two are related, good luck.

 

[BluegrassMotorsport]

Odd combination of behaviors, unsettling I'm sure. If there's a silver lining, it's that problem codes are stored so your service techs will at least be able to read something. My voltage was back to normal and the CEL was gone by the time they got to it, but the code was still in there.

That parking brake thing sounds a lot like what the truck does when you open the door while in Drive without the seatbelt buckled. Somebody literally got ran over and killed, since then our trucks won't let us be in drive without a seatbelt and with the door open. Any chance you opened the door to watch out for a curb, jump out quickly, or something? I catch myself doing it. Please don't take this the wrong way, obviously low battery indicates a problem, and it should not have shut off... but be watchful for other "bonus" things going on to when trouble shooting. Maybe the two are related, good luck.

No I was just traveling through a neighborhood. Luckily it was only around 10mph or so or it could have done a lot of damage to the trans and parking brake. There's another thread somewhere on the Forum where others have experienced the same thing; some once - some numerous times. We'll see how it acts from here on out. It's definitely unsettling.

 

[dwkethan]

I’ve not a issue like that to this date. Long enough time sitting with comforts on, yes voltage gauge does go down engine starts back up though. Seems that it needs a run to dealer

I have a 2022 Ram 1500 Etorque with a 5.7 litre engine. Today while driving slowly through my neighborhood, the engine stopped and the battery light came on. I restarted it but the battery light remained illuminated. The truck has 18,000 miles and is only 18 months old. What gives?

 

[User_3336]

WOW! A thread resurrected from the dead from over a year and 3 month ago!