My daily driver, 2001 dodge ram, died on me yesterday. I put a new battery in it and still no power, no dummy lights or anything. Here's where I'm perplexed, I hook up a voltmeter to the batt and it has 12volts with the positive cable hooked up. When you touch the negative cable to the battery the voltage drops to zero! As soon as you take it off the voltage builds back up. Does anyone know what's wrong and how to fix it?? These electronic trucks are confusing sometimes to me.
perplexed, any ideas?
- Thread starter Camo King
- Start date
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donsrods
Well-known member
Was the new battery you put in new or used ? Was it fully charged ? You don't test a battery with a volt meter, that will only show surface charge, you need a battery tester that load tests the battery.
If I had to guess I would say your "new" battery wasn't either in good condition or didn't have a deep charge on it. When you hooked it up the electronics on the truck sucked it down to zero. Have the battery checked at someplace like Autozone or Advance Auto. They have the proper testers there. Or, put the battery on a charger for a few hours and see what you get.
I do this all day long, I work in a marine store and people bring in batteries all the time that showed 12v on their multimeters but when we put them on our load tester they go way down.
Don
If I had to guess I would say your "new" battery wasn't either in good condition or didn't have a deep charge on it. When you hooked it up the electronics on the truck sucked it down to zero. Have the battery checked at someplace like Autozone or Advance Auto. They have the proper testers there. Or, put the battery on a charger for a few hours and see what you get.
I do this all day long, I work in a marine store and people bring in batteries all the time that showed 12v on their multimeters but when we put them on our load tester they go way down.
Don
Or it could be a dead short, but that would probably let you know with a big spark when you put the cable on.
With only one terminal connected, jump a test light between the other cable and terminal - there shouldn't be any reading.
With only one terminal connected, jump a test light between the other cable and terminal - there shouldn't be any reading.
kkadams123
Well-known member
You can also hook up an amp meter to the negative battery terminal and the unhooked negative cable to check key-off load. Should be no more than about 30 - 50 miliamps. This will show if you have a short or large parasitic drain on the battery.
Toad
Well-known member
Do what Don says! The guy that sold me my wiring harness (Bob @ Rebel Wire) said to test for a short, remove the battery cables & put them back on (I think + first & then -) and if it sparks, you have a short. Sounds like a bad battery to me though.
Toad
Toad
Thanks guys for all the ideas!! I went out and put the old battery back in and everything came back on and I went back to the original problem, it would click but wouldn't start. So I hooked it up to the charger and played around in the snow for a bit, came back and it starts like a champ! So I am guessing i still have a weak battery or a small drain?? Would dirty battery cables cause the battery to drain? They were pretty bad when I cleaned em....
Dirtyrat
Got Fins?
Sounds like a bad battery if the alternator is putting out proper charge.
Glad you are on the right track! Always frustrating when the daily driver isn't working!
Glad you are on the right track! Always frustrating when the daily driver isn't working!
donsrods
Well-known member
Dirty connections can be a HUGE problem. Clean the connections with some sandpaper till the shine, and do the same with the posts on the battery. If they are side mount connectors make sure the bolt and all the surfaces on the connections are very clean and tight. Also make sure the other end of the cables are clean, so you have a good ground and a good connection to the starter post.
To answer your question, dirty connections won't cause a battery to drain but they will make it so the full power isn't available to the starter.
You never answered the question about the second battery, was it brand new ?
Don
To answer your question, dirty connections won't cause a battery to drain but they will make it so the full power isn't available to the starter.
You never answered the question about the second battery, was it brand new ?
Don
I will take the cables loose again and shine them up purdy. And to answer your question Don, the battery was not new. Now I know its definitely bad! The alternator is charging fine and i drove it this afternoon. It didn't act up too bad so I bet its dirty cables. Thanks for all the help thus far!!! I'll keep ya posted on updates!
CR55
It's just a little surface rust!
Don't ya just love this site? Glad you got your problem repaired and it looks like an inexpensive fix
Old Iron
Well-known member
Also if the battery cables are loose or dirty, the battery won't fully charge either.
It's hard on electronics when the battery cables are loose or dirty cause, the alternator won't have anything to regulate the voltage. Like running an engine with battery unhooked.
It's hard on electronics when the battery cables are loose or dirty cause, the alternator won't have anything to regulate the voltage. Like running an engine with battery unhooked.
R Pope
Well-known member
Hope its not the cables themselves, I priced them out for my '97 Ram, $750 for the positive and $250 for the negative! I bought replacement ends from Napa and got it working for $12. Not a fan of those replacement ends, they need cleaning and tightening every year or so, but cheaper than $1000 to fix a $1500 truck!
Old Iron
Well-known member
Where the heck did you get those prices
Rock Auto has the battery cable for $21.79
$42.79 is the highest priced one they have.
Rock Auto has the battery cable for $21.79
$42.79 is the highest priced one they have.
Willowbilly3
A *real* tin magnet
Not a fan of those cheasy clamp on ends, you are just asking for trouble if you used them.. If you look on the card they are sold as temporary ends. I buy the brass, solder on ends to fix any vehicle with a complicated proprietary type of cable. I get Beldon brand by the box.
They look like this;
http://www.delcity.net/store/Straight-Barrel-Brass-Battery-Terminals/p_14377
They look like this;
http://www.delcity.net/store/Straight-Barrel-Brass-Battery-Terminals/p_14377
