Truck goes dead when it sits

[Cassiecat]

mine set for 3 months and started right up. in a garage but not heated. 2014 f-250 diesel

[Ram Montana High Country]

Dealer mentioned there is a transport setting - might check with a local to see if you can set yours to transport mode

[The Bone]

Your truck may not be going into sleep mode. New vehicles go into sleep when they sit because of all the electronics that they have.

[JABURKHOLDER]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Hi

If you brought your truck to me with that complaint I would do the following.

After letting the truck sit for 2 hour test the battery draw using the meter in the picture below.

If unacceptable I would remove the glove box light bulb and any other light bulbs that could burn without you being able to see them like the under hood light if equipped. Then check the draw again and see if it changed.

If no change then I would start pulling fuses until I find the circuit that clears the excessive draw.


Phil P

Excessive draw would be anything over about a .5 amps

[bethandkevin]

The fact that one dealer put a starter on for a parasitic draw shows they were spit balling. While I would also suspect one of the pimp accessories, I wouldn't let it lead me in the wrong direction. Typically, over 30 mA draw is considered excessive. It can be detected with an inductive pick up meter like in Phil's picture or placing a amp meter in line between the battery cable and battery. I would start by disconnecting added accessories one at a time and then move on to pulling fuses one at a time. I have seen various body modules cause excessive draw due to not going to "sleep".

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by bethandkevin

The fact that one dealer put a starter on for a parasitic draw shows they were spit balling. While I would also suspect one of the pimp accessories, I wouldn't let it lead me in the wrong direction. Typically, over 30 mA draw is considered excessive. It can be detected with an inductive pick up meter like in Phil's picture or placing a amp meter in line between the battery cable and battery. I would start by disconnecting added accessories one at a time and then move on to pulling fuses one at a time. I have seen various body modules cause excessive draw due to not going to "sleep".

Hi

Going by the OEM manuals I purchased with our Duramax it’s about a 2 hour project to determine the draw after everything shuts down. Then they don’t give you a number they tell to divide the draw in the amp hour rating of the batteries.

A lot of OEM devices and some take a long time to shut down.

Phil P

[jlb27537]

My '12 Ram sits for months at a time. Original batteries still in it, however going to change them this this spring. That said, I have a 5 watt solar panel that sits in the windshield and keeps them up.

My owners manual says to disconnect the batteries if sitting for over 60 days. So, either get a panel or get frustrated. Warranty only pays .3th of a hour for diagnosis which is 18 minutes. Techs are on a hourly flat rate. So go out get a truck, check it, park truck outside, you have taken 18 minutes out of their time to make a living.

Todays vehicles are designed to be driven, not parked for long periods of time.

Good luck.