Too cold, won't start!

[SharkLazer]

It's -5F here this morning and my truck won't start :'(

While that's relatively cold, it's not too cold for most cars to start! I'm super disappointed that the truck I got in part to deal with cold winters actually doesn't work in the winter. I'm not about to try 7 inches of fresh snow in the camry.... Ram you were supposed to be the answer!

It just gave this loud pop as the stereo tried and failed to start and the starter didn't even really crank.

So question is, is this because I have the e-torque and Ram hasn't addressed the cold battery situation that plagues so many hybrids? I didn't think the "mild hybrid" would suffer that problem, hadn't read about it being a problem. Overall I really like the e-torque, especially when towing it makes the shifting so much smoother, but man if the price of it is I can't use my truck in normal cold winter I'm gonna be sad.

 

[Fatherof3]

It's -5F here this morning and my truck won't start :'(

While that's relatively cold, it's not too cold for most cars to start! I'm super disappointed that the truck I got in part to deal with cold winters actually doesn't work in the winter. I'm not about to try 7 inches of fresh snow in the camry.... Ram you were supposed to be the answer!

It just gave this loud pop as the stereo tried and failed to start and the starter didn't even really crank.

So question is, is this because I have the e-torque and Ram hasn't addressed the cold battery situation that plagues so many hybrids? I didn't think the "mild hybrid" would suffer that problem, hadn't read about it being a problem. Overall I really like the e-torque, especially when towing it makes the shifting so much smoother, but man if the price of it is I can't use my truck in normal cold winter I'm gonna be sad.

Maybe you just got a bad battery . It was -18 here the other day and mine had no problems starting .

 

[cj7]

It's -5F here this morning and my truck won't start :'(

While that's relatively cold, it's not too cold for most cars to start! I'm super disappointed that the truck I got in part to deal with cold winters actually doesn't work in the winter. I'm not about to try 7 inches of fresh snow in the camry.... Ram you were supposed to be the answer!

It just gave this loud pop as the stereo tried and failed to start and the starter didn't even really crank.

So question is, is this because I have the e-torque and Ram hasn't addressed the cold battery situation that plagues so many hybrids? I didn't think the "mild hybrid" would suffer that problem, hadn't read about it being a problem. Overall I really like the e-torque, especially when towing it makes the shifting so much smoother, but man if the price of it is I can't use my truck in normal cold winter I'm gonna be sad.

More likely a defect than design flaw - mine and others start fine at 15, which is well below a LiPo optimum temp. Plus, the first start attempt would have warmed up the battery, so if a battery temp issue, the second attempt would have been more enthusiastic.

 

[LaxDfns15]

There have been plenty of battery issues posted on here already. Before jumping to conclusions (e-torque, bad truck, etc) change the battery.

 

[SharkLazer]

There have been plenty of battery issues posted on here already. Before jumping to conclusions (e-torque, bad truck, etc) change the battery.

Good to know! And why I posted my little rant here

Is this something I should contact the dealer about, since it's only about 3 months since I got it?

 

[LaxDfns15]

Good to know! And why I posted my little rant here

Is this something I should contact the dealer about, since it's only about 3 months since I got it?

I personally haven't had battery issues, but my temps only range from about 15F-100F, so it never gets terribly cold here. If it was happening to me, I'd probably just buy my own battery. My dealers are asking for 4+ days lead time just to get appointments. I can have a battery from the Autozone 3 miles down the road within 10 minutes if I have to.

 

[Neurobit]

Good to know! And why I posted my little rant here

Is this something I should contact the dealer about, since it's only about 3 months since I got it?

ABSOLUTELY!
Mine failed about five or six months after getting my truck, and it was replaced by dealer. Haven't had any more issues in almost two years.

 

[Neurobit]

BTW, a few of the new 2021 F-150s are also having battery issues (discussed here https://www.f150forum.com/f129/electrical-parasite-issue-493622/). So it's not just RAM.
All mfgs with redesigned models will have a small percentage of issues with batteries, trannies, and even engines. They can't all be perfect.

Cheers,

 

[SharkLazer]

So today's update... I waited until it got up to 3F and tried to jump it. Got enough juice for the lights and dash to come on fine but the starter just would do more than a single sad click.

Gonna put a battery charger on it tonight / tomorrow (waiting for a friend to bring it over) and see if the truck's just too amp hungry for a jump from a camry.

 

[SharkLazer]

Got the charger on it but while trying to figure out what might be draining power (the previous jump attempt left enough for the automatic lock to work but it was completely dead just now), it occurred to me that there's always a bit of heat on the window behind the mirror. Basically that area will be melted off in the morning if there was light snow or frost, which means something there is pulling enough power to keep that above freezing.

 

[Redtrucks]

3 days in a row with low temperatures -21 F and pickup starts right up.

 

[SharkLazer]

3 days in a row with low temperatures -21 F and pickup starts right up.

Yeah, at this point I'm sure it's a fluke with my truck.

The rapid charge didn't work yesterday. Even though there was enough power to get the dash to light up the starter barely ticked and then all the power died again. However since it was dark I noticed that the bed light was on even after I had locked it. Not related to it dying but probably why the rapid charge didn't charge enough... I had tried to open the tailgate to get something out after it didn't jump and the tailgate was frozen shut. I guess it trying to open was enough to make the truck think that it was open and turn on the lights. Most of the time I don't even need those lights, I should check the manual and see if I can configure them to not come on automatically.

So I managed to get the tailgate unstuck and then closed fully, lights off. Put it on the trickle charge overnight. Once the morning meetings are done I'll go see what voltage I've got and whether it starts now.

 

[HydroRebel]

Here's a similar thread though with remote start issues during the cold: https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/remote-start-not-working-when-cold.27485/

My truck has been failing to remote start lately though it does start fine manually. My truck has started manually with voltage as low as 11.46 volts. I've been checking my battery voltage the last few days and it's all over the place. So far it only failed to start remotely either with the fob or uconnect app but never fails manually. My 4th gen that I had for 6 years was still on the original battery and never once failed to start remotely or manually. The batteries they put in the 5th gens are clearly crap in comparison. I recently ordered an Odyssey battery. There's been lots of people reporting battery issues with 5th gens.

 

[SharkLazer]

Here's a similar thread though with remote start issues during the cold: https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/remote-start-not-working-when-cold.27485/

My truck has been failing to remote start lately though it does start fine manually. My truck has started manually with voltage as low as 11.46 volts. I've been checking my battery voltage the last few days and it's all over the place. So far it only failed to start remotely either with the fob or uconnect app but never fails manually. My 4th gen that I had for 6 years was still on the original battery and never once failed to start remotely or manually. The batteries they put in the 5th gens are clearly crap in comparison. I recently ordered an Odyssey battery. There's been lots of people reporting battery issues with 5th gens.

Interesting.

Read at 12.1v when I took the charger off this morning and it started after second try. After driving across town (about 15 minute drive) and turning it off it started from the remote and then shut itself off almost immediately. Manual start worked fine at that point though.

Going to go for a longer drive this evenening, I'm not really sure what to expect from the hybrid battery or how to tell if it's a different reading than the normal one (or if their directly connected). I should read up on that probably.

Dealership says that the battery is under warranty so they're going to change it out / check it next week when the weather warms enough for me to want to drive over the pass there. The check engine light is stuck on in any case from the battery dying so I need them to reset that anyway.

 

[cj7]

Do etorque trucks use the 12v battery alone for starting?
i thought the starter was the 48v belt driven motor/generator?
Or is the 12v upconverted?

i do know the 12v and 48v batteries are both “managed” separately, and obviously not connected direcrly. The 48v system is used to supplement the 12v system.

When running, my truck is always between 13.9 and 14.4v, almost always 14.1, no matter the load.

 

[HydroRebel]

Interesting.

Read at 12.1v when I took the charger off this morning and it started after second try. After driving across town (about 15 minute drive) and turning it off it started from the remote and then shut itself off almost immediately. Manual start worked fine at that point though.

Going to go for a longer drive this evenening, I'm not really sure what to expect from the hybrid battery or how to tell if it's a different reading than the normal one (or if their directly connected). I should read up on that probably.

Dealership says that the battery is under warranty so they're going to change it out / check it next week when the weather warms enough for me to want to drive over the pass there. The check engine light is stuck on in any case from the battery dying so I need them to reset that anyway.

Your dealer sounds much better than mine! Due to a previous issue I had I didn't even bother giving them a try on this one. My truck would've been up there all day, they would say the battery is fine and charge me 6-8 hours for labor. It's cheaper and certainly more convenient to buy a new battery and install it myself.

 

[Florida Ranger]

They would not charge me anything if my truck was covered under warranty. If they tried to I would tell them to go fly a kite. And I would call the Ram regional office and register a complaint on the Dealer. Checking a vehicle for problems is covered at NO Charge 3 yrs / 36,000 miles. I know because my Dad was a Dodge Dealer for 26 yrs until he passed in 2005. If during the warranty period and you have a problem NEVER give up and if you have to BOW UP per my Dad. The Dealer works for you and it is his job to fix your truck if covered under warranty. NO EXCEPTIONS....

 

[HydroRebel]

They would not charge me anything if my truck was covered under warranty. If they tried to I would tell them to go fly a kite. And I would call the Ram regional office and register a complaint on the Dealer. Checking a vehicle for problems is covered at NO Charge 3 yrs / 36,000 miles. I know because my Dad was a Dodge Dealer for 26 yrs until he passed in 2005. If during the warranty period and you have a problem NEVER give up and if you have to BOW UP per my Dad. The Dealer works for you and it is his job to fix your truck if covered under warranty. NO EXCEPTIONS....

Yes, I do get what you're saying and I don't disagree with you. My previous statement was more of a hint of how mad I am at them for previous issues. They might not have charged me for the labor in the end, however, because I know them and what they're like they probably would have tried! Everything with them is a battle and I have no doubt they would've told me my battery is fine when it isn't. My personality changed a lot since I had kids. The old me would be absolutely be up there in their face yelling and cursing my head off until things were made right. My new personality is a lot more passive, though still has some aggression. They won't be seeing another dollar from me for anything. Put it this way, I have 13 free oil changes with my truck and I was real close to not taking it there for my last oil change.

 

[SharkLazer]

Do etorque trucks use the 12v battery alone for starting?
i thought the starter was the 48v belt driven motor/generator?
Or is the 12v upconverted?

i do know the 12v and 48v batteries are both “managed” separately, and obviously not connected direcrly. The 48v system is used to supplement the 12v system.

When running, my truck is always between 13.9 and 14.4v, almost always 14.1, no matter the load.

I guess this is what I was getting at... I know they're not directly connected but I don't know how they act if one of them is completely dead.

From memory it doesn't seem like I have a separate gauge for the two batteries available, just one that I'm guessing is the 12v. I've never had a vehicle with this much electrical stuff going on! As a computer programmer, I just wish they'd let me see a debug menu of all the various modules

 

[Willwork4truck]

Not directly addressing your question but did your truck have a cold weather package with a plug in? IDK if RAM even offered that option.

The other thing is to trickle charge with a 4 amp or less charger plug in that has a SAE plug to make it easy to hook up/unhook even with gloves. I don't have your temps but I did install the SAE lead to the battery and it makes connecting the 4A charger a 5 second operation. It's sitting on (her) truck as we speak due to not being driven enough.

Here's the identical model and if you go to the HF website you can click on the pics and see the SAE plug:

VIKING​

4 Amp Fully Automatic Microprocessor Controlled Battery Charger/Maintainer​

(2,613 reviews, 4.5/5 stars)
This 4 Amp car battery charger is fully automatic for trouble-free charging $29.99

(I'm not associated with HF but if they want to send me an undriven 21' TRX I'll accept it!)