New Ram 1500 with super LOW battery voltage?

[oe542bob]

Island1, did you have the little engine icon lit when the truck shut down?

 

[uncc_99xj]

No issues in the five days since then. Battery Voltage is between 12.7v - 14v. But yes I am a little suspicious of what they said (after reading the above comments)

Interesting. I'm not sure if the battery voltage reading we can see in the menu is measuring voltage of/in the battery, or voltage of the entire charging system going into the battery. My assumption would be the later in which case I would have expected it to read what you're seeing now once you got a jump.

Either way, worth keeping an eye on. If it happens to do it again, i'd verify with a multi meter on the battery terminals with the engine running to see if what you measure lines up to what the readout in the menu is saying.

 

[outdoor7or24]

Yes carry a multi meter as I do believe the system is measuring voltage through charging system.
Use the multi meter to directly test the battery.
My 2020 Ram etorque V8 (hemi) is different setup from my 2023 etorque v6. Not sure if they have updated something else.

 

[kapinallinen2]

I have this permanently installed.
https://www.amazon.com/ANCEL-BM300-Bluetooth-Automotive-Motorcycles/dp/B07WCW49YM

 

[outdoor7or24]

I have this permanently installed.
https://www.amazon.com/ANCEL-BM300-Bluetooth-Automotive-Motorcycles/dp/B07WCW49YM

That looks like a neat tool. How often do you look at the data?

 

[kapinallinen2]

That looks like a neat tool. How often do you look at the data?

Not very often, probably once a week.

 

[Bt10]

So my battery died while driving yesterday. 11.6V on the way home. I seen mention of H8 fitting, can someone confirm that? Looks to be about 18 inches long??

 

[Darksteel165]

So my battery died while driving yesterday. 11.6V on the way home. I seen mention of H8 fitting, can someone confirm that? Looks to be about 18 inches long??

H7 is OEM. H8 fits perfectly.
If it died while you were driving that's an alternator\generator problem not just the battery.

 

[Bt10]

H7 is OEM. H8 fits perfectly.
If it died while you were driving that's an alternator\generator problem not just the battery.

I hate to think that, but conventional wisdom says you're right. But, a lot of people have had battery failures while driving, so I'll check this first, before the weeks wait for the dealer. The problem I hate to face, is if it failed enough to drag the whole system, it sure put a lot of heat thru the 48-12V converter. Fingers crossed. Has a check engine light on with no code present by a scanner, but the dash gauge and finally low voltage warning yesterday. I had the BSG reflashed a bit ago (posted here), for out of sync phases(?), sounded like bearings, but wasn't, so should be reasonably late calibration. I'll watch the volt gauge for a while.

Edit to add: Little squeezed on time, but I'll get the battery tested before install in case I could return the new one. I had a small 6A charger on it last night and it stayed at 50% charge rate, not recharging and tapering off, but I understand it may take longer.

 

[boogielander]

So my battery died while driving yesterday. 11.6V on the way home. I seen mention of H8 fitting, can someone confirm that? Looks to be about 18 inches long??

did the vehicle die as well or just the battery readying 11.6v?
if it's just the battery and you were driving fine with the vehicle i'd say it's the battery

 

[Darksteel165]

did the vehicle die as well or just the battery readying 11.6v?
if it's just the battery and you were driving fine with the vehicle i'd say it's the battery

I misread that. I thought he said his truck died because of the battery.
I agree if the truck didn't die it's just a dying battery, but if the truck died then putting a new battery in will just kill that one too imo.

 

[kapinallinen2]

but if the truck died then putting a new battery in will just kill that one too imo.

Most likely. Pardon the blue.
The dc to dc converter fails, you done.

 

[Bt10]

No, the truck didn't die, presumably because I was a 1/4 mile from home when it went to electrical limp mode. The dash warning indicated that all nonessential electrical was shutting down. I have no idea how long it would've run ignition/ECU only, or what amperage the 48-12V converter puts out to keep up, altho I suspect a fair amount, probably 100+ amps. If the battery was shorted, I would've expected boiling, etc. If open, this could be explained by these symptoms. Idk, but I have a moto, and work, so I'll get it figured out this weeeeek.

Given the frequency of Ram batteries failing early, I'll pull this one and get it tested, hopefully tonight. Some have reported here that their batteries still pass load testing, but I'm not sure that could be believable either, especially when the dealership replaces them so often. I have a buddy that runs a CDJR dealership, I'll ask him what kinda numbers he sees.

I have driven home in older cars with the headlights getting dimmer and dimmer. I know this woulda looked like charging system, but Ram batteries fail far too early and often, so bought one when I could, still returnable.

 

[uncc_99xj]

Given that electronics were shutting down and the truck starting to enter some kind of limp mode, that points back to a charging system fault. Unless there's something special i'm missing about how the etorque system functions compared to a standard 12V alternator, but I don't think I am.

It goes back to what I was getting to earlier - you/someone/the dealer would need to catch it in the act and start getting readings through out to try and pin point the source, starting with the MGU and working back from there. The diagram above would be helpful if you're going to tackle it yourself.

 

[boogielander]

I misread that. I thought he said his truck died because of the battery.
I agree if the truck didn't die it's just a dying battery, but if the truck died then putting a new battery in will just kill that one too imo.

yeah that got me confused for a second lol