No power

[Cadaverdog]

2001 Ram 1500 5.2 liter V8 Went to roll up my window the other day and truck has no power to anything. Read battery voltage it said 85 volts. Unhooked positive from fuse box under hood. Read 14 volts. I'm thinking fuse box under hood bad. Any suggestions? Has new battery. Problem started 2 weeks after battery replaced. Had battery tested. Battery good.

 

[blue ghost]

I would think the 85 volts really was 8.5 volts, which is kinda of low. I would take it to an auto zone where they do a free battery check, to eliminate that as an issue. Its seems to me it maybe a loose wire.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

There is no way the battery can hold 85 volts, I agree its more likely that was 8.5 volts. I assume these readings were done with truck off? If it was off and the battery read 14, that seems high. Typically you won't see 14v unless its running and would normally be 12.x. The Fuse box itself being bad is less likely than you have something in your truck that is causing a draw, could be a bad relay, bad switch, bad electronic like the radio, etc....1st thing I would have your battery(just because its new doesn't mean its good) and alternator tested. Auto part stores do it for free. If those are good, put a meter on your battery and unplug one fuse at a time until your voltage raises. What ever that fuse that powers will be where to start looking for your issue.

 

[Cadaverdog]

I would think the 85 volts really was 8.5 volts, which is kinda of low. I would take it to an auto zone where they do a free battery check, to eliminate that as an issue. Its seems to me it maybe a loose wire.

You
re probably right. I took it back to AutoZone and it checked out fine. Fairly sure it's the alternator now.

 

[Cadaverdog]

There is no way the battery can hold 85 volts, I agree its more likely that was 8.5 volts. I assume these readings were done with truck off? If it was off and the battery read 14, that seems high. Typically you won't see 14v unless its running and would normally be 12.x. The Fuse box itself being bad is less likely than you have something in your truck that is causing a draw, could be a bad relay, bad switch, bad electronic like the radio, etc....1st thing I would have your battery(just because its new doesn't mean its good) and alternator tested. Auto part stores do it for free. If those are good, put a meter on your battery and unplug one fuse at a time until your voltage raises. What ever that fuse that powers will be where to start looking for your issue.

Truck was off. Might be my voltage meter but fully charged batteries always read around 14 volt using it. I ordered a new battery tester from Amazon. Should be delivered tomorrow. I took the positive off the fuse box and the battery read 14 volts. Pretty sure the alternator is te culprit now. I'll take it off and have it tested asap.

 

[David Oakes]

First, there's a pretty good chance that one of the battery connections isn't properly tightened.

Second, you need to get a battery load tester, analog preferred, in order to get a good read on the state of the battery. I've had batteries that read 12-14 V that failed an actual load test. Voltage alone means nothing - your new battery could have a bad cell and it could still read a good voltage.

 

[Cadaverdog]

First, there's a pretty good chance that one of the battery connections isn't properly tightened.

Second, you need to get a battery load tester, analog preferred, in order to get a good read on the state of the battery. I've had batteries that read 12-14 V that failed an actual load test. Voltage alone means nothing - your new battery could have a bad cell and it could still read a good voltage.

I got the load tester. Battery was bad. Had taken it to AutoZone and they said it was fine. Took it back, they replaced it, problem solved.