air suspension says "Low Battery"

[dpinvidic]

I have a 3 week old 2014ram 1500 with air suspension.
I am loving this truck.
One thing I notice is that when the engine is off, I get a message when the engine is off, and I adjust the air suspension. It says "Low Battery - Start engine to adjust ride height".
My battery measures 12.5 volts with out the engine running.
I checked the manual, and it does not say that the engine needs to be running.

Since the remote key fob has a button to lower the suspension to "Entry/Exit" mode, this would normally not be done with the engine running. Has anyone seen this??

I wonder if my battery actually has a problem or the truck really wants the engine running (with a charge voltage) when the air suspension operates.

Dan

 

[smiley]

No clue sounds kind of odd I would have it checked out.

 

[HolyRamBatman]

To lower the truck just requires letting air out. Very little power needed.

To lift the truck requires some kind of pump to run which will draw more power.

Only logical thing I can think of.

 

[barry hanna]

Certain "conditions" must be met for the operation of various options. One of those conditions is an optimum battery charge state. This cannot always be determined with a voltmeter. My solution is to charge up the battery overnight with a Ctek or other slow charger. Many batteries drain down while in transit and sitting at the dealer and don't ever really get charged up with slow short trips. This has worked for me on many vehicles that have electronic "gremlins" when new.

 

[dpinvidic]

Certain "conditions" must be met for the operation of various options. One of those conditions is an optimum battery charge state. This cannot always be determined with a voltmeter. My solution is to charge up the battery overnight with a Ctek or other slow charger. Many batteries drain down while in transit and sitting at the dealer and don't ever really get charged up with slow short trips. This has worked for me on many vehicles that have electronic "gremlins" when new.

I will try this again latter today and let you know.
The last time I tried it, I had just driven the car for about 30 minutes, so the charge should have been full. I also want to try it with the KEYFOB compared to the dash switches. It is always better to have the car running, but obviously using the remote to lower the car for entry will be done with the engine off.

Dan

 

[arod412]

Hmmm... I would run it by the dealer you got it and maybe schedule an appointment. They can do that for you, or even replace the battery if that is the issue.

I'm a tinkerer...and I love investigating the issue with my truck but if you have it for 3 weeks, talk to the dealer. I dont think its anything major.

 

[chmotso]

Mine does the same thing, even right after driving. I suspect the computer is not able to read the battery correctly.

 

[chmotso]

Or maybe the battery is bad.

 

[Ocelot]

All I can think of is that when the engine is running, voltage is more like 13.5 - 13.7 volts, not 12v

Ray

 

[TheRudeDog]

Mine does the same thing too!

 

[arod412]

Don't know where you live, but could weather play a factor? I'm curious if maybe the cold might do wierd things...for example, in the morning if its colder than normal, the car takes a second longer to crank and turn over. In my case, my truck sounds like a tractor trailer diesel engine when I start it up.... but after warming it up, it calms down.

Just throwing some ideas out there.

 

[Talon_66]

Not to take traffic away from this site, but on another forum there is an on-going thread regarding air suspension issues.

 

[arod412]

Well that's not good talon.

 

[dpinvidic]

Mine does the same thing, even right after driving. I suspect the computer is not able to read the battery correctly.

I am thinking the same thing. I measured the voltage with the engine OFF, and it was 12.2V.

Even though letting air out takes less power than putting air in, the computer is checking the battery voltage BEFORE it even does anything. I never hear the pump start. Either the electronics is bad so the reading is not accurate, or the firmware in the computer is set for too high of a voltage.

I am going to the dealer at 10AM tomorrow. Some background: They dented the roof during delivery, so it needed body work. They told me they were able to weld a stud to pull the dent. THEN before I picked it up, the Keyless start stopped working. That ended being a hub for the CAN bus.
They "should" have disconnected the battery before doing any welding on the truck to protect the electronics. MAYBE they did not, and this battery low thing could be a result of that...we will see...

Dan

 

[barry hanna]

You can also try a reboot of the system. Shut it down, disconnect the battery for 30 minutes, then power it back up. Our trucks are really just computers on wheels after all.

 

[mangus2k13ram]

My question is why would you raise your air suspension while it's off?

The air suspension does do minor adjustments while the truck is off. But raising to normal, off-road 1 , or off-road 2 requires power from the engine running. Lowering the air suspension does not require a huge power source because it's letting the air out.

Would you use a air compressor without plugging in it ? Would you use a power drill without a battery?

 

[Dale.0]

Mine does the same thing on occasion. Kinda ****** me off. You can only lower the suspension with the key fob, not raise.

 

[dpinvidic]

My question is why would you raise your air suspension while it's off?

The air suspension does do minor adjustments while the truck is off. But raising to normal, off-road 1 , or off-road 2 requires power from the engine running. Lowering the air suspension does not require a huge power source because it's letting the air out.

Would you use a air compressor without plugging in it ? Would you use a power drill without a battery?

When I am in the truck, the engine is running when I adjust the suspension. The keyob has a lowering button for easy entry mode for when you approach the vehicle you can make it lower. So the engine is off when that is used. Otherwise, I agree, it is better to run the engine.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[TheRudeDog]

What I have noticed with mine is when I shut off my truck and try it soon after it doesn't work. However if I wait awhile like 30 minutes it will work. I think a part of that is because I have my headlights on for 30 seconds when I shutdown. The battery seems to recover afterward thus allowing the air suspension to lower. By the way, I'm located in So Cal so therefore it's a warmer climate, which probably helps.

 

[dpinvidic]

What I have noticed with mine is when I shut off my truck and try it soon after it doesn't work. However if I wait awhile like 30 minutes it will work. I think a part of that is because I have my headlights on for 30 seconds when I shutdown. The battery seems to recover afterward thus allowing the air suspension to lower. By the way, I'm located in So Cal so therefore it's a warmer climate, which probably helps.

That sounds like a very likely explanation.
I just got back from the dealer, and as expected, nothing was done (other than clean the battery terminals). The truck has 1,700 miles on it, and the terminals were spotless. The tech said he could not do much else without seeing the problem. This is kinda what I expected, but wanted to get the problem documented. I did ask what the voltage threshold was, and he said the manual states that anything under 11.6V would prevent the pump from running.

I think I will just take a few more measurements of the battery voltage in the mornings when I try it I might go ahead a buy a SCAN tool to actually see what voltage the computer is seeing.

I don't use the feature much, but damn it, it is a new truck, and everything should work correctly.

By the way, I am in Orange County, CA.

Dan