Battery issue?

2015 Ram 1500 SLT QC 5.7L 2WD, 147K miles

Battery replaced in 2019 @ 90K miles

Got a battery light this AM. No struggle or hesitation at crank. Drove to work 25 miles.

Checked with meter 12.7 V off, 14.4 running

Battery light still on, will recheck this afternoon.
No signs of corrosion, connections on/around battery all tight.

Thoughts?

Will take to O'Reilly's for load test tonight.

Need a new battery. Sounds like a bad cell.

2020PW said:

Need a new battery. Sounds like a bad cell.

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My luck, probably no warranty, that battery wasnt cheap, and will bet a replacement will be even more if not covered.

Might get an Interstate Battery at BJ's if no warranty or prorate.

I'd suggest that you try cleaning the posts & terminals before replacement. I've always cleaned battery terminals and applied dielectric grease about once per year, although my Winter temperatures are a bit cooler than in Florida.

An inexpensive post cleaner tool like this one will allow you to effectively complete the whole cleaning task in a very short time.



FYI, Costco sells automotive batteries that are priced competitively, and have a great replacement warranty. I've successfully used them in numerous vehicles including several trucks for many years.

Average life of a battery in Florida is 2.5yrs. Cold temps will temporarily reduce battery power output, but heat breaks them down and destroys them. Florida sucks for battery life...always has.

EdGs said:

2015 Ram 1500 SLT QC 5.7L 2WD, 147K miles

Battery replaced in 2019 @ 90K miles

Got a battery light this AM. No struggle or hesitation at crank. Drove to work 25 miles.

Checked with meter 12.7 V off, 14.4 running

Battery light still on, will recheck this afternoon.
No signs of corrosion, connections on/around battery all tight.

Thoughts?

Will take to O'Reilly's for load test tonight.

Click to expand...

Got a headache? Take aspirin! Devil be damned that you could need glasses or have a brain tumor!

Get the truck DIAGNOSED! alternator? Wiring issue? Computer control issue? CAN/BUS problem? Who knows! Get a diagnosis by a qualified technician!

Sherman Bird said:

Get a diagnosis by a qualified technician!

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This forum is full of them!! Ok, maybe not......

Scottly said:

Average life of a battery in Florida is 2.5yrs. Cold temps will temporarily reduce battery power output, but heat breaks them down and destroys them. Florida sucks for battery life...always has.

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Yeah, have had batteries take a dump in short time. Definately more chinesium ones out there now.

Sherman Bird said:

Got a headache? Take aspirin! Devil be damned that you could need glasses or have a brain tumor!

Get the truck DIAGNOSED! alternator? Wiring issue? Computer control issue? CAN/BUS problem? Who knows! Get a diagnosis by a qualified technician!

Click to expand...

I just posed a question. Not going to get it 'diagnosed' by a 'qualified tech' unless I absolutely have to. Second, the few times I have involved a 'qualified tech' or dealer they've tried to screw me. So, again, no, not yet.

I also can't just go to the dealer as I have to work.

Getting the battery load tested is next, as it only takes some time.

EdGs said:

2015 Ram 1500 SLT QC 5.7L 2WD, 147K miles

Battery replaced in 2019 @ 90K miles

Got a battery light this AM. No struggle or hesitation at crank. Drove to work 25 miles.

Checked with meter 12.7 V off, 14.4 running

Battery light still on, will recheck this afternoon.
No signs of corrosion, connections on/around battery all tight.

Thoughts?

Will take to O'Reilly's for load test tonight.

Click to expand...

Scottly said:

Average life of a battery in Florida is 2.5yrs. Cold temps will temporarily reduce battery power output, but heat breaks them down and destroys them. Florida sucks for battery life...always has.

Click to expand...

Scottly said:

This forum is full of them!! Ok, maybe not......

Click to expand...

Scottly said:

Average life of a battery in Florida is 2.5yrs. Cold temps will temporarily reduce battery power output, but heat breaks them down and destroys them. Florida sucks for battery life...always has.

Click to expand...

I had no idea about the short battery life expectancy in Florida but. that makes perfect sense.
Up here, we can usually expect about 5 years before they start causing grief.

I'd still be inclined to clean & lube the posts regularly.

RamDiver said:

I had no idea about the short battery life expectancy in Florida but. that makes perfect sense.
Up here, we can usually expect about 5 years before they start causing grief.

I'd still be inclined to clean & lube the posts regularly.

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Yeah, will take care of that when I get home.

Just found the receipt, bought in april 2020. My luck, 2 year warranty, no prorate.....lol.

Will see when I go down there.

EdGs said:

Yeah, have had batteries take a dump in short time. Definately more chinesium ones out there now.

I just posed a question. Not going to get it 'diagnosed' by a 'qualified tech' unless I absolutely have to. Second, the few times I have involved a 'qualified tech' or dealer they've tried to screw me. So, again, no, not yet.

I also can't just go to the dealer as I have to work.

Getting the battery load tested is next, as it only takes some time.

Click to expand...

Well, I understand the thought that you'll get screwed no matter who you turn to. This is one reason that I advise folks to find a good mechanic when they DON'T need one. I just finished working on a car where the customer took it to the dealer to address the check engine light. The trouble codes present when I got it were for both banks catalytic converters (P0420 and P0430) along with codes for both banks V-tec actuators. My initial thought was "why?" Why both banks with identical codes? What are the odds? Dealer quoted her many thousands of dollars to fix it with those new components. I had observed the Freeze Frame Data had shown she was going freeway speeds when these codes set. Hmm....

What could be germane to both banks that could cause identical codes??? Why, of course! Let's check oil level in the engine.... and there was only oil at the very tip of the dipstick. It took 4 quarts to top off the oil level. And, That cured all the trouble codes! Next question is "Why?" Why would the oil be so low. Dealer had told her she had a bad engine oil leak.... And the engine was bone dry and clean. IOW, there was no oil leak! I know from experience that this engine (3.5L V-6) has an internal PCV valve. It's inside the left cylinder head rocker cover, and most places do not service it.

In conclusion, Your voltage numbers do not indicate battery health. I would recommend checking for excessive A/C ripple by performing alternator tests. Also, check for voltage drop across battery cables and grounds. Even if you do find that the battery has prematurely failed, I'd have to ask "Why?". My looking for causation led me to the correct diagnoses and certainly saved my lady customer thousands of dollars that an incompetent service staff would have cost her.

I have not looked at the wiring, but usually a battery light in older cars meant that there was a diode problem in the alternator letting voltage leak. You turn on the key, the circuit that creates the initial magnetic field runs through the light on the dash and goes out when the voltage is running to the battery, instead of from the battery.
I don't know if that's how these work or not.

A little more useless info.

EdGs said:

Just found the receipt, bought in april 2020. My luck, 2 year warranty, no prorate.....lol.

Will see when I go down there.

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Here's the 1st clue, 2 year warranty = Cheap battery.

RamDiver said:

I'd still be inclined to clean & lube the posts regularly.

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Absolutely. If you can get your hands on some zinc chromate paint, that works better than grease.

indept said:

Here's the 1st clue, 2 year warranty = Cheap battery.

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I'm not sure that it is a 2 year, but will find out.

If battery, going to definately spend more to get a better quality one.

Hoping it is at least a 3 year, if bad. Will buy new outright if I can.

Totally my fault, I know not to cheap out.

Stay tuned......

Also, since I am coming up on 150k, starting to think about water pump, hoses, etc., just because of mileage more than anything else.

EdGs said:

I'm not sure that it is a 2 year, but will find out.

If battery, going to definately spend more to get a better quality one.

Hoping it is at least a 3 year, if bad. Will buy new outright if I can.

Totally my fault, I know not to cheap out.

Stay tuned......

Also, since I am coming up on 150k, starting to think about water pump, hoses, etc., just because of mileage more than anything else.

Click to expand...

Just in case you were not aware more expensive does not necessarily mean better battery. Best to do research on the different ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rTcBanpMk

Burn2k12Ram said:

Just in case you were not aware more expensive does not necessarily mean better battery. Best to do research on the different ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rTcBanpMk

Click to expand...

Batteries go dead for a multitude of reasons. I understood that most if not all battery companies use recycled lead as opposed to unused lead. I do not know this to any degree of certainty, and have no idea whether that would even matter. I do see different brands go through periods of high failure rate. Since I do auto repair, I do see many batteries go bad on a weekly basis. I also do a battery test for free on any car or truck that comes in for service. You'd be surprised how often the battery tests bad and has only 30% capacity and still starts and runs the vehicle. You'd also be surprised as to how much better the vehicle runs with a new battery.

I usually see better service length with Motorcraft brand batteries. Delco seems good as well, regardless of application. I see many of the box chain store brands fail, especially O'Reilly.

Might AGM architecture resist heat breakdown better? I know AGM does better in the cold up here - retains more CCA due to the higher surface area of the thinner lead plates.

AGM helps but Heat is the enemy. My truck 4 years old and I am just about ready to go to Autozone and Get a Platinum Duralast AGM. Battery starting to show signs of not maintaining full charge. Alas, only 100 here for weeks in a row.

ADDED: I also have AGM on my Honda MC, and I do have a Battery maintainer that I plug in even in summer if bike gonna sit a lot, just too hot, all IMHO...