Truck dead

[VectorZ]

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.

I'm seeing this issue with an assortment of new vehicles including the new F150 and Honda Ridgeline.

Electrical parasite issue - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans

2021+ Ford F150 - Electrical parasite issue - Left the truck sit for a week. App said it went into deep sleep mode at 3 days of sitting. Battery completely dead. Took it to the dealer, they did a load test on the battery and it?s good but there is a drain on my battery somewhere. Anyone else...

www.f150forum.com

 

[351Cobra]

Registered just to ask if there's any update to this?

My 2020 1500 BigHorn has been having battery issues lately. Monitoring the voltage it will drop enough in 48 hours of not being driven to be dead. After driving it, after 3.5 days of not driving it was showing 7.6v.

Today I had the battery load tested at Advanced Auto Parts. Machine showed it as "good" with 770CCA.

Driving it back from the store today the dash was reading 13.7v which seems low but no warning lights on the dash to indicate anything wrong.

A meter over the battery shows 12.18v, start the truck and it jumps to 13.7v. Not as high as I'd expect but clearly charging.

Disconnected the big red connector under the dash. Will see if that makes any difference after reconnecting.

I also reseated all the relays and fuses. Some didnt seem fully seated but I doubt related.

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[Dusty1948]

Registered just to ask if there's any update to this?

My 2020 1500 BigHorn has been having battery issues lately. Monitoring the voltage it will drop enough in 48 hours of not being driven to be dead. After driving it, after 3.5 days of not driving it was showing 7.6v.

Today I had the battery load tested at Advanced Auto Parts. Machine showed it as "good" with 770CCA.

Driving it back from the store today the dash was reading 13.7v which seems low but no warning lights on the dash to indicate anything wrong.

A meter over the battery shows 12.18v, start the truck and it jumps to 13.7v. Not as high as I'd expect but clearly charging.

Disconnected the big red connector under the dash. Will see if that makes any difference after reconnecting.

I also reseated all the relays and fuses. Some didnt seem fully seated but I doubt related.

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By any chance can you get a VOM reading across the battery while someone cranks the engine?

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 0530263 miles.

 

[351Cobra]

It starts pretty quickly when there's sufficient voltage so tricky to measure accurately but a couple of attempts and it looks to drop to about 10.6v on crank.

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[Dusty1948]

It starts pretty quickly when there's sufficient voltage so tricky to measure accurately but a couple of attempts and it looks to drop to about 10.6v on crank.

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I think you need a new battery.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 0530263 miles.

 

[Runagun]

Left my radar detector plug in when I went on vacation and came back to a dead truck. I moved the fuse from always on to ignition. And so far haven't experienced any issues.

 

[VectorZ]

Left my radar detector plug in when I went on vacation and came back to a dead truck. I moved the fuse from always on to ignition. And so far haven't experienced any issues.

How did you do that?

 

[Runagun]

How did you do that?

The fuse box is under the steering. You have to take off the knee booster. Two screws and just pull it off. Then you have to move the fuse over. Put everything back. Overall 5-10 min job. Your cigarette outlet on your dash will then shut off with ignition instead always live.

 

[351Cobra]

I think you need a new battery.

To close my thread - you were right. New Duralast put in last week and no issues since. Annoying that a new battery is covered by a 3 year warranty, yet a warranteed 18mo old Ram 1500 Bighorn won't cover it.

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[KWKSLVR]

I would contact Ram Cares or the battery manufacturer about it.

 

[351Cobra]

I would contact Ram Cares or the battery manufacturer about it.

Probably too late now. The old battery went in as the core exchange. It's the principle more than anything. The dealership wouldn't even look at it without booking me for 'diagnostics' at $175/hr. When I asked about coverage they told me it wasn't covered as it's a 'wearable' item. So I figured I may as well just spend that $175 on a new battery since the odds were that's all it was. Why spend $175 only to be told that I need a new battery for another $180?

I love the truck but yet another reason why dealerships suck. They're all over you to get the sale - once the paperwork is signed you're just another poor sap to throw maintenance bills at given any opportunity. Bitter? Me?

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[John]

My battery went bad on my '19 Limited and the dealer replaced it under warranty no questions asked!

John

 

[Jako]

My battery went bad on my '19 Limited and the dealer replaced it under warranty no questions asked!

John

Same here.

 

[351Cobra]

Update. New battery was dead this morning after 5 days on the driveway. 4.6v on the meter. Something is up with this truck.

Wife had commented she saw the 12" screen was on last night. Could it be switching on when it recognizes a Bluetooth phone?

Put on a charger, 40 mins later I had enough to start and drive a 180 mile round trip. On starting, the 12" screen didnt come on. Had backlighting and the reversing camera showed but nothing else. Stopped for gas after about 15 mins, screen came back on. But now the heater controls don't work - I can control the fan speed but the temperature doesnt change anything. No matter what temp I select it blows hot air. Had to shut off all the vents and drive with the windows open.

Sick of this.

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[KWKSLVR]

Update. New battery was dead this morning after 5 days on the driveway. 4.6v on the meter. Something is up with this truck.

Wife had commented she saw the 12" screen was on last night. Could it be switching on when it recognizes a Bluetooth phone?

Put on a charger, 40 mins later I had enough to start and drive a 180 mile round trip. On starting, the 12" screen didnt come on. Had backlighting and the reversing camera showed but nothing else. Stopped for gas after about 15 mins, screen came back on. But now the heater controls don't work - I can control the fan speed but the temperature doesnt change anything. No matter what temp I select it blows hot air. Had to shut off all the vents and drive with the windows open.

Sick of this.

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I'm NOT a mechanic but this sounds like potentially a grounding issue to me (loose ground).

 

[jrodgerslvnv]

Interested if this is going to be common. I just returned from a 3 day trip and my battery was dead. It is 3 years old, but charged ok overnight, and load tested ok at Autozone. Not sure what drained the battery while I was gone. And I don't know if others have experienced the same thing, but when I tried to start it, there was a pop, and then I swear, there was a heartbeat sound through the speakers.

 

[Runagun]

Interested if this is going to be common. I just returned from a 3 day trip and my battery was dead. It is 3 years old, but charged ok overnight, and load tested ok at Autozone. Not sure what drained the battery while I was gone. And I don't know if others have experienced the same thing, but when I tried to start it, there was a pop, and then I swear, there was a heartbeat sound through the speakers.

I'm sorry Fred is dead. Maybe Use a defibrillator to to get her heart beating again.