E-Torque Failure-Not Warranted

[crash68]

pLACING IT ON THE BATT TERMINAL IS ELECTRICALLY IDENTICAL TO PLACING IT ON THE "IBS" STUD.

Yes and no, if it's on the battery terminal then the IBS can't measure the amount of current flowing back into the battery. All loads should be on the IBS terminal, the only thing connected to the battery terminal should be the IBS.

 

[Sandevino]

Trying to understaND WHERE TO PLACE THE INVERTER GROUND. pLACING IT ON THE BATT TERMINAL IS ELECTRICALLY IDENTICAL TO PLACING IT ON THE "IBS" STUD.

Electrically, yes it is. You will notice zero difference in the electrical ground circuit. Grounding to the IBS stud keeps the charging system apprised of the load on the system so it can compensate for the added load.

 

[Greg48]

You modifying anything on the truck is just asking for it. I used to be a electronics tech for field service, so I kinda follow your logic. Fact is many of cheapy inverters from ROC, are very "noisy" electrically, and could damage the truck. But the part replacers at the service dept, dont have a clue what you are doing. I would step back and re-think your add ons, if your worried about the warranty at all.

Thanks. Not having an oscilloscope anymore testing parameters of the inverter personally wasn't possible. The only thing I could do was research reviewers ratings of quality clean pure sine wave inverters to make my choice.

 

[dsherman26]

Trying to understaND WHERE TO PLACE THE INVERTER GROUND. pLACING IT ON THE BATT TERMINAL IS ELECTRICALLY IDENTICAL TO PLACING IT ON THE "IBS" STUD.

It's not. Putting on the stud AFTER the load sensor means the load sensor will measure the additional current to power the inverter. Putting it on the battery terminal it won't sense the inverter current, so it doesn't know about the additional load, and hence the error messages the OP reported.

 

[Greg48]

Are you trying to run a home concentrator in the truck?

Yes. A Invacare Platinum 5.

 

[Greg48]

There's a couple things I am curious about. Are you still running the original battery? If so, that might be the problem. Many of us had issues with the original OEM lead acid batteries causing glitches and issues on their way out. Everything is so sensitive to current consistency, the lead acid batteries would cause problems but still start the truck fine.

If it's the original battery, I'll tell you what I tell everyone... Walmart, 4 year warranty AGM battery for $140 will provide much more smooth power. AND, when you take the old battery out, there's a plastic piece at the back of the battery tray towards the cab, POP THAT OUT! Then you can fit a larger H8 battery in there for the same price.

My next questions would be, how did you tap power for the inverter? We have Ram 1500's in our town as police cars since we're country. Fiends with one of the PD and he told me when I was talking about installing a couple things, I HAD TO TAP THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER for power. He said the fuse box under the steering wheel and the one under the hood would have problems with anything of heavier load. It should pull power from a secondary battery or a tap off the dash. I got one of these... never installed it since the onboard inverter handles the fridge cooler but, might be worth some more research. https://infotainment.com/shop/interior-accessories/wiring/u-intezdc/

NEW heavy dudy battery

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

NEW heavy dudy battery

Did you get the H-8 replacement, its wider you have to remove the plastic tab in the bottom of the battery tray, did you put the negative cable on your concentrator to the IBS stud?

 

[clay282]

.

 

[Wild one]

NEW heavy dudy battery

Did you try moving your ground and see what happens. Lots of guys have suggested it,but have you actually done it.

 

[18harvest]

I do understand that if on high volumes of 02 you can't run a portable concentrator.my dad uses 2 liters and plugs his portable in the 12 volt socket on his loader and runs it all day.but i understand this May not be possible with some peoples conditions..i'm no electrician but I think amperage is the key.try running a toaster or coffee pot off a generator and you can hear it pull the generator down.but I don't think a concentrator pulls that kind of amperage to cause a problem.

 

[BBQ Ninja]

Yes sir I am. An Invacare Platinum 5 drawing 420 watts. I really wasn't expecting much feedback because I thought this situation might be unique. I was wrong. Thankfully forums like this one have offered quite a few suggestions. What really suprised me were the dozens of COPD sufferers with the same delemma as me. One common problem they had? Dodge Ram E-Torque and dealer unwillingness to help.

My truck is at the dealer because the MGU died. Part back ordered etc. The general sense I got from everyone at the SD, is they are all over it. So many problems. I don't think the techs know how to diagnose properly, leading to very expensive replacements. If they don't replace the 48v battery also I going to leave the truck with them.

 

[Greg48]

I installed a 1500 watt power inverter in my 2019 E-Torque Ram to operate my dear wife's oxygen machine pulling 340-420 watts max. Properly sized wire and breaker straight from the 12 volt start battery. We took a necessary 146 mile trip and the system worked flawlessly. The remote of the inverter displayed 14.1 volts all of 120 miles. Reaching our destination-not turning Ram off, we headed back home and "STOP/START UNAVAILABLE" "SERVICE IMMIDIATELY" dash light illuminated. Noticed voltage was now fluctuating 13-12.6 volts all the way home. Took Ram to dealer who informed me that I ruined the E-Torque generator and destroyed the warranty by installing a power inverter. Manager advised that NO RAM with E-Torque could have any power inverter other than the "OEM" 400 watt console receptical and no more than 320 watt draw from it. Really?? $60,000.00 truck and I can't take my disabled wife with me. Ford, GM, and even Dodge Promaster vans are running 3000 watt inverters!! Been asking for help or options on line and now hopefully this forum can guide me to options. Thank you.

E-Torque update:
If interested I recently gathered some more info about the E-Torque system and my power inverter problems. While recently on a trip out of state eating lunch I was across from a Ram dealership. Couldn't help myself so talked to the service manager if they had any technicians familiar with the E-Torque system I could talk to. "Yep" "But you'll have to make an appointment unless he's willing to talk to you because he's on lunch." He's our master tech and trained with the pioneers of E-Torque." Long story short James talked to me after telling him my problem. Putting his sandwich down he asked me my age??? 77 why? "You ever heard of Positraction on a GM truck?" Yes I even had one. "You ever try to put the emergency brake on just a bit to get both tires grabbing to get up a snowy hill?" Sure! "Well you might of got up the hill alright but you used the system WRONG." Bad on the brakes, bad on the drums, bad all the way around." "Same with the E-Torque system." "Cycling a 420 watt draw from the battery you just might squeek by for awhile but like that positraction scenario--WRONG on so many levels." "Will it work? "Maybe for a while, probably not." "The E-Torque 48 volt battery, ECM, and IBS all talk together to sort things out." "No matter where you put the negative inverter lead, battery, IBS, engine, or frame the IBS is looking for a THRESHOLD not a parrticular voltage and pukes this information to the ECM and 48 volt battery to safeguard the system." "The system has 3000+ watts more than enough to run 3 or 4 of your machines safely BUT not off the battery." "20 watts less you might survive BUT the system in the long run will probably catch up with you." "A well versed E-Torque tech could INTEGRATE your system to run over 1500 watts flawlessly but would take anywhere from 14 to 16 shop hours!!!" "Good luck though because not many of us out there." "No more training on it because E-Torque will be a mute point with EV Rams in the future."

Thanks to all who offered me insite and response to my post. wanted to post so it might help others.

 

[Greg48]

E-Torque update:
If interested I recently gathered some more info about the E-Torque system and my power inverter problems. While recently on a trip out of state eating lunch I was across from a Ram dealership. Couldn't help myself so talked to the service manager if they had any technicians familiar with the E-Torque system I could talk to. "Yep" "But you'll have to make an appointment unless he's willing to talk to you because he's on lunch." He's our master tech and trained with the pioneers of E-Torque." Long story short James talked to me after telling him my problem. Putting his sandwich down he asked me my age??? 77 why? "You ever heard of Positraction on a GM truck?" Yes I even had one. "You ever try to put the emergency brake on just a bit to get both tires grabbing to get up a snowy hill?" Sure! "Well you might of got up the hill alright but you used the system WRONG." Bad on the brakes, bad on the drums, bad all the way around." "Same with the E-Torque system." "Cycling a 420 watt draw from the battery you just might squeak by for awhile but like that positraction scenario--WRONG on so many levels." "Will it work? "Maybe for a while, probably not." "The E-Torque 48 volt battery, ECM, and IBS all talk together to sort things out." "No matter where you put the negative inverter lead, battery, IBS, engine, or frame the IBS is looking for a THRESHOLD not a particular voltage and pukes this information to the ECM and 48 volt battery to safeguard the system." "The system has 3000+ watts more than enough to run 3 or 4 of your machines safely BUT not off the battery." "20 watts less you might survive BUT the system in the long run will probably catch up with you." "A well versed E-Torque tech could INTEGRATE your system to run over 1500 watts flawlessly but would take anywhere from 14 to 16 shop hours!!!" "Good luck though because not many of us out there." "No more training on it because E-Torque will be a mute point with EV Rams in the future."

Thanks to all who offered me insight and response to my post. wanted to post so it might help others.

 

[Greg48]

For others contemplating E-Torque and adding power inverters: See my E-Torque Update. 16 million people in the U. S. have COPD. My beautiful wife was one of them. Needing auxiliary oxygen from a concentrator kept her relatively home bound until I installed a power inverter to run her machine. Her smile and tears of happiness from being able to ride on a trip with me felt priceless. Unfortunately on the return trip a dash warning light came on and I noticed voltage low. I kept silent not wanting to alarm my wife. First chance I contacted my dealer which resulted in them telling me that I had ruined the E-Torque system and voided any warranty. My soul mate recently passed, but I still see the smile and grateful tears for my endeavor. I'm certain there are many Ram owners or potential Ram owners with questions on the capabilities (Or lack there-of) of E-Torque. I wish to share my experience so one may see the smile and tears of a loved one now being able to share a road trip. My experience PASS on this system.