Battery Dead

[RHOfan]

well that is not great. not sure what to make of these things as I only had the battery die one time and since it has not been an issue. That said, I have had other minor issues with idiot lights turning on but that could be explained with bad weather etc. Though I am pretty sure my gas gauge is no longer updating lol - been at 325 miles till empty despite driving it hard for 5-10 miles...no drop in gas level haha.

I will say I do love the truck, but this is also the first new vehicle I have bought that has had this many issues. Kind of sad really.

Too many issues.

 

[Deange2001]

Too many issues.

It is...and I keep getting this pitting feeling in my stomach like I should bail now before things get even worse. $86k truck with so many issues and, what seems like, very little response from the manufacturer. I am kicking myself because I went with this truck when I could have gotten into a new raptor. Honestly not sure what to do at this point but I feel like I am waiting for something to go wrong.

 

[halftendril]

I’ve been told by local dealer (yesterday) that the dead battery issue is related to one or more defective computer modules. They will fire up the RHO’s 70 computers repeatedly because the signals they send out are not being answered. Makes sense as the new architecture uses signals across several modules to create added functionality without added wiring. Lighter, more efficient & cheaper to build…

Seems like a pretty big disigne flaw to over communicate between modules if the signals is lost to the point where the truck kills its batteries while the vehicle is shut off.

 

[Deange2001]

I noticed my battery voltage hovers around 13 - 13.2 with the occasional spike in the 14s. Most vehicles I've had are above 14. Curious if that's what everyone els is seeing on their RHO's. SO far no issues on mine.

When I turn my truck on but don’t start the engine my battery level reads around 11v. As soon as I turn it on it jumps to and stays at 14.4-14.5 and never drops below that as far as I can tell. Not sure if it’s good that it is 11v after it sat for a night..

 

[Dan G]

When I turn my truck on but don’t start the engine my battery level reads around 11v. As soon as I turn it on it jumps to and stays at 14.4-14.5 and never drops below that as far as I can tell. Not sure if it’s good that it is 11v after it sat for a night..

Technically 12v is considered a dead battery for Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) and 12.6v is fully charged. So 11 is not a good number.

 

[Deange2001]

Technically 12v is considered a dead battery for Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) and 12.6v is fully charged. So 11 is not a good number.

Yea I figured it should be more in the 12v area but the truck fires up with no issues and immediately goes up to 14.4/5 and holds there. Plus I brought it in a while ago (died the first night I got it) and they tested the battery and found no issues . Figure if it dies again I’ll bring it in and see what they say. Or like others on here I’ll grab my own and install them.

 

[Dan G]

Yea I figured it should be more in the 12v area but the truck fires up with no issues and immediately goes up to 14.4/5 and holds there. Plus I brought it in a while ago (died the first night I got it) and they tested the battery and found no issues . Figure if it dies again I’ll bring it in and see what they say. Or like others on here I’ll grab my own and install them.

The 14.5v when running just means your alternator is working properly. I would carry jumper cables with you because it sounds like something is draining the battery. Also check the battery volts after driving around. It should be back at 12+ volts

 

[Deange2001]

The 14.5v when running just means your alternator is working properly. I would carry jumper cables with you because it sounds like something is draining the battery. Also check the battery volts after driving around. It should be back at 12+ volts

I forgot to check after driving around but I went to start my car and checked before turning engine on and it was at 12v. I will call the dealer on Monday and see if they can check it out and swap in new batteries. If not I might just buy my own for some peace of mind.

 

[MattH89]

I forgot to check after driving around but I went to start my car and checked before turning engine on and it was at 12v. I will call the dealer on Monday and see if they can check it out and swap in new batteries. If not I might just buy my own for some peace of mind.

Make sure you watch CTech's vid on the battery replacement. There's a very specific order of operations you need to follow to avoid sending a bunch of codes.

 

[Deange2001]

Make sure you watch CTech's vid on the battery replacement. There's a very specific order of operations you need to follow to avoid sending a bunch of codes.

Haha I did watch it. I’d say the only part that I wouldn’t have done is unplugging the one sensor from the negative term. On the main battery. I’d prefer not to have to do this but we will see if the dealer dicks around with this.

 

[Deange2001]

The 14.5v when running just means your alternator is working properly. I would carry jumper cables with you because it sounds like something is draining the battery. Also check the battery volts after driving around. It should be back at 12+ volts

Update, this morning I checked battery voltage on dash before turning engine on...it was at 11.9/12v. Turned the car on and everything was normal, per usual. Drove the car about 25 minutes (getting it ceramic coated) and checked battery before I left the truck and it dropped from 12.4 to about 12.2 and it seemed like it stopped there (I waited for about 30 seconds) then had to drop the truck keys off.

Part of me thinks I should just leave this and see what happens as I don't want to bring my truck in for a 4th service visit in two months but I also would be pretty upset if this truck died at an inconvenient time.

 

[NEBOYSA]

Some of you definitely had good amount of voltage drop. It made me curious to check my out also because being on the forum it made me worried especially on my 800 mile trip 1.5 months ago. So I have my truck for almost 4 months already. Here is my results so far from it being parked for 4 days. The battery's tested so far at 12.6 volts every single morning while parked and not driven.

 

[Deange2001]

Some of you definitely had good amount of voltage drop. It made me curious to check my out also because being on the forum it made me worried especially on my 800 mile trip 1.5 months ago. So I have my truck for almost 4 months already. Here is my results so far from it being parked for 4 days. The battery's tested so far at 12.6 volts every single morning while parked and not driven.

Last update (unless the battery dies at some point in the future): I spoke with my dealer who, so far, has been pretty solid about getting me in and taking a look at things. The tech said 11v on a cold day (which it was in the 20s when I woke up) is "normal." They said because it gets up to 14.5v and holds with no issues, and that it was around 11.9/12v this morning (when it was warmer by 20-30 deg) they said they didn't think it was worth bringing it in (he did joke that they love working on my truck though). I mentioned I was always under the impression it should be at 12.4-12.6v when the engine is off and he said ideally yes but that it is common for different batteries to have varying performance levels.

It is tough for me to argue with them. Honestly, if not for reading info on this forum, i'd likely never have noticed anything about the battery being lower than what others are seeing. Maybe the battery is not as "good" as it should be but will still be ok, maybe it is a bad battery and it will die...maybe it is one of the parasitic drain issues people have mentioned. All I can say is that the truck has had no battery issues or startup issues since the morning after I picked it up.

I guess I am in a holding pattern here. If something happens I will have the dealer come take care of it as I was assured it was ok and to not worry about bringing it in...or i'll drop the $400 to just do the batteries myself and hope that is the only issue and there is no parasitic drain.

 

[Dan G]

Last update (unless the battery dies at some point in the future): I spoke with my dealer who, so far, has been pretty solid about getting me in and taking a look at things. The tech said 11v on a cold day (which it was in the 20s when I woke up) is "normal." They said because it gets up to 14.5v and holds with no issues, and that it was around 11.9/12v this morning (when it was warmer by 20-30 deg) they said they didn't think it was worth bringing it in (he did joke that they love working on my truck though). I mentioned I was always under the impression it should be at 12.4-12.6v when the engine is off and he said ideally yes but that it is common for different batteries to have varying performance levels.

It is tough for me to argue with them. Honestly, if not for reading info on this forum, i'd likely never have noticed anything about the battery being lower than what others are seeing. Maybe the battery is not as "good" as it should be but will still be ok, maybe it is a bad battery and it will die...maybe it is one of the parasitic drain issues people have mentioned. All I can say is that the truck has had no battery issues or startup issues since the morning after I picked it up.

I guess I am in a holding pattern here. If something happens I will have the dealer come take care of it as I was assured it was ok and to not worry about bringing it in...or i'll drop the $400 to just do the batteries myself and hope that is the only issue and there is no parasitic drain.

For peace of mind, I would drive around with a portable jump starter. That way you don’t have the thought of being stranded on your mind.

 

[Deange2001]

For peace of mind, I would drive around with a portable jump starter. That way you don’t have the thought of being stranded on your mind.

I have my jumper cables in the truck. I am not worried about being stranded off-roading because there is nowhere around me to do this haha so there should always be another car nearby. Though I may still grab something like this: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-Ul...cphy=9005648&hvtargid=pla-2281435184058&psc=1

But I've never used one before and find it hard to believe it would work...but if anyone has any experience I'd appreciate the input.

 

[Deange2001]

Also, found the battery tray had sitting water I'm it, picture was after i used a towel to dry it up, still a little damp and found these two bolts sitting in the battery tray

Quick question, when you swapped your batteries, did you take the truck in to clear all the codes or use an obd2 reader/drive the car around a bit? When mine died, I just used the code reader but I am not sure if the act of physically removing and replacing batteries would throw additional codes that need to be cleared by dealer.

 

[gram10]

Quick question, when you swapped your batteries, did you take the truck in to clear all the codes or use an obd2 reader/drive the car around a bit? When mine died, I just used the code reader but I am not sure if the act of physically removing and replacing batteries would throw additional codes that need to be cleared by dealer.

I had the truck disconnected for a solid hour while doing the batteries, but the codes had previously cleared on their own before replacing the batteries. I did not get any codes and have only used a code reader to clear codes.

 

[Deange2001]

I had the truck disconnected for a solid hour while doing the batteries, but the codes had previously cleared on their own before replacing the batteries. I did not get any codes and have only used a code reader to clear codes.

Awesome thank you. I actually do have one more question for you, I just read that the aux battery is used to power the vehicle when the engine is off...if we are reading the voltage levels while the engine is off, is this showing the aux level? main battery level? I assume the main but when I get my truck back, I am going to put a DVM to both and see what things look like but that won't be for a day or two.

I wish I didn't love the truck so much. haha. Would be easier if I didn't but when it is working properly it truly is one of the most fun vehicles I have ever had the pleasure to drive.

 

[gram10]

Awesome thank you. I actually do have one more question for you, I just read that the aux battery is used to power the vehicle when the engine is off...if we are reading the voltage levels while the engine is off, is this showing the aux level? main battery level? I assume the main but when I get my truck back, I am going to put a DVM to both and see what things look like but that won't be for a day or two.

I wish I didn't love the truck so much. haha. Would be easier if I didn't but when it is working properly it truly is one of the most fun vehicles I have ever had the pleasure to drive.

that, unfortunately, i cannot answer. I'm not sure of the power system sequencing/logic in this truck. Wish we had a mopar tech on here that could help answer those questions.

 

[truckguy]

I have my jumper cables in the truck. I am not worried about being stranded off-roading because there is nowhere around me to do this haha so there should always be another car nearby. Though I may still grab something like this: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-Ul...cphy=9005648&hvtargid=pla-2281435184058&psc=1

But I've never used one before and find it hard to believe it would work...but if anyone has any experience I'd appreciate the input.

I have a 1200A jump start box rated for diesel and it barely jumped my 2019 ran hemi when the battery was completely dead. Not sure if a 1000A would be sufficient