Listen up folks. Dodge has a large amount of bad batteries out there on their new tucks. What is worse is that it could take you a month to get another one. Why because, there are very incoincompement people at FIAT. Recall after recall. Their service department can NOT work on Connect equipment. They are very poorly trained. Even the service director told me today that he was ashamed because new trucks had many issues and could not even get parts because of mis-management at FIAT. So good luck on getting quality service out of Dodge. I would have to drive hours just to find the new battery in a dealership. What kind of service is that?
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Truck dead
- Thread starter Hutch70
- Start date
My 2019 Laramie Longhorn has been in the shop for 29 days with a battery draw. The Techs do not know where it is coming from. They state the dash comes on about 2 minutes after you turn off the ignition and runs until the battery is dead.....
riccnick
Ram Guru
What's your build date? I want to say there was a TSB that covered the radio not powering down properly.
ewag
Active Member
Last night my truck was dead as a hammer after being parked for just shy of 3 full days. Dead, dead, dead..... Got a jump, shortly after putting power through the jump the interior lights were dim. A few minutes later, the dash lit up like a normal start, but not enough juice to crank, a few more minutes and it started thankfully (I was at the airport, 10 pm.... not a fun time to have a dead truck). Once it was started, I closed the doors and tried to figure out if an interior light was left on or something that I could blame myself for, but there was nothing like that, everything seemed to be normal.
On the way home (90 minute drive) I was watching the battery "gauge" and it was maybe 13.9, then 13.8, 13.7, etc, slowly down to 13.4, then up to 13.5, 13.4...you get the picture. I was worried it was going to dip so low the truck would shut down before I made it home. I had all non essential power consuming devices OFF to make sure I got home. This morning, say 9 hours later, the thing started right up, battery gauge showed 14.4 volts, all good right?
Took it into my dealer, they ran a 3 hours test on the electrical system to try to look for drains, issues, etc. said it all came back perfect. Go figure right? Too bad it wasn't dead for them when they went to move it.
When it got dark tonight I went out and messed around from outside the truck, locking, unlocking using the door button and/or the remote. One thing I noticed that's very peculiar is that the little glowing lights that surround the USB outlets up front below the "radio" and the ones for the back seat come ON shortly after the instrument cluster lights go off. I've done this about 10 times to confirm it's always happening, but sometimes it's front only, or back only, or a few times they were both on, then the front went out, all kinds of weird patterns. I just checked after an hour and they happened to be OFF since the last test.
I don't think those little dim glowing LEDs would drain a battery, but who knows. Also could be an indication of some other problem. There is nothing plugged in to ANY of my USB outlets, not even an unused charging cable.
Thought I'd share just in case this helps anyone, or if anyone else knows more about what I'm describing.
cadillacrules
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Exactly one of the wired things my 19' LL does in that the LED's around the USB ports will come on after vehicle shut down.
Also the 12" center screen will sometimes have a slight glow to it only noticeable when it is dark outside.
It gets towed about once a month since new for a totally dead battery that won't take a boost. But the time it bouncing/jostling down to the dealer behind the tow truck it will start.
And other niggles such as the radio will come on when you hit a bump and you have the mute was activated.
And what else ??? Give me some time to think ...
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2019Ram64
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The leds on the USB ports are part of the system to keep things charged after shut down. That module will stay active according to the book for 1 hour after shutdown. Plus it’s leds without anything plugged in the draw is probably less than .10 amps.
The main cause since it’s been mentioned numerous times is either the radio or instrument cluster not going to sleep. When this happens it is keeping numerous modules awake as well. The dealer can never find this because it is intermittent. If the battery goes dead it will reset the module causing this. And won’t come back until and undertermined amount of time but if it did it once it will do it again.
These trucks are also very power hungry and they don’t like to perform correctly when the reserve is low ie your battery. In my truck when the battery is low all sorts of things start to happen. Many of which I posted about. However on numerous occasions I have witnessed the cluster still awake after I get Out more than an hour of sitting locked. The draw when this happens is around 7-12 amps. That amount of draw will Kill a battery in hours even a good battery.
The battery in my truck has been replaced with a non Mopar battery and the problem has still occurred.
of course when I took it to a dealer no problem was found they recharged the battery and sent me on the way. I’m smarter than that though and own all of the same and more diagnostic equipment that they have. One thing that doesn’t make sense is if you look at the vehicle map when the system is off the HVAC module goes offline but is still active. Represented by the color. As pictured below. Also I would think the abs should go to sleep as well but it doesn’t. As there is no reason for It to be active when the ignition is off. Current modules replaced in my truck with same results are Abs , BCM and RFH. I have also ruled out the cluster because I recently updated to a limited cluster. The problems I’ve had occurred at least twice since them. So it seems to remain a software issue.
the dealer has blamed the problem on my aftermarket amps however when the system works right I can monitor a draw that is well within spec and I don’t walk out to a dead battery. Due to the fact the truck has left me on a dead battery a few times already I carry a booster with enough juice to get me going in the center console. One of them small jumpers but it works perfect and charges off of usb. So it maintains a charge.
Anyway for those having this issue or have had this issue I would do this.
after you lock your vehicle set an alert on your phone for about an hour. At which time go and check on your truck to see if the cluster is asking for you to press button to start. Do this without keys in your pocket or near car.
If you see the cluster is on that means you will walk out to a dead battery unless you reset the truck. However I would document this. You have two ways to reset one is easy and requires no tools. And other requires you to remove the negative or positive battery terminal.
The first method you open the driver door and look under the dash for a harness with two large red wires in it attached to the bcm to the left of the brake pedal. Simple press the release on that harness and separate it for 1 second. That will cause a reset of all the interior systems as that is the power wires to the inside fuse box. Pictured below as well
I have years of knowledge on these vehicles and have been unable to diagnose the root cause of this. using all of the techniques dealers have the ah ha moment hasn’t been found yet and since the dealers here in Dallas havent been helpful I have purchased modules on my own dime to try and fix it as it is very annoying and since I have certain things done to my truck I don’t want to lo I’ve been reluctant to have dealers keep poking at it new or not.
Unless a senior engineer gets this task I am unsure a fix will be out any time soon. It’s definitely a software glitch is some kind witch no dealership will be able to solve.
This of you reporting hearing the air suspension I would say that amount it’s on is not long enough to cause a drain. At each moment when it performs its functions. It lasts for less than 1 minute. Even if it did what it does once per hour I would doubt that’s enough to cause this issue.
maybe someone else with dealership tools can post a picture of the map when the ignition is off with witech. As I have supplied. The more knowledge we come up with maybe able to help someone figure out the problem sooner than later.
The main cause since it’s been mentioned numerous times is either the radio or instrument cluster not going to sleep. When this happens it is keeping numerous modules awake as well. The dealer can never find this because it is intermittent. If the battery goes dead it will reset the module causing this. And won’t come back until and undertermined amount of time but if it did it once it will do it again.
These trucks are also very power hungry and they don’t like to perform correctly when the reserve is low ie your battery. In my truck when the battery is low all sorts of things start to happen. Many of which I posted about. However on numerous occasions I have witnessed the cluster still awake after I get Out more than an hour of sitting locked. The draw when this happens is around 7-12 amps. That amount of draw will Kill a battery in hours even a good battery.
The battery in my truck has been replaced with a non Mopar battery and the problem has still occurred.
of course when I took it to a dealer no problem was found they recharged the battery and sent me on the way. I’m smarter than that though and own all of the same and more diagnostic equipment that they have. One thing that doesn’t make sense is if you look at the vehicle map when the system is off the HVAC module goes offline but is still active. Represented by the color. As pictured below. Also I would think the abs should go to sleep as well but it doesn’t. As there is no reason for It to be active when the ignition is off. Current modules replaced in my truck with same results are Abs , BCM and RFH. I have also ruled out the cluster because I recently updated to a limited cluster. The problems I’ve had occurred at least twice since them. So it seems to remain a software issue.
the dealer has blamed the problem on my aftermarket amps however when the system works right I can monitor a draw that is well within spec and I don’t walk out to a dead battery. Due to the fact the truck has left me on a dead battery a few times already I carry a booster with enough juice to get me going in the center console. One of them small jumpers but it works perfect and charges off of usb. So it maintains a charge.
Anyway for those having this issue or have had this issue I would do this.
after you lock your vehicle set an alert on your phone for about an hour. At which time go and check on your truck to see if the cluster is asking for you to press button to start. Do this without keys in your pocket or near car.
If you see the cluster is on that means you will walk out to a dead battery unless you reset the truck. However I would document this. You have two ways to reset one is easy and requires no tools. And other requires you to remove the negative or positive battery terminal.
The first method you open the driver door and look under the dash for a harness with two large red wires in it attached to the bcm to the left of the brake pedal. Simple press the release on that harness and separate it for 1 second. That will cause a reset of all the interior systems as that is the power wires to the inside fuse box. Pictured below as well
I have years of knowledge on these vehicles and have been unable to diagnose the root cause of this. using all of the techniques dealers have the ah ha moment hasn’t been found yet and since the dealers here in Dallas havent been helpful I have purchased modules on my own dime to try and fix it as it is very annoying and since I have certain things done to my truck I don’t want to lo I’ve been reluctant to have dealers keep poking at it new or not.
Unless a senior engineer gets this task I am unsure a fix will be out any time soon. It’s definitely a software glitch is some kind witch no dealership will be able to solve.
This of you reporting hearing the air suspension I would say that amount it’s on is not long enough to cause a drain. At each moment when it performs its functions. It lasts for less than 1 minute. Even if it did what it does once per hour I would doubt that’s enough to cause this issue.
maybe someone else with dealership tools can post a picture of the map when the ignition is off with witech. As I have supplied. The more knowledge we come up with maybe able to help someone figure out the problem sooner than later.
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2wd
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@Nyinstaller
What a great post. This should be a sticky/primer on troubleshooting electrical problems.
I came from an F150 that would consistently leave me with a dead truck/battery every 4-5 months. Took it to 2 dealers and 2 independent shops and could not get it diagnosed. Went through 3 batteries to rule out battery as the cause.
Really sucks folks are still having to roll the dice on complex electrical issues on new vehicles.
What a great post. This should be a sticky/primer on troubleshooting electrical problems.
I came from an F150 that would consistently leave me with a dead truck/battery every 4-5 months. Took it to 2 dealers and 2 independent shops and could not get it diagnosed. Went through 3 batteries to rule out battery as the cause.
Really sucks folks are still having to roll the dice on complex electrical issues on new vehicles.
MJP
Ram Guru
Sorry to hear. There is obviously something wrong. I have a Limited that is not an everyday driver and it has sat for 2+ weeks without being driven and starts right up. Press the dealer to figure it out. I can imagine how frustrating it is to come out to a dead truck. Keep the faith brother.
RamCares
Spends too much time on here
Hi JPindiana,
We are sorry to hear about your continuing concern. If you are interested in additional assistance, please send us a private message!
Laura
Ram Cares
Zeeya
Well-Known Member
I just experienced the dead battery feature on our trucks. W Texas on lease road and nothing. Just so happens one of the pumpers was out checking tank batteries and gave me a jump. Meter after getting a jump was on 13.4. Over the next few days the meter got up to 14.7 at one time, but mostly hung around 14.4. What is max it should show on volt meter? I thought alternator might have been overcharging or something. Didn't know it would get up that high.
Twoamen
Well-Known Member
There are several blogs on this problem. So far the reports on repair are inconsistent and non-specific on a solution.
More though, leaning towards battery than not.
I have a Laramie Limited 1.5 years old. Dead, Towed, still at dealers. 2 weeks. Limited man power on getting to a diagnosis reason for delay. All exterior and interior lighting, radio worked. Side steps would not deploy or re-track was only symptom. Push start button, created a Loud snap under dash several of the attempts to start. Not all attempts on button push to start did this snap occur.
More though, leaning towards battery than not.
I have a Laramie Limited 1.5 years old. Dead, Towed, still at dealers. 2 weeks. Limited man power on getting to a diagnosis reason for delay. All exterior and interior lighting, radio worked. Side steps would not deploy or re-track was only symptom. Push start button, created a Loud snap under dash several of the attempts to start. Not all attempts on button push to start did this snap occur.
Last edited:
jfcody3962
Active Member
2019 and up use AT&T LTE for connectivity
th3duke
Active Member
Just an update on this, the truck was at the dealer for 6 days to try and resolve this issue. There was quite a bit of troubleshooting involved but apparently there was a pinched wire that they had to fix...
fflis
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It’s interesting. This is one of the things I read about before buying my truck. I did note when I purchased the truck (used at 19k) that it has a battery from autozone. I find that odd for a truck that’s less than a year old.
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Colossus2500
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I had a similar situation... posted about it on the HD side. Have a 4 month old 19 2500 Laramie with the 6.4. Completely dead battery, jumped it to have battery, abs, brake, 4wd, and tc lights illuminated. No cameras, XM, sensors, climate only did HI or LO. Climate fan fluctuated speed. Let it run, drove it around, restarted it, lights would not go away. No idea what drained it. Had a strong burning smell exiting the vehicle. Assuming it was the alternator working overtime? Idk, I’m no mechanic. Will advise whats the diagnosis.
Aries Ram
AriesRam
Please chime in on my new post Dead Truck Class Action Lawsuit.
I am having the exact problem with my 2019 3500 6.7L Diesel. The first time it happened, I thought it was a one off. I took it to the dealer and they said everything was fine. It happened a second time so I took it in again and they said it was my after market air bags that were installed incorrectly. They fixed the wiring for the aftermarket airbags.... It didn't help, so I took it in a third time! This time the dealer told me "this is normal," because the newer models have so many modules that are constantly running, if you don't drive the truck ever 3 days at a minimum, it will absolutely happen again. They suggested I buy a solar trickle charger to keep up the charge. Guess what??? That didn't work either, I am debating on taking it in again because I can't imagine that they are going to find anything else wrong with the electrical!
Reading this forum makes me think that I should just bite the bullet and pay for new batteries or allow the dealership to come up with some other crazy findings that they think is "normal"! Has anyone changed the batteries and had better luck? Also, does anyone think that cold weather makes it happen faster? My truck did pretty good all summer but then the weather turned and boom its dead again.
Reading this forum makes me think that I should just bite the bullet and pay for new batteries or allow the dealership to come up with some other crazy findings that they think is "normal"! Has anyone changed the batteries and had better luck? Also, does anyone think that cold weather makes it happen faster? My truck did pretty good all summer but then the weather turned and boom its dead again.
Paul07
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I have a 2020 Rebel, my battery died about a month ago. took it to the dealer, they said it was a relay switch, the tail light was coming on by itself. When they checked with the computer it couldn't even see that the light was on when they turned it on, almost like it wasn't there. It sounded believable, well my battery is dead again. This is an $85,000 truck, this shouldn't be happening. Is there going to be a recall for this issue, seems like a lot of people are having dead battery issues. Please help guys, any help would be much appreciated, I will call the 1-800 number tomorrow and get the battery boosted, but there is definitely something going on with these rams, I am very disappointed, heard horror stories over the years with Rams , always thought it was a myth, now I feel like I got a lemon.
