Everything locked out since dead battery

[nia198]

We managed to completely drain the battery of our 2021 Ram 1500 limited by leaving our trailer plugged into the 7-way . Managed to get a jump start and have since disconnected and charged the battery with a dedicated charger. The truck starts fine, but all the following features are locked out - we get endless "X system needs servicing" messages when we start up for the following...
- Ride height adjustment (which is stuck on the second highest setting, one above normal)
- Steerable headlights
- trailer brake system (works from the manual override finger control, but is no longer linked to the brake pedal!!!)
- trailer steering system
- anti lock brakes
- Electronic stab control
- 4WD says it's temporary unavailable
Additionally, cruise control won't engage...

We tried taking it to the local Ram dealership (who say they are backed up for a month!) and they cleared the error codes, but they come right back again. We've been in this loop for 2 days now. I'm dubious this is just the battery - anyone seen anything similar or have any ideas what could be wrong?

Cheers,
Nick

 

[nia198]

Anyone seen this before? We’re on a long road trip and the local dealers are backed up for weeks. Any input would be much appreciated

 

[Richard320]

Based on all my reading here, I would have answered "Bad Battery" minutes after you posted initially. But you are equally convinced it's not, so I didn't.

Just consider that as battery voltage drops -- which it can do erratically if there's a bad plate inside -- then certain systems get shut off to preserve battery life. And then you trigger all sorts of "communication lost" codes.

Do a search here for threads with Battery in the title. Read some. You will find that batteries can create all kinds of chaos even if they charge and test okay. You'll also see that it usually takes a few hours after replacement for everything to settle down.

 

[CanRebel]

If you are on long trip and no options at dealer. I would purchase another battery, even just to have it.
Just my guess, it is the battery.

 

[nia198]

Thanks for the advice. I managed to get the local dealer to squeeze me in by leavening it with them for almost a week. In case anyone has a similar issue, it turned out that the battery got so low that certain parts of the computer system had to be reprogrammed!! Apparently it was super simple for them, and now we’re back to normal. They didn’t even charge me

 

[c3k]

Thanks for the advice. I managed to get the local dealer to squeeze me in by leavening it with them for almost a week. In case anyone has a similar issue, it turned out that the battery got so low that certain parts of the computer system had to be reprogrammed!! Apparently it was super simple for them, and now we’re back to normal. They didn’t even charge me

I'd love to know more about what they did. Sounds odd that it was such a widespread issue (multiple system errors) but your truck would not reset itself. In my (admittedly limited) experience, most cars will reset any system failure due to low voltage. It may take a few miles of driving, and/or a few cycles, but they all resume normal function.

(One reset is to disconnect both battery leads, hold them together for 10 seconds, and then reconnect. That grounds out all modules. NOT for Ram... a different car.)

Regardless, whatever they did was probably really simple. Interesting that the other dealer(s) did not fit you in? Also, if it is so simple, it'd be nice to know.

I doubt they "reprogrammed" all the computers. But, again, I don't know what I'm talking about.

Glad you got it sorted.

 

[fubar414]

i know this thread is nearly a year old, but same thing just happened to me...do I really have to go back to the dealership for this? and do i have to do it every time my battery dies?

 

[MannyN]

i know this thread is nearly a year old, but same thing just happened to me...do I really have to go back to the dealership for this? and do i have to do it every time my battery dies?

No, you don't. Just put a new battery in it and cycle it once. Off-Run-Off and let it sit overnight. Should all be back the next morning.