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Have you had battery or charging warnings?

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Are any folks on this thread having battery issues running a GDE tune? We adjusted the charging algorithms in the GDE tune several months ago and it alleviated this issue on our test vehicles.
 
I was able to bring my truck to a dealership. They diagnosed a bad battery and replaced. During his test drive he saw the wildly varying voltage from the alternator and wants to change the alternator too. I guess it’s on order. 🤷‍♂️

It’s been about 2 weeks with the new battery and I’m still getting the alerts, though not as frequent as before.

While driving this morning I was watching the battery voltage. It stayed under 13v a lot. Even dropping as far as 12.1v for good periods of time.

All in all, I’m not impressed. I’ll be keeping the battery maintainer plugged in over night from now on.
 
2022 1500 Ecodiesel. I'm having the battery alert message as well. Haven't had any issues with starting. The voltage seems typical although it does vary more than I'm accustomed to with other vehicles whether gas or diesels but does seem to stay withing normal parameters.
 
Discussion starter · #44 ·
The error has returned for me. I was hoping the OTA update on 12/16 would resolve it.... But it's returned on 12/20.
You are one of a few who seemed to have it fixed--until it wasn't! RamCares just told me they don't have a fix yet. "At this time, we don't have an ETA for a fix, however sending over your VIN is extremely helpful as it assists with us documenting the number of people who are experiencing this issue. We can also get you some technical support while your vehicle is at the dealer." I don't think it's worth taking mine in again until they have a fix!
 
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I have the same issue with my 22 laramie ecodiesel. Brought it to the dealer, waited 3 hrs to be given a piece of paper stating that it's a smart generator system. There's nothing wrong with it. Bring it back with same issue which I still have. Then booted out the door. I would assume it has bits & pieces from etorque. It doesn't charge all the time like a alternator. It only replenishes what you take out. If you watch the gage, it will jump up too 14.2-14.4 if you let off the diesel. That's the charging cycle. The economical cycle. Using the back pressure on the generator too slow you down & charge the battery. That's pretty cool. What will they think of next. There's a 13.1 threshold. Once it get's below that you get the alert. Like starting the engine its in the 12th's.Maybe a dead cell. Maybe your not slowing down enough times to charge the battery. Maybe the threshold needs to be lowered which is a firmware issue.Or maybe the battery needs a good 2 day slow charge. So you don't ruin it. It's a working process. We are quality control. It's the way it is. My father was a electrical engineer, my son is a electrical technician for Harley Davidson. So give them a break. I'm from the points & condenser error. Who would think the generator is back. Thanks that take & I'm sticking by it. Rick
 
Discussion starter · #46 ·
I have the same issue with my 22 laramie ecodiesel. Brought it to the dealer, waited 3 hrs to be given a piece of paper stating that it's a smart generator system. There's nothing wrong with it. Bring it back with same issue which I still have. Then booted out the door. I would assume it has bits & pieces from etorque. It doesn't charge all the time like a alternator. It only replenishes what you take out. If you watch the gage, it will jump up too 14.2-14.4 if you let off the diesel. That's the charging cycle. The economical cycle. Using the back pressure on the generator too slow you down & charge the battery. That's pretty cool. What will they think of next. There's a 13.1 threshold. Once it get's below that you get the alert. Like starting the engine its in the 12th's.Maybe a dead cell. Maybe your not slowing down enough times to charge the battery. Maybe the threshold needs to be lowered which is a firmware issue.Or maybe the battery needs a good 2 day slow charge. So you don't ruin it. It's a working process. We are quality control. It's the way it is. My father was a electrical engineer, my son is a electrical technician for Harley Davidson. So give them a break. I'm from the points & condenser error. Who would think the generator is back. Thanks that take & I'm sticking by it. Rick
The problem is either the algorithm that controls charging or the algorithm that triggers the battery warning. My guess is that it's the former, since my battery is 11.3 to 11.6V before starting the engine. The battery checked OK when I took it in, but I don't know if it can be damaged by using it undercharged. I don't plan to use a slow charger on a truck with less than a thousand miles on it--not while it's under warranty, for that matter. I would be surprised if it's a generator rather than an alternator.

I'm from the points and condenser "error" also. I just hope it wasn't an error to trade up to the Gen 3.
 
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Around 2000 miles and no Problems Yet>>>>> Well I said it, YET>>>>Here in Wisconsin I have been driving is some very low temps. -14 to +4F and seems to be working Great >>>>>>>>>>>>Merry Christmas All and Happy New Year>>>>>>
 
Discussion starter · #48 ·
Hey @SlowRoller ,

We see you found this Star Case! This should be the one to assist your dealer with fixing this concern with you!

Callie
Ram Cares
It's been over two months now. How close are the engineers to fixing the issue?
 
I’m getting “Charging System Error” notifications emails now instead of battery errors on the dash. Dealer said earlier to ignore; they don’t have a software fix yet. This never happened before an over the air update happened a while back.
 
Discussion starter · #51 ·
It has def become annoying getting notifications all the time that my battery is blah when everything is actually fine.
My battery was at 11.6V before I started the motor. I'm not sure that's fine. I'm checking in again with the dealer to see if they've heard anything.
 
Discussion starter · #53 ·
Well in my case I have had zero issues with the battery life. My battery is fine and it seems like just a software problem for me.
Mine has started every time--and I'm almost at 1,000 miles, LOL! However, almost 10% of our voters have reported starting problems. With the system crying wolf every time, I wouldn't know if it developed a real problem. We're getting closer to taking a shakedown cruise with the trailer and I'd like to be done with this issue before that.
 
So far, no one has told me what voltage the EVIC shows before starting the engine. I would like to hear from people who do or who don't get the battery message, please. Mine now reads 11.6V after sitting for about a week.
I've seen mine down that low at startup however it still starts strong. Bought my truck December of 21, mine started getting these errors in November of 22.
 
It sounds like all the charging warning issues are mostly on the 2022 models. I don't have these issues on my 2020 nor do I remember anyone having these issues until 2022. I'm surprised that Ram made changes in 2022 but didn't feel the need to update the 2020 - 2021 trucks. Or maybe I should be surprised that Ram doesn't fix the 2022 problems with the 2020 - 2021 software.
 
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Discussion starter · #56 ·
It sounds like all the charging warning issues are mostly on the 2022 models. I don't have these issues on my 2020 nor do I remember anyone having these issues until 2022. I'm surprised that Ram made changes in 2022 but didn't feel the need to update the 2020 - 2021 trucks. Or maybe I should be surprised that Ram doesn't fix the 2022 problems with the 2020 - 2021 software.
Even for the '22s I've heard about, the problems seemed to start in the fall. Mine was built in September and came from the dealership with the problem. It is odd that they can't undo a problem they created with a recent "update"! I wasn't planning to take mine in until they have a fix, but the backup camera quit working today, so.......
 
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Discussion starter · #57 ·
It sounds like all the charging warning issues are mostly on the 2022 models. I don't have these issues on my 2020 nor do I remember anyone having these issues until 2022. I'm surprised that Ram made changes in 2022 but didn't feel the need to update the 2020 - 2021 trucks. Or maybe I should be surprised that Ram doesn't fix the 2022 problems with the 2020 - 2021 software.
Correct. Of the 11 who have reported some form of the problem on this thread, all were '22s. Eight had the problem start in November or December, as I understand what they write. Mine was present from new in October, but rare until I had the dealership check it in November--now it's twice per engine run, start and stop! Two don't say when it started.

Hey, @RamCares, if your engineers haven't figured out this pattern, perhaps this will help. Couldn't you give us some idea if they have made any progress?
 
So I’ve been using a NOCO battery maintainer for a few weeks now. On days when it had been running over night, I rarely got the charging system error messages. But I did still get them. If I didn’t plug in the battery maintainer, I usually got the error messages. But not every day.

This is even still after the dealership warrantied a battery replacement. They still want to replace my alternator, but it hasn’t come in yet. I have no hopes that the alternator is actually broken, but if they want to put new parts in, I won’t complain.

I’ve been running the @GDE tune on my ‘22 for a few days now. Haven’t gotten the battery system error once and also haven’t plugged in the battery maintainer once. I’m thinking of taking it off the truck to be honest. Granted, this isn’t long term data, but it’s promising.
 
I’ve been running the @GDE tune on my ‘22 for a few days now. Haven’t gotten the battery system error once and also haven’t plugged in the battery maintainer once. I’m thinking of taking it off the truck to be honest. Granted, this isn’t long term data, but it’s promising.
GDE is known to identify the shortcomings of OE tuning and improve the tune. That's why it was an easy decision for me to go with the GDE tune on my 2015 and will eventually do the same on my 2020. Not only does the tune pay for itself in fuel economy, but it very well could reduce downtime and prolong the life of the engine. (y)
 
@biodiesel Its strange though. My issues, as well as I can remember, started AFTER a radio update. Now, I don’t believe the OTA radio updates are modifying the ECM. Are they? If they are, then I will have to look into disabling the cellular modem or whatever their using for the OTA updates. I don’t use those connected features anyway and don’t want to lose my tune.

The whole situation is stupid. Battery charging is not some new technology. Shouldn’t be happening on any vehicle, let alone on $50k+ vehicles

Though, my battery has been low (prior to GDE tune, haven’t checked since), as in 11.7 in the morning. Actually checked with a Fluke meter. I never once had actual issues starting. But I also took measures to alleviate the low voltage with the NOCO once I started getting the messages. Im not sure if I had left it alone what would have happened.
 
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