BATTERY.....New and Old thread

[Mpgrimm2]

Yesterday my 2020 Ram died 6/8 times, once in the middle of the intersection.
I can ONLY find the simulated analog meter to display on dash, no digital output
of the alternator. After it restarted the meter would sort of jump around till it got
to the center of the meter where it usually rests.

When I got home it measured 12.3 volts. At which time I put it on the charger.
And a couple hrs. later, all was well when I took it around the block.
The original SMALL battery lasted almost 2 yrs. the Interstate replacement lasted
less than 1 yr. And with the short trips I make around town the larger 900 CCA ran
down in 5 wks.

I got to take it in and have it checked out, but I believe it is all the short trips not
letting the battery fully charge. Also ALL the DC motors like the ones on the Air foil
behind the front valance, DC motor for power steering, two motors on the frame rails.
Then the heated seats and steering wheel. I do NOT use the stop/start feature.

I have to have it checked out just in case the E-torq has messed the bed!
That's my story! Anyone else with same/simulacra experience.....RAMaway

This is actually becoming a problem with the eTorque trucks but it can never seem to be duplicated at will and dealers find "no codes" or only "anything that causes engine to stall". See my experience here.

 

[HEMIMANN]

These battery threads have been helpful getting me to think about how times have changed - both the vehicles and how we use them.

All the electronics on board in standby mode drawing maintenance current, combined with the pandemic work-from-home era, combined with many of us retiring because of it, has created a perfect storm for battery abuse - infrequent use of an active battery.

I went to AGM, which has helped, but since buying a Harley, I use the truck even less in summer. It's almost like it's in quasi-storage like all the small engines we put battery maintainers on during storage.

So I researched and got a maintainer (tender - not just a trickle charger). Top reviews were NOCO & C-Tek. C-Tek seemed more user-friendly with a better algorithm, so I bought that. But was very disappointed to see it was made in China. The NOCO's are still made in USA, according to their site. C-Tek insinuated they were made in Sweden.

Buyer beware.

 

[Elvira]

These battery threads have been helpful getting me to think about how times have changed - both the vehicles and how we use them.

All the electronics on board in standby mode drawing maintenance current, combined with the pandemic work-from-home era, combined with many of us retiring because of it, has created a perfect storm for battery abuse - infrequent use of an active battery.

I went to AGM, which has helped, but since buying a Harley, I use the truck even less in summer. It's almost like it's in quasi-storage like all the small engines we put battery maintainers on during storage.

So I researched and got a maintainer (tender - not just a trickle charger). Top reviews were NOCO & C-Tek. C-Tek seemed more user-friendly with a better algorithm, so I bought that. But was very disappointed to see it was made in China. The NOCO's are still made in USA, according to their site. C-Tek insinuated they were made in Sweden.

Buyer beware.

It is all so true, I have met the same requirements as your self, retired beginning of pandemic, bought a harley and replace the old battery in my Ram with an AGM. Electronics on vehicles now demand so much that it is required to keep up with hydro to supply the needs of various components. I too may add a maintainer eventually, but I will be sure to have one made in the USA....beside, i still have lots of faith in the American worker and the companies to supply good purchases.

 

[HEMIMANN]

It is all so true, I have met the same requirements as your self, retired beginning of pandemic, bought a harley and replace the old battery in my Ram with an AGM. Electronics on vehicles now demand so much that it is required to keep up with hydro to supply the needs of various components. I too may add a maintainer eventually, but I will be sure to have one made in the USA....beside, i still have lots of faith in the American worker and the companies to supply good purchases.

We might be related.

 

[gofishn]

These battery threads have been helpful getting me to think about how times have changed - both the vehicles and how we use them.

All the electronics on board in standby mode drawing maintenance current, combined with the pandemic work-from-home era, combined with many of us retiring because of it, has created a perfect storm for battery abuse - infrequent use of an active battery.

I went to AGM, which has helped, but since buying a Harley, I use the truck even less in summer. It's almost like it's in quasi-storage like all the small engines we put battery maintainers on during storage.

So I researched and got a maintainer (tender - not just a trickle charger). Top reviews were NOCO & C-Tek. C-Tek seemed more user-friendly with a better algorithm, so I bought that. But was very disappointed to see it was made in China. The NOCO's are still made in USA, according to their site. C-Tek insinuated they were made in Sweden.

Buyer beware.

It is all so true, I have met the same requirements as your self, retired beginning of pandemic, bought a harley and replace the old battery in my Ram with an AGM. Electronics on vehicles now demand so much that it is required to keep up with hydro to supply the needs of various components. I too may add a maintainer eventually, but I will be sure to have one made in the USA....beside, i still have lots of faith in the American worker and the companies to supply good purchases.

W.T.H., Guys?

How can you be smart enough to know RAM is the best truck, out there, yet still be buying Harley's?

If I were to win a Harley, doubt I could sell it to another.
My conscious wouldn't allow me to do such things to an Innocent.
Would have to give it to one of my mentally challenged, Harley loving friends.



I'm surprised by you two




he he he



EDIT:
In case your wondering, think this will probably be the biggest Smile, I have, all day.

 

[Elvira]

W.T.H., Guys?

How can you be smart enough to know RAM is the best truck, out there, yet still be buying Harley's?

If I were to win a Harley, doubt I could sell it to another.
My conscious wouldn't allow me to do such things to an Innocent.
Would have to give it to one of my mentally challenged, Harley loving friends.



I'm surprised by you two




he he he



EDIT:
In case your wondering, think this will probably be the biggest Smile, I have, all day.

lol, there comes a time when you just know what you want....smart or otherwise, lol

 

[HEMIMANN]

Harley still assembled 100% in USA. Yep, I'll take a Harley.

Started on a Honda. I'm all grown up, now.

 

[gofishn]

Always prefered Yamaha's, myself.
also liked Triumphs and Nortons
KZ900 were fun.

Nothing Crotch Rocket.
Would rather crawl thru glass.

 

[pacofortacos]

My son's jeep had a similar situation with his AGM battery and short trips - it would just drain after several days.
Went to a new standard lead acid battery and hasn't had any issues since - going on year 2 now.

I tried to warranty the AGM but it passed the tests so I did several drain/charge cycles hoping to kill it and it actually became much stronger than it had been with just a full charge. Doing the drain/charge cycles did something internally to help the battery.

But the short trip situation and alternator charge just put a surface charge on it.

Nothing else was changed other than the battery and type of battery on the jeep.

 

[GTyankee]

The more conveniences they put in our vehicles, the more strain on the batteries & worst of all, it makes vehicle theft so damn easy

 

[HEMIMANN]

My son's jeep had a similar situation with his AGM battery and short trips - it would just drain after several days.
Went to a new standard lead acid battery and hasn't had any issues since - going on year 2 now.

I tried to warranty the AGM but it passed the tests so I did several drain/charge cycles hoping to kill it and it actually became much stronger than it had been with just a full charge. Doing the drain/charge cycles did something internally to help the battery.

But the short trip situation and alternator charge just put a surface charge on it.

Nothing else was changed other than the battery and type of battery on the jeep.

Reading about the two types of lead acid battery, they said the opposite was true. I'm not understanding what's going on with these. AGM's are supposed to be so much better for slow drain and occasional use, which is why I bought one, they put in motorcycles and snowmobiles also for the same reasons. Developed for the military as a more robust battery.

Could some AGM brands not be made very well?

 

[HEMIMANN]

The more conveniences they put in our vehicles, the more strain on the batteries & worst of all, it makes vehicle theft so damn easy

Related, but off-topic - I shopped for a key fob faraday pouch yesterday, but got frustrated after hours of researching multitudes of different brands with both high and low ratings (who knows how many fake ratings?).

Hard to discern which are made in USA - brands make some of them in USA, don't tell you which, advertise "made in USA" implying all are, when they're not. Even high rated reviews say they stop working within months. What the hell good is a product like that?

Deceptive and fake advertising for myriad brands and vendors is not a better life for consumers. It's frustrating and wastes precious time and energy.

 

[pacofortacos]

Reading about the two types of lead acid battery, they said the opposite was true. I'm not understanding what's going on with these. AGM's are supposed to be so much better for slow drain and occasional use, which is why I bought one, they put in motorcycles and snowmobiles also for the same reasons. Developed for the military as a more robust battery.

Could some AGM brands not be made very well?

I'm not sure. It actually took almost 2 yrs of short trips for it all to start to occur (3 yr. replacement), but every time it was tested it would pass - I think to get a replacement it had to have 50% current output or something like that. The battery was a higher CCA and reserve capacity to boot, it isn't a smaller cheap battery.
Once we would charge the AGM, it would be good for a 1-3 weeks. Then he would come out on a cold day to a dead battery.
In the basement, I charged it after it was replaced. Then put an electric fan on it to discharge and it died relatively quickly - with every charge it lasted longer. I would leave it dead with the fan hooked up for days trying to kill it to get it replaced. All it did was make it stronger. LOL It sits in the basement to this day - 6 months later.
Maybe I will use it in the boat

They work really well in jetskis, motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc but mainly it's their resistance to vibration damage. Most standard small wet cells I have used were good for 1-2 seasons max on a jetski. Agm lasted over 4 yrs before we got rid of the ski.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I'm not sure. It actually took almost 2 yrs of short trips for it all to start to occur (3 yr. replacement), but every time it was tested it would pass - I think to get a replacement it had to have 50% current output or something like that. The battery was a higher CCA and reserve capacity to boot, it isn't a smaller cheap battery.
Once we would charge the AGM, it would be good for a 1-3 weeks. Then he would come out on a cold day to a dead battery.
In the basement, I charged it after it was replaced. Then put an electric fan on it to discharge and it died relatively quickly - with every charge it lasted longer. I would leave it dead with the fan hooked up for days trying to kill it to get it replaced. All it did was make it stronger. LOL It sits in the basement to this day - 6 months later.
Maybe I will use it in the boat

They work really well in jetskis, motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc but mainly it's their resistance to vibration damage. Most standard small wet cells I have used were good for 1-2 seasons max on a jetski. Agm lasted over 4 yrs before we got rid of the ski.

Thanks for sharing. That is really strange behavior.

I put in an Odyssey AGM battery several years ago. It's my 1st automotive AGM battery, 2 years old now. It behaves somewhat similar to what you've described. It wasn't starting as fast, even when I keep the truck in a quasi-heated garage (45F heat setting).

I'm only driving 2, or 3 at most times a week, not for long trips, either. 20 mile round trips. Pretty sure it wasn't getting fully recharged.

So I went out and got a C-Tek smart maintainer for it. The pigtail harness with charge indicator flashed red, indicating it needed charging. And this after a recent short trip. I started the charger and it took app. 6 hours to fully charge.

I'm speculating these AGM batteries aren't hugely better than conventional flooded cell at holding a charge under constant current drain of smart vehicle PCM's. I still like the higher charge density and vibration resistance of the AGM, but if we don't travel much or long trips, they need to be tended/maintained.

 

[pacofortacos]

Thanks for sharing. That is really strange behavior.

I put in an Odyssey AGM battery several years ago. It's my 1st automotive AGM battery, 2 years old now. It behaves somewhat similar to what you've described. It wasn't starting as fast, even when I keep the truck in a quasi-heated garage (45F heat setting).

I'm only driving 2, or 3 at most times a week, not for long trips, either. 20 mile round trips. Pretty sure it wasn't getting fully recharged.

So I went out and got a C-Tek smart maintainer for it. The pigtail harness with charge indicator flashed red, indicating it needed charging. And this after a recent short trip. I started the charger and it took app. 6 hours to fully charge.

I'm speculating these AGM batteries aren't hugely better than conventional flooded cell at holding a charge under constant current drain of smart vehicle PCM's. I still like the higher charge density and vibration resistance of the AGM, but if we don't travel much or long trips, they need to be tended/maintained.

You're welcome, thanks for sharing your situation too.
I am almost regretting getting a big AGM for my Ram that I drive much less than you do, but it is on a battery tender constantly so hopefully that will keep it up.
I'll find out in March when I get ready for vacation and it hasn't been started for months already

 

[danielmid]

I've started getting a very slow crank and remote start not working in the mornings since it started getting cold. I don't have any access outside to a plug for a charger so I'm going to try using a 10W solar maintainer. I'd bust out my big panel but I don't want it stolen, so 10W it is.

 

[pacofortacos]

Just started the truck yesterday after sitting for months WITH a battery tender on it - battery sounded weak.
Went out this morning and it was almost dead but did start (reconnected the tender yesterday).
So it seems that a small Battery Tender and big AGM battery don't really work well together - I think it keeps a surface charge on the battery so it sees the voltage it wants but the battery isn't really charged. On the charger now.

Even though the Tender was showing a full charge and in monitoring mode, when I put it on the charger it pulled 15 amps (max for my charger) for a minute and has settled at 10 amps now. So obviously not fully charged.

I didn't notice this behavior on the original oem battery.

Might just start disconnecting the battery when leaving sitting.

Maybe I need to invest in a fancy charger that does the reconditioning cycle.