Having problems with my '01 Ram...

[69Charger_440]

Hi, I know it is not a Charger, although I do have a '69  , but I wanted to see if anyone could suggest what else I could try.  To make a long story short here is what happened:

Battery was dead one morning so I had to jump start it.  Truck started up in the afternoon, although a  little weak, that same day.  Anyhow, by morning it was dead again.  Took both the alternator and battery to AutoZone, and was told both were good to go. I then reinstalled both, and in two days, the battery was dead again.  I then sliced open the + and - cables a little to see if any corrosion had built up, but nothing. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Fernando

[Todd Wilson]

Hi, I know it is not a Charger, although I do have a '69  , but I wanted to see if anyone could suggest what else I could try.  To make a long story short here is what happened:

Battery was dead one morning so I had to jump start it.  Truck started up in the afternoon, although a  little weak, that same day.  Anyhow, by morning it was dead again.  Took both the alternator and battery to AutoZone, and was told both were good to go. I then reinstalled both, and in two days, the battery was dead again.  I then sliced open the + and - cables a little to see if any corrosion had built up, but nothing. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Fernando

Could be a tough one to figure out.    I wouldnt trust anything Analzone says about your battery or alt.    I have seen batteries test good but were no good in a vehicle. If the battery is 4 years old or older I would look into it further.  It could also be the diodes in the alternator acting up and drawing current.  When this happens I have seen a small spark happen as you remove the battery cables. You could tell right away there was some current draw. Otherwise you have something in the truck somewhere drawing current all the time.   If you have aftermarket stuff in it like a stereo I would check there first. You might be able to pull fuses and catch a spark which would show current draw and then narrow down the circuit that is pulling juice and then maybe figure out what is causing it.  Or pull a fuse out and see if the battery loses juice or not. This method will take days to do.


Todd

[Plumcrazy]

If that's the original battery in there it's on borrowed time.  Wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it first.

It's possible too that something is causing a draw on the battery.  Wait at least 5 minutes after you shut it off to give the modules time to go to sleep.
Disconnect the battery negative terminal and hook a test light between the terminal and cable.   It should not light.  If it does you have to start removing fuses to narrow it down to the exact cause.

[69Charger_440]

I appreciate it, guys!  Let me give it a try and see what happens.

Fernando