So, I have an odd issue with my 2020 Ram 1500. About two weeks ago, I jumped in my truck to head out and it wouldn't start. Finally realized my battery was dead, went to go charge it and noticed the wire that connects my battery sensor was cut clean in half (see photo). Disconnected the battery and charged it up (my charger is only 8 amps, so this is the only way it charges and it takes forever), hooked it all back up and the car started right up. Had some lights on the dash that went away, likely due to the battery being disconnected. I've been monitoring the battery's voltage in the dash, and it holds about 14v when running, so the alternator is good. However, if the truck is off, it doesn't hold a charge for more than 24 hours. I work from home, and don't drive everyday, so I've had to make it a point to autostart the truck in the morning so the battery charges up in case I need to head out later on.
The battery is original, so it's pushing four years old at this point. It could be the battery, but I find it strange that it happened all at once. If the battery was truly degraded, I feel like this would have been more intermittent. That's what leads me to believe it's the battery sensor being cut. I tried doing some research to understand what it does, but I couldn't find much on it. I vaguely came across something that said a bad battery sensor could result in the battery not retaining a charge while the truck is off, but that's about all the information I have on the battery sensor. To make matters worse, I tried splicing the wires back together, but one of the two wires came apart, and I'm going to need another wire to extend it as it's too short for me connect it again now. I'm not an electrician of any kind, but it's a tiny wire so I figured I'd head to Lowes and get a replacement. I found a doorbell wire that looked to be the same gauge, but it was locked away, and when I had someone come to open it, he said "oh you can't use that, it's low voltage". That didn't make sense to me, as from my understanding the wire is simply sending a signal to the computer, it's not actually sending meaningful amounts of power throughout the vehicle, but this was all above me, so I just left it at that, and came here for more information.
Anyway, anyone have any ideas what's going on here? Does it sound like I need a new battery or could the battery sensor being cut cause this? I'd like to try reconnecting the battery sensor before going out and spending $250 on a new battery, if possible, but without knowing what type of wire to use, I can't really test it at the moment.
The battery is original, so it's pushing four years old at this point. It could be the battery, but I find it strange that it happened all at once. If the battery was truly degraded, I feel like this would have been more intermittent. That's what leads me to believe it's the battery sensor being cut. I tried doing some research to understand what it does, but I couldn't find much on it. I vaguely came across something that said a bad battery sensor could result in the battery not retaining a charge while the truck is off, but that's about all the information I have on the battery sensor. To make matters worse, I tried splicing the wires back together, but one of the two wires came apart, and I'm going to need another wire to extend it as it's too short for me connect it again now. I'm not an electrician of any kind, but it's a tiny wire so I figured I'd head to Lowes and get a replacement. I found a doorbell wire that looked to be the same gauge, but it was locked away, and when I had someone come to open it, he said "oh you can't use that, it's low voltage". That didn't make sense to me, as from my understanding the wire is simply sending a signal to the computer, it's not actually sending meaningful amounts of power throughout the vehicle, but this was all above me, so I just left it at that, and came here for more information.
Anyway, anyone have any ideas what's going on here? Does it sound like I need a new battery or could the battery sensor being cut cause this? I'd like to try reconnecting the battery sensor before going out and spending $250 on a new battery, if possible, but without knowing what type of wire to use, I can't really test it at the moment.
