Batteries dead

[JRS]

I've PM'd another member about this, but wondering if anyone else has had this problem. Last Monday morning the batteries were dead on the truck. I charged them all day and load checked them and they were fine. Did not take it to the dealer because I was not absolutely sure I had turned everything off. Same thing this morning, but since last week I have been double checking and making sure I turn everything off. Something is deciding to stay on randomly.

 

[TPR021]

Got a friend w/a 2010 that this just happened to today, so we're double checking all the obvious also. The one thing that comes to mind is the P0514 code from the 3rd gens, the battery temp sensor rational, but why that would be related to a drain is beyond me.

 

[JRS]

I started pulling fuses and checking amp draw with my dvm. Then I realized, wait my company paid $XXXXX for this truck and it's still under warranty. I'm taking it in. Ironic isn't it, the owners convinced me to let them purchase me a new truck because they were afraid of me getting stranded at a remote jobsite in my '97 cummins with +250k miles.

 

[TPR021]

Yeah, I'd take it in too. My buddies truck sat all weekend. He had it jumped, drove to work, sat all day, and started fine for the trip home. That being said, I'd like to see what happens tomorrow morning. It could be a bad battery, or???. I'll keep ya posted.

 

[JRS]

After charged my batteries back up I load checked them and they were fine. At first I thought I had a bad cell. That's not unusual considering my past luck with factory batteries from nissan, mazda, porsche, etc.

 

[GooseHunter]

I assume you are aware these 2010 batteries are AGM, not wet cell batteries.

 

[JRS]

you are correct. I was looking for the series number and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the AGM.

 

[mwilson]

Freightliner as of MY2009 mandated all Cascadia Model trucks will come the factory with AGM batteries. Period.



Let's just say that I am less than impressed with the AGM's given my experience and many instances of warranty claims on them so far.



I don't know exactly what the issues have been so far and don't want to throw them under the bus YET but I would certainly give them a real close going over if they were in anything that I owned.



I have a brand new Cascadia in the shop being prepped for delivery and the customer insisted on the four AGM's being removed and replaced with wet cell Group 31's before he will take delivery.

He obviously has had an issue or two with the AGM's at some point in one of his other trucks. He has several Cascadias already.



Just went out and talked to the Service Manager regarding AGM issues...



1) Will not recover after being discharged. Modern sleepers have an LVD (Low Voltage Disconnect) to protect the truck and insure that starting will be possible after a driver has run his inverter and fridge all night long. After the LVD has tripped a few times during the week at the 11 volt set point the batteries have lost the reserve and truck will not start.



2) Can not be rapid charged or boosted at any more than 12 volts. Had cases in dooryard where boosting took several hours. The AGM's will not accept a rapid charge.



3) Failures, Failures. Some failures occurring as soon as 2 months!!! Not a confidence builder if you have a truck running cross country.



So they are not a crowd pleaser so far here.



Mike.

 

[TPR021]

O. K. So your saying that the 2010+ pickups have AGM batts? I thought these were supposed to be superior,( your comments noted) There are tons of threads on guys replacing them from the OEM in years past. What would cause "new" ones to discharge in that fashion?

 

[mwilson]

I wonder if they are fine until they get drawn down, for example a small parasitic draw, someone listening to the radio too long, etc. .



That seems to be what starts the issue in the big trucks is drawing them down and the reserve being lost with no apparent way to bring it back. Wet cells will most always recover with a slow, steady charge. The AGM's so far in the Class 8 trucks seem to resist any attempt at revival and reliability after a substantial discharge.

Maybe there is something that Freightliner has done wrong in making the electrical system of the truck match the batteries.

Also the spec for the OEM Freightliner battery may not be as good as say an Optima spec would be.



This is the first post I have seen that mentioned the 2010 Dodge trucks having AGM batteries from the factory. I was surprised to see it and figured that I ought to at least toss out a heads up regarding the issues we are seeing here.

 

[Beast2B]

I had a similar experience on my last new car (2009 Subaru WRX). It needed a battery within two months of purchase. I got the battery replaced under warranty and had no issues after that. One thing that I thought may contribute to this issue is how long a new vehicle stay on the lot before it's sold. How often do you see the salesmen needing to jumpstart a vehicle before a test drive? Fairly often in my experience! Parasitic loss is nearly inevitable with the amount of electronics these days, but leaving a vehicle sitting for weeks at a time is tough on any battery.

 

[SRadke]

My 06 will be dead in 4 days if I leave the key in it. Not turned one, just IN the ignition.

 

[mickeyblueyes]

I had a Lifeline AMG battery in a truck camper. One winter the snow covered the solar panel and the battery went dead , CO , smoke detecter? what ever else. Any way once they are depleted they loose 1/2 of their original AH power. They are also subject to high"sulpherization" because they only trickle charge , you really have to blast them with current to burn off the sulfur. They also cost 3 x the price of a regular battery. Other than being able to install them inside living space I see no advantage.

 

[robertyoke]

I had my optimas Red tops go dead several times and they came back just fine, just had to use a low amp charger over night on them.



I've had the blue top optimas drained to nothing and they are also fine, but they are a deep cycle/marine battery so they are supposed to.



I've had my wr450 battery drained to nothin more times then i could count on my 04 charged it up and good to go, traided that bike in on an 09 with the stock battery still in it... . that battery in the 09 has been dead several times from leaving the gps on or ign switch on and charged it up..... good to go.



Ive been switching my camper and work trailer batterys over from wet cell to agm's for the fact that the wet cell stuff when left on the inverter 24/7 they loose the magic juice and if let to expose the led then you just bought a battery.