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Battery charging warning light keeps coming on

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58K views 18 replies 15 participants last post by  jt32404  
#1 ·
Hello,
I have a question for all of you gear heads out there. The battery charging system warning light keeps coming on every once and awhile (The red battery symbol). There is no rime or reason for when it comes on and all I have to do is pull over and turn the truck off and restart it and it goes away and the battery needle returns to the normal position. I do not know if it is a loss connection or what. Thanks for the help!

It is a 2009 Ram 1500 4.7l trx4
 
#2 ·
Sounds like your alternator is dying. Could be a bad connection, though. Or even the battery. Take to an auto parts store and check your battery and charging system. Make sure to get the guy that knows what he's doing, though.
 
#6 · (Edited)
When you replaced the battery were you having the same problem? If so, I would be suspect of the alternator. It sounds like it's not keeping a good charge. But of course you want to check your connections and the battery as well. Have them run more than one test on it, or have it checked at a couple of different places.
 
#4 · (Edited)
One of the Dodge Techs in here mentioned that a battery has to have a complete charge on it for the Dodge alternator to function properly
A battery when purchased does Not have a full charge on it & the alternator will put out just enough charge to replace what was used in the starting process, it will not continue charging until the battery is FULLY charged

I run more lights then most people do & sometimes for days at a time, my gauge needle is exactly center when all my lights are on
I run my headlights whenever the key is on & when i am with a Oversized Load, my rotating lights are on & then there is my high powered CB radio
In this picture, my headlights are not on, i had not yet discovered the way to make them work whenever the key was on

Image
 
#12 ·
My TWIN! LOL. My first thought was How'd he steal my truck! I have a 2012 RAM 1500 same color. I have a barney rack similar to yours, but it's not on the truck. I put a Back Rack on it and my lightbar and barney sign are mounted to the back rack! I escort on the east coast. JKA Express. Stay healthy and keep working!
 
#5 ·
I can say don't let when you last replace the battery mean you shouldn't have it checked. I have gotten a few bad batteries in differs cars I own over the past couple years. I got a junk optima red top that lasted less that 1k miles in my trans am before dropping a cell. They don't seem to be made as good these days.
I would have it checked and if its low get it charged. They can check the alternator at the same time. Also check every connection to make sure there tight and free of any corrosion.
 
#8 ·
I would suspect a poor charging system at this point. Check you connections! Check the voltage on your battery with the engine running, it should be north of 13.5-14.5 amps. if less than that, the charging system is weak, or cables/connections are in need of attention.
 
#13 ·
Hey, I've been looking for someone with the same problem as me. I have an '11 Ram sport. The battery light came on and once I checked I changed out the bad alternator. Brought a new battery and charged it fully with my 6amp charger. Still not getting 14 while the engine is on. I've used my multimeter to check the fuseable link. Checked every fuse and relay and at this point and I'm just looking to see how common is this problem. Someone tell me something please
 
#14 ·
Yes, I have basically the same issue. New battery, new pcm, new alternator 220amp, new oil pressure senor. The truck 2014 Ram 1500 Laramie hickups a bit.. all the power to the dash and radio goes out. Everything reboots and then goes back to normal with the low battery light staying on takes a few seconds. usually about 5 to 10 miles down the road. Every 4 or 5 start everything is normal. Then goes though the reboot process again and the low battery light comes back on..
 
#17 ·
Turned out to be loose wires ant the integrated power module connection which caused a charging system high output fault. Simple fix. Thanks for all the input!
I'm having sort of the same problem on my 2010 dodge ram 5.7L hemi trx4.... when the truck is running its constantly draining the battery and its pulling 12v but over a matter of 30mins the battery dies, I check the resistance between the alternator and battery and it's 0, checked all the grounds and they are good, switch out my starter and alternator, but im gettinf -0.05v from the ecm to the alternator, i dont know why cause there is no corrosion, i put dye electric grease in the plugs, i even added a ground from the motor to the chassis, i have to carry 2 battery's with me wherever I go, I can't for the life of me figure out what's going on
 
#19 ·
I've taken my 2010 dodge ram 1500 5.7 hemi crewcab to O'Reilly's and both alternator and battery checks out good, plus i have red lightning bolt which everything including starter are good already replaced both accelerator Pedal and throttle body and red lightning bolt still there