Battery Tray

[Lettikka]

Yesterday I had to fit my 2019 Laramie with a new battery. Old one didn't fade out but was just hammer dead one morning. Anyway when I pulled the battery the tray was full of water. I cleaned it out and was looking for drain holes but found none. I thought it would be a good idea to drill some so this didn't happen again but before I did I thought I would talk it over with you guys. Anyone know why all of these pockets seem to have passages to connect each other but don't have a drain hole to release any collected water?

 

[John Jensen]

I experienced the same. Just drilled a bunch of drain holes.
Probably a design oversight. Easy to correct

 

[Wild one]

Yesterday I had to fit my 2019 Laramie with a new battery. Old one didn't fade out but was just hammer dead one morning. Anyway when I pulled the battery the tray was full of water. I cleaned it out and was looking for drain holes but found none. I thought it would be a good idea to drill some so this didn't happen again but before I did I thought I would talk it over with you guys. Anyone know why all of these pockets seem to have passages to connect each other but don't have a drain hole to release any collected water?

View attachment 519323

If you live where it gets hot,that water under the battery might not be a bad thing,as the evaporation will help cool the battery.Heat kills batteries faster then cold

 

[Lettikka]

Funny that you say that. I was actually thinking the same thing when I pulled the battery out of there and saw all of the little cubby's full of water. Dunno. If you study it the set up will only let the water get so deep and then it runs out??? Maybe you are on to something.

 

[brian42]

I'd check under the tray to see what it would drip on. If it's not a big deal then drill some holes with the tray removed.

I replaced my battery after about 2 1/2 years and there was a little dust and some minor debris but nothing major (granted weather doesn't change too much in San Diego ).

How is that much water getting into the bottom of the tray? I know that it's near the fender/hood edge but that's still not a very direct route...even in a lot of rain considering there are channels and drains to keep things out of there.

 

[John Jensen]

I'd check under the tray to see what it would drip on. If it's not a big deal then drill some holes with the tray removed.

I replaced my battery after about 2 1/2 years and there was a little dust and some minor debris but nothing major (granted weather doesn't change too much in San Diego ).

How is that much water getting into the bottom of the tray? I know that it's near the fender/hood edge but that's still not a very direct route...even in a lot of rain considering there are channels and drains to keep things out of there.

It gets in my battery tray when I detail my engine compartment. Not anymore with drain holes drilled

 

[brian42]

I don't remember if any of my vehicle battery trays had drains. I always assumed it was a drip tray to catch any leakage and prevent any of the corrosive properties from spreading throughout the engine compartment and damaging nearby components.

 

[Jim BB]

I am going to ask a question and maybe answer the a question as well !
my question is how many of us remember the day's when the battery tray was made of steel ?
and when you pulled out your battery and the tray paint was peeled off and rusted and the bolts holding it down was corroded and rusted out ! ?
That is why the battery trays are made of plastic with out holes now ! Battery's make heat from charging and discharge gases from charging which gets collected to battery tray's ! so if you drill holes in them you are altimetry ! letting the gases drain to what ever is below the tray and corroding it. Ie wiring frame rail computer ! what ever is under and around it !
I personally would not modify my battery tray !
Just food for thought

 

[Dean2]

I agree Jim. The water in the tray hurts absolutely nothing. Tray is plastic, bottom of battery is too. I do not think this is a design oversight. Far too intricate a design for them to have missed something as simple as a drain hole. I would leave it just like Mopar built it.

 

[Lettikka]

I am going to leave it without the holes. I don't see what it will hurt and the capacity to catch something that could be corrosive is good. I think mine is full of water due to the hood scoop/air vents.

 

[rws1944]

If you have a sealed battery acid leakage and /or corrosion shouldn't be a problem. I know we sometimes think the factory design folks are not the brightest bulbs but not having drain holes would have received much more attention from owners by now. I would leave the tray as is. BTW, the tray is sized to an H8 but the OEM battery is an H7 with a spacer to hold it in place. Hope you replaced the OEM battery with an H8 AGM. I replaced my OEM battery about a year ago with an H8 AGM Interstate and have had not problems or issues since.

 

[Lettikka]

Dammit!!! Did not know that. I would have gone with the bigger one too.

 

[turkeybird56]

Dammit!!! Did not know that. I would have gone with the bigger one too.

Unless U deal with really cold temps, your H7 should be fine. I just put in a new H7 AGM in mine, but my problem here is heat, not cold. So if I get more than 4 years of service on a battery, dis BOIRD be very happy.

 

[John Jensen]

A final thought about the battery leakage and gases draining comments. I'd be interested to know if anyone has had either situation occur in the last 20 years. The last time I had a battery leak was in 1952 when a battery case cracked. Our AGM batteries are sealed and vented, they cannot leak.

I've never heard of gases draining, the battery's gas goes up, not down, and quickly evaporates into the atmosphere. By the way, batteries don't vent gases, they only vent one gas, hydrogen.

I'm not knocking your opinions or comments, only trying to say those comments aren't valid when it comes to my drilling drainage holes in the tray.

 

[Wild one]

A final thought about the battery leakage and gases draining comments. I'd be interested to know if anyone has had either situation occur in the last 20 years. The last time I had a battery leak was in 1952 when a battery case cracked. Our AGM batteries are sealed and vented, they cannot leak.

I've never heard of gases draining, the battery's gas goes up, not down, and quickly evaporates into the atmosphere. By the way, batteries don't vent gases, they only vent one gas, hydrogen.

I'm not knocking your opinions or comments, only trying to say those comments aren't valid when it comes to my drilling drainage holes in the tray.

Living where you do,i'm guessing you've never experienced a frozen battery and broken case either Still happens in the north

 

[GTyankee]

I drove a 1956 Chevy pickup from 1971 - 2009
In all that time that truck never left Southern California

Every regular battery that i put in it, except when batteries all became Sealed, the batteries with caps all lost liquid out of the caps, Over the years, i think that i replaced the metal tray twice.
I used a rubber mat the second time, that helped reduce the impacts that the battery was subjected to.

I think our Rams have some kind of sensor in the trays
I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with Heat

 

[Wild one]

I drove a 1956 Chevy pickup from 1971 - 2009
In all that time that truck never left Southern California

Every regular battery that i put in it, except when batteries all became Sealed, the batteries with caps all lost liquid out of the caps, Over the years, i think that i replaced the metal tray twice.
I used a rubber mat the second time, that helped reduce the impacts that the battery was subjected to.

I think our Rams have some kind of sensor in the trays
I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with Heat

The IBS (intelligent battery sensor) is on the cable,not in the tray

 

[GTyankee]

Learning more every day

 

[John Jensen]

Living where you do,i'm guessing you've never experienced a frozen battery and broken case either Still happens in the north

Yep, some of the best climates in the world. I advise you to not drill drain holes in the tray

 

[Wild one]

Yep, some of the best climates in the world. I advise you to not drill drain holes in the tray

Read my posts a little better,point out where i said that i was gonna drill holes in the battery tray,or reconmended drilling holes. I live where it's not all that uncommon for a battery to freeze and split the case,lol.Go ahead and drill holes in your battery tray if that's what you want, personally though i wouldn't reconmend it ,but those are only my thoughts,lol