Battery dying sitting in the driveway

[GrumpyOldMan]

Brand new (3 months ago) 2022 1500 Bighorn. Maybe 3K miles on it, mostly highway. I'm recently retired and moved, and it's been sitting in the driveway unused quite a bit. It's also been on the cold side with nightly lows in the teens or occasionally single digits, and highs between 20 and 35. Last week I went out to run a couple errands. When I hit the Start button it said it wasn't able to read the key fob. Go back in the house and get the 2nd fob. Same thing. Other electrical stuff wasn't right either and eventually I realized the battery was probably too low. Put a charger on it for a couple hours and then it started right up, everything working normally. Only thing I could figure was maybe I left the cargo lamp turned on. It's easy to do, with it and the fog lamp switch being co-located the way they are. So I've been extra careful to check it whenever I shut the truck down.

Fast forward to today, 4 or 5 days since I last drove it. More errands to run so I hit the remote start just to be sure it's going to start. Nothing. Go out to the truck and this time not even the 'can't talk to the fob' message. No clicks, no nothing. Completely dead. So I connect up the charger again, plug it in, and the alarm horn starts blaring, won't stop unless I unplug the charger. I can't very well let it sit out there sounding the alarm until the battery charges, so I'll have to call AAA and have them come out and jump start it.

Is this a known issue? Is there enough parasitic drain on the battery that you need to run the damn thing every day or two to keep it charged up? Or do I have a bad battery that's getting killed by the cold weather?

 

[Jim BB]

Brand new (3 months ago) 2022 1500 Bighorn. Maybe 3K miles on it, mostly highway. I'm recently retired and moved, and it's been sitting in the driveway unused quite a bit. It's also been on the cold side with nightly lows in the teens or occasionally single digits, and highs between 20 and 35. Last week I went out to run a couple errands. When I hit the Start button it said it wasn't able to read the key fob. Go back in the house and get the 2nd fob. Same thing. Other electrical stuff wasn't right either and eventually I realized the battery was probably too low. Put a charger on it for a couple hours and then it started right up, everything working normally. Only thing I could figure was maybe I left the cargo lamp turned on. It's easy to do, with it and the fog lamp switch being co-located the way they are. So I've been extra careful to check it whenever I shut the truck down.

Fast forward to today, 4 or 5 days since I last drove it. More errands to run so I hit the remote start just to be sure it's going to start. Nothing. Go out to the truck and this time not even the 'can't talk to the fob' message. No clicks, no nothing. Completely dead. So I connect up the charger again, plug it in, and the alarm horn starts blaring, won't stop unless I unplug the charger. I can't very well let it sit out there sounding the alarm until the battery charges, so I'll have to call AAA and have them come out and jump start it.

Is this a known issue? Is there enough parasitic drain on the battery that you need to run the damn thing every day or two to keep it charged up? Or do I have a bad battery that's getting killed by the cold weather?

sounds like a bad battery ! but that being said you could have a slow draw on the electrical system draining the battery ! looks like you are still under warranty ! i would call the dealer and tell them what is going on ask if they want it towed to them dead or driven to them let them diagnose and fix it under warranty !
but hey that's just me !

 

[JayLeonard]

I agree take it to the dealer. Those temps are not cold enough to have that kind of effect on the battery. Something else is going on.

 

[andymax]

What he said^^^...that would be my bet, but it is possible that something is pulling current. Dealer would be my first call...

 

[stevenP]

I used the remote start the other day(first time), and saw after it was shut off that the display in the dash was not shutting off in the 2 minutes it was supposed to. Sure enough it was staying on, with the push to start message. Was drawing 3 amps or so. If I hadnt caught it, it would have killed my batteries(2x). I always keep my truck on a tender, and if I hadnt noticed that the tender stayed on charge inordinately long, I would have missed this issue. These rigs are so full of current hungry modules. I guess I will have to take mine to the dealer and see whats up.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Well the AAA guy just left. Took a little doing but it's running again. The battery was so low that when power was applied, either from my charger or his jump box, the computer assumed the battery had been disconnected in a theft attempt. That's why the alarm sounded. After a half dozen or so attempts we were able to shut the alarm off with the panic button on the fob. The charging system seems to be working fine, so the battery itself is the prime suspect. I'll stop by O'Reilly or someplace in a bit and have them test the battery. If it's OK then I'll take it to the dealer next week (and run it for a while every day until then) to hopefully find out what's going on.

 

[Loudram]

I'd take it to the dealership anyway. That new, the battery should be covered under warranty.

 

[06 Dodge]

Well the AAA guy just left. Took a little doing but it's running again. The battery was so low that when power was applied, either from my charger or his jump box, the computer assumed the battery had been disconnected in a theft attempt. That's why the alarm sounded. After a half dozen or so attempts we were able to shut the alarm off with the panic button on the fob. The charging system seems to be working fine, so the battery itself is the prime suspect. I'll stop by O'Reilly or someplace in a bit and have them test the battery. If it's OK then I'll take it to the dealer next week (and run it for a while every day until then) to hopefully find out what's going on.

IIRC battery should have 1 year/12k warranty so if you had it less then 1 year or 12k make the dealer get you a new one...

 

[Stavinksi]

My ‘22 with 10k mikes sits Wednesday night to Saturday, Sunday, and sometimes Monday in winter temps. So far has started every time. Something amiss. Curious if you leave it locked or unlocked. I have noticed locking it seems to put it to sleep pretty quickly whereas unlocked I wonder if it’s going to shut off interior lights and what not. Not necessarily consistently but I do always lock mine.

 

[Timsdually]

If you lock it up the alarm is set so it is drawing power. This happened way back on a 2003 I had. Went on a three week vacation, truck was only about 6 months old, came back, dead as a doornail. Put the charger on it and the truck fired up. After that my trucks rarely get to sit one day without being driven.

If sitting is a regular thing, buy a charger/maintainer and keep it hooked up. I have a Mercedes which has two batteries. One is just for turning the starter, the other powers everything else. The starter one has no draw, but the other one does, mainly from the alarm system. I rarely drive except maybe once every week or two. I plug a Foval 750m/a maintainer in and it keeps it up nice. Lights on for charging and different light for "charged". About $25.

 

[lpennock]

IIRC battery should have 1 year/12k warranty so if you had it less then 1 year or 12k make the dealer get you a new one...

Stock batteries are covered under the 3/36 warranty. After 3 years they are not covered and come under the replacement battery warranty.

 

[Marusho]

Sounds like my experience with my '19 Longhorn eTorque. After having to jump it several times, starting about 3 months in, took it to the dealer. They blasted the battery with their charger and managed to get a "good" reading on their tester. They refused to replace the battery. From then on I kept a 500Wh solar generator and a 10A charger in it. When it would fail I'd charge for 1/2 hour and be on my way. Did this for 3 years and bought Project Farm's recommended WalMart EverStart. So far after 1 year no problem. If I were the Chrysler eTorque engineer I would have included an emergency start provision using the lithium battery. After all, every start except the first one is done with the lithium battery, so "we have the technology".

 

[Loudram]

Sounds like my experience with my '19 Longhorn eTorque. After having to jump it several times, starting about 3 months in, took it to the dealer. They blasted the battery with their charger and managed to get a "good" reading on their tester. They refused to replace the battery. From then on I kept a 500Wh solar generator and a 10A charger in it. When it would fail I'd charge for 1/2 hour and be on my way. Did this for 3 years and bought Project Farm's recommended WalMart EverStart. So far after 1 year no problem. If I were the Chrysler eTorque engineer I would have included an emergency start provision using the lithium battery. After all, every start except the first one is done with the lithium battery, so "we have the technology".

I love Project Farm. He's one guy I trust for honest tests and reviews.

 

[shrubs]

Battery issue likely. I find that to be a culprit in many cases.Either compel the dealer for a replacement or just flat out get one on your own. Batteries in later model vehicles IMO, are not very long term.
Save your receipts. Know your battery warranty. I would staple the warranty and the receipt together and be able to find them if needed at a later date.

Consider a battery tender if you need to let the vehicle sit irregardless of temperature.

 

[BLKBWTY]

Brand new (3 months ago) 2022 1500 Bighorn. Maybe 3K miles on it, mostly highway. I'm recently retired and moved, and it's been sitting in the driveway unused quite a bit. It's also been on the cold side with nightly lows in the teens or occasionally single digits, and highs between 20 and 35. Last week I went out to run a couple errands. When I hit the Start button it said it wasn't able to read the key fob. Go back in the house and get the 2nd fob. Same thing. Other electrical stuff wasn't right either and eventually I realized the battery was probably too low. Put a charger on it for a couple hours and then it started right up, everything working normally. Only thing I could figure was maybe I left the cargo lamp turned on. It's easy to do, with it and the fog lamp switch being co-located the way they are. So I've been extra careful to check it whenever I shut the truck down.

Fast forward to today, 4 or 5 days since I last drove it. More errands to run so I hit the remote start just to be sure it's going to start. Nothing. Go out to the truck and this time not even the 'can't talk to the fob' message. No clicks, no nothing. Completely dead. So I connect up the charger again, plug it in, and the alarm horn starts blaring, won't stop unless I unplug the charger. I can't very well let it sit out there sounding the alarm until the battery charges, so I'll have to call AAA and have them come out and jump start it.

Is this a known issue? Is there enough parasitic drain on the battery that you need to run the damn thing every day or two to keep it charged up? Or do I have a bad battery that's getting killed by the cold weather?

My battery on my 2021 ram 1500 was weak from the first day I got it. It died last winter and was brought to the dealer. They didn’t replace it. This winter it died again in the driveway. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the battery. Doing some reading I am hearing that some factory batteries are crap . The new battery starts the truck much faster .

 

[rsdata]

with the price of batteries what it is these days. see if the dealer will replace under warranty...

 

[Sur5er]

X2 on bad battery/dead cell. If under warranty, call the dealer and have them pick it up! Trying to do an amperage draw test isn't straight forward. There is some sort of timed drawdown in my 2016 1500 electrical system . Try an old fashioned load test on fully charged and disconnected battery. Good Luck

 

[blackbetty14]

My factory battery died on my 18 before the 3 year mark on my lease. Ram dealer said they are only warranteed for 1 yr. One time I left for vacation with a dash cam left on and on my return 5 days later it had drained the battery. I was able to bring it back with a mix of 50amp starting charger spikes and then a fast charge but the battery was never right after that incident. It finally gave up the ghost around the 36 month mark and my truck was daily driven and would maybe sit on the weekends. towards the end I could tell and I would leave a trickle charger on it for the weekends. Lithium jump starter actually saved me when it decided to let go as I was 5 miles from home stopping to get breakfast. I replaced with a champion AGM which had increased amperage over stock and a 4 year free replacement warranty. I also set the dash cameras so they only function when the truck is keyed on.

 

[lpennock]

My factory battery died on my 18 before the 3 year mark on my lease. Ram dealer said they are only warranteed for 1 yr.

I must have a better dealer. The one in my 18 died after 2 years and the dealer replaced them under the 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty.

 

[pcwizard2600]

Have had similar issues in the past with a couple of our vehicles. Ok driving daily, but let it sit a couple days is dead. Both were just a bad battery. That new though, taking to a dealer to get checked is a good idea, especially if covered under warranty. (as long it is a reputable dealer)