Battery died without any warning!!

[Gregg Smith]

Why did my battery only last 4 years and is there any way to tell that a battery is going bad??
I have a 2015 Ram 1500. I was at work and drove the truck to another building. I came out to start it and nothing! The lights and radio all came on, but when I turned the key to the start position, everything went blank.. Tried several times. Finally had it towed to the dealership only to find out it was a dead battery. it gave me no indication at all that it was going bad.

 

[SportyJames]

Mine did the same thing. Filled up with fuel and it had a hard time starting. Drove to my house, mile away, and it was dead when I tried to start it again..click, click, click.
I changed mine about 6 mos ago.
No warning or anything.

 

[kiloRAM]

Mine did same thing. It was about 1.5 years old. Went somewhere for lunch, came out half hour later and truck wouldn't start. My battery absolutely cratered.

 

[Graygoose]

You got 4 years...feel lucky. Mine was less than 2 years old in my 2011, headed to work...BAM....dead battery.

 

[daveray9]

Mine is on the original battery.. I keep contemplating replacing it, but until I dies I'm just gunna keep going. (2012)

 

[Arth]

My 2014 is on its original battery too. Wondering when its gonna let go.

When a cell goes bad like that there is no warning. Had the same thing happen in my Jeep Liberty. Went to the car wash, shut it off to vaccum and it almost didn't start when I went to leave.

Usually happens around the season change or when we peak temps high or low.

 

[JB1]

I don't let batteries die on me anymore, after 4 years I realize I'm on borrowed time so the first good battery sale I replace mine. Now if it dies before 4 years then so be it

 

[KC Cryptkeeper]

With so many more electronics in trucks now a days this seems to be the norm.

 

[Fitz-0518]

Change in temp is the big killer of batterys's. From 105* summers to 32* winters. I agree 4 years is about all we get in our area from the typical battery.

 

[TMyers]

If you think buying one sucks, go by two at a time for a Cummins.

 

[Arth]

If you think buying one sucks, go by two at a time for a Cummins.

Been there done that. It sucks cause you cant ever get just one or youll be back real soon.

 

[78Staff]

I've got a '16 with original battery, so figure I'm getting close, especially since upgrading the audio system.

Not sure what to get really, typically I would go with an Optima Yellow, but ever since they went south of the border the quality has really gone downhill. I thought I saw a recommendation for a Bosch battery on here a while back?

 

[buddy guy]

to help you winter climate guys anyway, consider buying a smart charger for like 40 bucks and put it on a charger as soon as the snow starts to fly, daily. especially if you do a lot of short commutes your battery is not getting a good charge. i just use my 1.25 amp charger i bought for my motorbike and used that for the truck this past winter. its definitely going to extend battery life. but yeah, 4 years is a good lifespan for a conventional battery. even agms for bikes anyways quite often don't get more than 4 years, even trickle charged year round. the beauty of an agm is it can sit on a shelf for years before using and be charged and work great for years. also, that you can drain them unlike a conventional battery and bring them back to life.

 

[78Staff]

So the Bosch Platinum AGM 94R is on sale at PepBoys for 149... 960 Cranking/800 CCA - anything better in that price range?

I do run two JL Audio Amps - RD400/4 and RD500/1.

Or pony up for the X2PowerPremium... 1030/840 for $300

https://www.batteriesplus.com/produ...0/2016/v8-5.7l-730cca-4=headlight/sli94ragmdp

 

[madtrucker2016]

I don't let batteries die on me anymore, after 4 years I realize I'm on borrowed time so the first good battery sale I replace mine. Now if it dies before 4 years then so be it

that's the reason I shut off the timed lights when you get out of the truck and on approach of the truck. Just kills the **** out of your battery

 

[JohnnyMac]

Batteries slowly build up lead sulfate on the plates. Many times there is enough extra energy built into the battery that you'll never know its slowly dying and then one day, BAM! the sulfate gets thick enough to bridge to the next cell and a direct short occurs which is basically insta-death for the battery. I'm guessing that this is generally what happens when the battery just fails one day with no other symptoms.

 

[buddy guy]

Batteries slowly build up lead sulfate on the plates. Many times there is enough extra energy built into the battery that you'll never know its slowly dying and then one day, BAM! the sulfate gets thick enough to bridge to the next cell and a direct short occurs which is basically insta-death for the battery. I'm guessing that this is generally what happens when the battery just fails one day with no other symptoms.[/QUOTE

my experience has generally been you'll find a battery could still have 12.9-13.1 volts on a meter but the cold cranking capacity is close to gone when it fails. One of the best investments I ever made was to buy a 40 dollar load tester and check mine every fall before it really has to perform in the winter.