Battery drain

[Tominator223]

There is a test called a phantom draw test. If the shop/dealer doesn’t do that 1st or know what it is . Run away. Read the fuse box cover & pull the fuse for the component you think it may be . Too see if the noise stops. Then go check your vin# & see if it’s a recall or warranty part/issue. Because you are just a # to that dealer. Have them charge the battery and get your truck outta there. If I was working on it , I’d have happily watched the video . Good luck. HNY

 

[Jim BB]

Do you have air suspension? If so It sounds like the air pump cycling or a pump cycling

 

[HarryMancini]

Electrical problems are difficult to diagnose.
Likely, your dealer has no one up to the task.

So, yes, as others have written, charge your
battery, pay them nothing - they delivered
nothing - and drive away.

Fuse-pulling may help you target the circuit
that is faulty. But the poster that recommended
looking at relays is likely closer to truth.

Because: in your truck, a circuit is enabled
when key is out. There may be a short circuit
(two wires touching that should not) or there
may be a relay that is stuck, which is the same
thing, electrically.

A faulty relay is best case scenario. The problem
could be something else. CAN bus issues, for
example.

Now some technical stuff:
A DC ammeter in series with the battery (ground)
will allow you to quantify the current draw after
you remove the key.

Modern vehicles have computers that do
things after you take your key and go home.
It can take a couple of minutes for everything
to finish and current draw to stop. Only after
waiting can you quantify the fault current,
assuming everything else is still nominal.

Finding your errant circuit will require the
attention of someone who understands
electricity and has prints for the vehicle.

I learned all this when my radio failed. It
stopped being a radio, and it started draining
the battery when the truck was parked. Circuit
diagrams available online were inaccurate.
I reached out to a local RAM parts shop and
asked to buy the prints. The gentleman emailed
me the pages I needed. I hope all his children
are smart, healthy, and talented.

Good luck. Sorry for your trouble.

 

[imadiver]

Juls, does your RAM have air suspension? If so, it could be a leaking airline/bag which will cause the pump to run even with the key off.

Jim

 

[Marshall]

Interesting how folks look at population. I would consider 14k people bigger than a small city. The closest small city to me is 30 minutes away, and it has ~8000 people. I live rural, the closest town to me has about 1100 folks - barely more than a village - and we have 1 auto parts store, which is also the local mechanic.

My mom was born in Vanguard, SK.

You are correct, but lots here are in area’s that a city is close to a million
My home town was Kyle, but where I farmed, White Bear, population of 10 , more on Sat night if the bar is busy
The shops there are farmers as well.

 

[Marshall]

Btw Swift Current is where we are now , I am guessing at population, for yrs it was around 10k or under
That would be the closest to Vanguard, Kyle & White Bear is north of S.C. & the river as you likely will know

 

[Tulecreeper]

Btw Swift Current is where we are now , I am guessing at population, for yrs it was around 10k or under
That would be the closest to Vanguard, Kyle & White Bear is north of S.C. & the river as you likely will know

Yes, I've been all over the area on hunting trips. The last time I went through Swift Current, though, was in 1988 on my way back from a 2-week waterfowl hunting trip. We stayed at my buddy's cousin's house on the outskirts of Saskatoon and did our hunting farther east in the area of Fishing Lake. On the way back, we went through SC then cut south at Maple Creek. When we got to the border at Willow Creek, it was 5 PM and the border guy was just getting on his quad to go grouse hunting. If we had been 5 minutes later we wouldn't have been able to cross that day.

 

[Marshall]

I think I knew that guy, took that job as hardly anyone goes thru there and he could hunt all the time.
I think that that could be open longer hrs now in summer, winter????????

 

[Tulecreeper]

I think I knew that guy, took that job as hardly anyone goes thru there and he could hunt all the time.
I think that that could be open longer hrs now in summer, winter????????

Yes, I remember that guy telling us he had taken that job as his last assignment before retirement just so he could go hunting when he wanted. I worked for Fish & Wildlife, so I could relate. He had a glass cabinet in the office with a bunch of Indian artifacts he had found while out and about. That was in mid-October. We knew the crossing closed at 5, and we must have been doing Mach 2 because we made that 130 Km in not much over an hour. And I had to pee the whole time, but we didn't dare stop or we would be late.

I don't know what that road is like now, but back then it was just hard-pan. One thing that impressed me was how good the Canadian dirt roads were. I think someone told me they mixed crushed shells in with the gravel and dirt. Everybody always drove hell bent for leather on them and you could see a plume of dust traveling along the horizon from 10 miles away.

 

[Juls]

There is a test called a phantom draw test. If the shop/dealer doesn’t do that 1st or know what it is . Run away. Read the fuse box cover & pull the fuse for the component you think it may be . Too see if the noise stops. Then go check your vin# & see if it’s a recall or warranty part/issue. Because you are just a # to that dealer. Have them charge the battery and get your truck outta there. If I was working on it , I’d have happily watched the video . Good luck. HNY

I did check for recalls and there are none. I also checked to see if there were any service bulletins on it. I did find one and gave it to the dealership.
I am tempted to have them charge it and take it.
Thank you for saying that you would watch the video!

 

[Juls]

Juls, does your RAM have air suspension? If so, it could be a leaking airline/bag which will cause the pump to run even with the key off.

Jim

Yes it does. I would hope they would have checked that!!

 

[RamDiver]

I would ask them if they have any answers yet and if not, ask them to charge it and bring it home.

Until you find another mechanic, just pull the negative terminal off the battery.

You will likely find lots of support here if you or you and a friend want to investigate the issue.

Or, shop around until you find another shop, reconnect the battery and deliver.

.

 

[Matt2221]

I was having a similar issue. I had airbags added to my Ram 3500 and the major company that installed them hooked them up to an always on fuse. I finally figured it out and hooked them up to a switched fuse and never had the problem again.

 

[Juls]

I would ask them if they have any answers yet and if not, ask them to charge it and bring it home.

Until you find another mechanic, just pull the negative terminal off the battery.

You will likely find lots of support here if you or you and a friend want to investigate the issue.

Or, shop around until you find another shop, reconnect the battery and deliver.

.

Well, here is the rest of the story….. I received a call yesterday from the service dept. He told me that they did a number of tests and can’t find anything. Then I was told I can pick it up. The bill was $650! I asked for what?! The response was the tests that were done and labor. I told him that ai would be contacting the owner regarding the charge. The owner called me back. He said the cost was labor. I once again said- with no results? Then I asked -what if this happens again? Response was-bring it in and we will see what we can do. after negotiation he reduced the bill to $350. I understand that they have to pay the mechanic and have labor cost, but this is so frustrating. I picked up my truck and drove it yesterday. It seemed to run fine. But that happened before when I replaced the battery and three weeks later the issue arose. Not much I can do at this point, except pray that it was an isolated event. I attached the section of the bill to show what was done. Anyone have further thoughts on this attachment?

 

[RamDiver]

Well, here is the rest of the story….. I received a call yesterday from the service dept. He told me that they did a number of tests and can’t find anything. Then I was told I can pick it up. The bill was $650! I asked for what?! The response was the tests that were done and labor. I told him that ai would be contacting the owner regarding the charge. The owner called me back. He said the cost was labor. I once again said- with no results? Then I asked -what if this happens again? Response was-bring it in and we will see what we can do. after negotiation he reduced the bill to $350. I understand that they have to pay the mechanic and have labor cost, but this is so frustrating. I picked up my truck and drove it yesterday. It seemed to run fine. But that happened before when I replaced the battery and three weeks later the issue arose. Not much I can do at this point, except pray that it was an isolated event. I attached the section of the bill to show what was done. Anyone have further thoughts on this attachment?

Wow!

Did they have any explanation for your video-captured observations?

I'm sorry to hear that they didn't find anything.

I suggest you learn the location of the air suspension compressor and booster pump fuses and plan to remove the fuses the next time you hear the noise in the video.

The TIPM (fuse box in the engine bay) fuse #F17 air suspension, F22 air suspension control module, F33 brake booster vacuum pump.

Fuse Box Diagram RAM 1500 / Dodge Ram (2019-2021..)

Fuse box diagrams (location and assignment of electrical fuses and relays) RAM 1500 / Dodge Ram (2019, 2020, 2021..)

fuse-box.info

Maybe, raise the hood, set the air suspension compressor to run, and jump out to listen if the noise is the same as your video. That would confirm or rule out the suspension compressor as being the source of your grief.

Until you have identified the culprit, I'd be carrying a 10mm wrench and be prepared to remove the negative battery terminal any time you hear that compressor-like noise, after a shutdown.


Another question for clarification, when the video of that noise was recorded, was that with the key off?

I don't believe either of those devices should be running in a key-off state. If they are, we have to question why they're not connected to a switched fuse, meaning they have no power when the key switch is in an off state.

I was having a similar issue. I had airbags added to my Ram 3500 and the major company that installed them hooked them up to an always on fuse. I finally figured it out and hooked them up to a switched fuse and never had the problem again.

If that noise is only heard with the key off, once we can identify the device and move it to a switched fuse, you should be good to go.

.

 

[Juls]

Wow!

Did they have any explanation for your video-captured observations?

I'm sorry to hear that they didn't find anything.

I suggest you learn the location of the air suspension compressor and booster pump fuses and plan to remove the fuses the next time you hear the noise in the video.

The TIPM (fuse box in the engine bay) fuse #F17 air suspension, F22 air suspension control module, F33 brake booster vacuum pump.

Fuse Box Diagram RAM 1500 / Dodge Ram (2019-2021..)

Fuse box diagrams (location and assignment of electrical fuses and relays) RAM 1500 / Dodge Ram (2019, 2020, 2021..)

fuse-box.info

Maybe, raise the hood, set the air suspension compressor to run, and jump out to listen if the noise is the same as your video. That would confirm or rule out the suspension compressor as being the source of your grief.

Until you have identified the culprit, I'd be carrying a 10mm wrench and be prepared to remove the negative battery terminal any time you hear that compressor-like noise, after a shutdown.


Another question for clarification, when the video of that noise was recorded, was that with the key off?

I don't believe either of those devices should be running in a key-off state. If they are, we have to question why they're not connected to a switched fuse, meaning they have no power when the key switch is in an off state.




If that noise is only heard with the key off, once we can identify the device and move it to a switched fuse, you should be good to go.

.

The video was taken when I opened the hood waiting for the tow truck. He thought he may be able to jump it. The start button was not touched. The noise began after I shut the truck off.
I do plan to check fuses if it happens again. I will pull the fuses you mentioned one at a time to see if the noise stops. Thank you for the reminder of the wrench. Sad to think you need to carry a wrench thinking it will happen again. I appreciate everyone’s support, thoughts and input.

 

[Curmudgeon]

The video was taken when I opened the hood waiting for the tow truck. He thought he may be able to jump it. The start button was not touched. The noise began after I shut the truck off.
I do plan to check fuses if it happens again. I will pull the fuses you mentioned one at a time to see if the noise stops. Thank you for the reminder of the wrench. Sad to think you need to carry a wrench thinking it will happen again. I appreciate everyone’s support, thoughts and input.

Everyone should carry a 10mm at all times. There is always someone, somewhere, combing the grass for the one they dropped.

 

[RamDiver]

Everyone should carry a 10mm at all times. There is always someone, somewhere, combing the grass for the one they dropped.

That's a great idea.

I just grabbed a spare 10mm wrench from the shop, a stubby ratchet that is rarely used, and slapped a short extension with a 10mm socket onto it.

I'll put that at the front door so I trip over it until it's placed in the truck toolbox.

.

 

[RamDiver]

The video was taken when I opened the hood waiting for the tow truck. He thought he may be able to jump it. The start button was not touched. The noise began after I shut the truck off.
I do plan to check fuses if it happens again. I will pull the fuses you mentioned one at a time to see if the noise stops. Thank you for the reminder of the wrench. Sad to think you need to carry a wrench thinking it will happen again. I appreciate everyone’s support, thoughts and input.

I would suggest you consider being a bit more proactive than just waiting.

You might prefer to deal with this on your schedule rather than wait because, I can almost guarantee that when the problem returns, it won't be convenient.

It wouldn't take much effort to test the air suspension compressor, as previously described, to potentially identify the culprit.

If you learn that it is the source of the noise you recorded, that's a big red flag, that it is wrongly connected to an unswitched power source. That would be relatively easy to correct.

If it is the suspension compressor, as a short-term, stopgap solution, I'd pull the associated fuse when you park until you can move it to a switched power source.

If I were you, I would also have a look at the fuses identified above, at your next convenience. Then at least, you know exactly where to look when it starts misbehaving again.

.

 

[Tulecreeper]

That's a great idea.

I just grabbed a spare 10mm wrench from the shop, a stubby ratchet that is rarely used, and slapped a short extension with a 10mm socket onto it.

I'll put that at the front door so I trip over it until it's placed in the truck toolbox.

.

There is no such animal as a spare 10mm socket or wrench. At least not for more than one or two uses of the original, then what was the spare becomes the primary and you have to start over again.