You saved me a grip of money today. Thank you for posting this video. : check Guage light came on... I opened the hood and discovered the passenger side 1 battery cap had blown off the battery...acid was all over so I cleaned it carefully.... problem 2 truck will not start.... showing 17 volts on passenger battery 10.5 on driver side battery. Googled ( why is only one battery on my 5.9 cummins charging?) Your video popped up and you were spot on. I cleaned every connection including the ground and replaced 1 battery terminal connecter on driver side positive. She fired right up after a 20 minute charge on the driver side bat. You and my $120. Dollar harbor freit battery charger ( that I have had for years) saved me several hundred dollars. Thanks for helping me out on this.
You are a life and money saver! This is all it took to fix my low voltage signal. And credit to the Napa fellas for NOT selling me a new battery when I didnt actually need one!!! Thrilled to have found this video!!
Had this happen after changing the alternator. I checked the voltage of each battery and driver side was at 12 and passenger was at 15. Cleaned the wires on the battery post and it fixed the problem. Thank you
This is a must. My truck did the same thing. I melted 2 batteries. I changed the alternator, and still showed discharge on my 06 Dodge Cummins. I watched this video,went and cleaned my connection of my cross over cable. Started the truck,and it started charging at a little over 14 volts...Great information..Thank you very much...
Thanks bud. This was a big help. 2006 5.9 Cummins. Replaced a bad battery on driver side. The connecting cable was not making good contact. So the alternator was charging passenger battery @ 16.8v while truck was showing 11v. This video solved my problem. Thanks!
My 1998 appears to be having the same problem. The connection on the crossover and actually all the connections needed some cleaning up. Hopefully it'll start after this third time finding it dead after a few days of sitting.. Thanks for the video!
i had this problem today. passenger battery boiled over bad. the connection on the crossover on the driver side was bad. thank you for posting this, its exactly what was wrong with mine. when i checked with a volt meter...passenger side was 18-19 volts.
I'm a single woman who has to do everything on my own. I think you just saved me thousands of dollars. This might explain while my left battery. Looks like the post or fried. And the battery look like it was leaking. I put new batteries in and still had a charging issue immediately. Things were wrong, so I'm going to check that. Thank you.
Corrosion can create resistance within the crossover cable. It is not always the connection, but often times the crossover cable is corroded internally and needs to be replaced.
I unfortunately replaced the 2 batteries Luckily they were still under warranty but I bought an alternator when it didn't work I took my old one in and got a bench test done, It passed. Was starting to think it might be my computer I'm gonna go home and try to clean everything really well hopefully this fixes it... Thank you for taking the time to post this video.
Mine passed as well but replacing the alt finally fixed mine. Corroded cables and just horrible connections. Cleaned everything and started it up and the alt set at 11 vots then jumped to 14. Ran that way for about 5 miles then the guage started playing ping pong. It finally dropped out and the CE light came on. Was tired of it so I replaced the alt and the issue is resolved even though the old one bench tested fine. 308 and original alt so it was time.
Good video my charging gauge went crazy yesterday voltage jump up to 18 plus than drop down to 14.5 than up and down and check gauge coming off and on. Pulled alternator out lights on dash still flickering, brake controller making noises still, pulled battery out of drivers side and it quit so put it back in and the flickering lights didn't start up again, ill check cable connections, thanks for video. Rick
I changed all of the ground and power wires with heavy duty and larger gauge. Need to check all connections and apply contact grease and sprays through out.
You’re the man! Intermittent problem, loose connection on mine. Thanks for pointing that out. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I have this problem right now and am about to order an alternator for my 04 2500, my terminals are very clean. Idk if this is the problem but I’m going to check it out and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for this video. Hope it fixes the problem
FIRST THING check both batteries with a volt meter. They should be the same!!!! If not It’s the cross over cable. Take the connections apart and clean them. With emery paper or Sos pad or sand paper. Put back together start truck and check both batteries with Volt meter. Again they should be the same
U need a new cross over cable try using jumper cables to jump one battery to the other and see if it works then there’s an issue with your actual crossover cable. U know What I mean?
Great video man. I ran into this exact problem today. My battery crossover cable had a loose connection. After I cleaned all the connection I checked the voltage on both batteries while vehicle was running and both matched up perfectly .
Dude great video, just came home to the exact same issue found loose connections to my battery where the computer pulls information from. Thanks, wish I could give more thumbs ups.
I’m having the same problem I change my batteries last month cuz one of them was exploded I thought the reason was because they were old and that day was 100* degrees hot but today I have again passenger side exploded Thanks for the video 👍🏼
Your my F*#king hero, my terminal started getting so hot, that I cut the cable to the alternator before my battery blew up. Watched this video, cleaned all connections and all is good. I love youtube. I was ready to go purchase a new alternator. Now I know why I see many of these trucks all burnt up from fires. 06 Mega with the 5.9
Man you made my DAY. When I made this video, if I could just help one person it is worth it’s weight in gold!!!! I am so happy that it helped. This is why I make vids. Tell your friends. Post it on Facebook for all your friends and fellow diesel enthusiasts. So much headache and money to be saved from watching this vid. Thanks again man!!!! Glad I could shed some light on this issue!!!!
Removed the crossover cable connection on the driver battery and scrubbed the shit out of everything with a wire brush, put it back together and it charges perfect now. I already ordered a new crossover cable but it could definetly use it so I'm not top upset about it
Mine passed as well but replacing the alt finally fixed mine. Corroded cables and just horrible connections. Cleaned everything and started it up and the alt set at 11 vots then jumped to 14. Ran that way for about 5 miles then the guage started playing ping pong. It finally dropped out and the CE light came on. Was tired of it so I replaced the alt and the issue is resolved even though the old one bench tested fine. 308 and original alt so it was time.
Mine had this very problem. Visually the connections were clean. I thought my driver side battery had gone bad. I was about to replace it. The issue with mine was the positive battery clamp bolt on the driver side battery. The corrosion was on the bolt, inside the lead clamp. I couldn't see it. The give-away was 12.6 volts on the crossover cable terminal, but only 4.5 volts at the clamp itself, with that battery disconnected. The voltage was making it to the connector, but not thru the bolt into the terminal and into the battery. Once I discovered it I removed the bolt completely and cleaned off all the hidden corrosion. Then coated everything with corrosion protectant before putting it all back together. The driver battery is charging nicely now and all the engine codes have cleared. Check the thru-bolts where they mate inside the terminals. My problem was hidden from view. I thought it was all clean but no, it was some wicked corrosion on the bolt inside the terminal.
I recently had “check gauge” on the display. I decided to clean all the connector after I saw an accumulation of battery acid. As I was cleaning them I discovered the crossover cable connected but the nut was not completely tight. I cleaned and tightened the nut and I fixed it. Check Gauge was gone immediately after I turn on the truck
Great video, thanks. We just had a light snow, temp only 34, and I try to crank my 4 yr old 2500 Ram. All good lights, heater comes on, instead of crank I get clugg and reset. I'm getting my voltmeter and going to check your idea now.
@@hogie1685 I spent awhile reading and trying. 2 batteries voltage were the same turned off. I've read don't charge one without disconnecting other among other ideas. I figure if everything is off, charge one on passenger side- check their charge volts. They are the same. 11v nothing on, 13.2v charging. at 43 degrees. my plan to crank when at 12.8v failed. I think, grid heater draws 10v and is on at/below 59 degrees. Charging to 12.8v and 43 degrees failed to crank but grid heater did come on first. next plan - plug in that block heater and heat'er up - and charger it up. 2 hours passed, sun set and at 9pm and colder. It cranked like brand new. water temp showed 89, volts on volt meter 13.8 both batteries with charger disconnected. IT WAS CHARGED! SSOOO, getting above the 59 degrees for the grid heater - if it did kick on I never showed it. I pressed the break and ON button and it fired immediately. While the batterys are 4 years old, and its cold, I will need to warm the block to get past the grid heater and its great to crank. UNTIL I take it shopping and there isn't a handy dandy plug for the block heater. new battery time but I have a way to crank if I have to get out, Thanks for your reply and input to get me working on it, ed
Yah I would load test the batteries tho. They can seem fine with a volt meter. But when under a heavy load show there true colors lol. . Those grid heaters draw a lot of amps. Quick and easy check really
I had the block heater on Saturday night, only 29 degrees but wanted to see if the warm engine cranked. Showed 91 degrees and cranked immediately. I believe the volts were 12.5. Drove to autozone for a load test and it showed 86% charged with battery at 66 degrees. I thought it went by outside temp. He set the 730cca. I don't understand everything entered but it showed both batteries passed. I can only assume the load test doesn't check for a grid heater. Warm - it cranks. But I bet if it's cold and a week not cranked or charged I get a clunk!! I appreciate the replies - but looking at my 3 4.5 yr old truck batteries, it looks like it'll be an expensive winter..
This is a really good video I also had this problem I looked at my cables they look good so I put a alternator. It is still doing the same thing am going to try thus next hopefully it works thanks man
If you guys want to see if this is your problem the easiest way to find out it to connect a jumper cable from one batter of your truck to the other one just the positive cable and you should get the battery voltage up
Hello friend ! Yeah man I got this problem! I don’t know till now what is wrong with my truck ! Bcuz in my case battery in driver’s side is the one getting terminal melting! Once I crank my truck The voltage gauge reader stay in 6 for a couple of minutes the go to 11 or 12 after that ! I just get a new battery today the one one driver’s side! Bcuz the positive terminal was cracked! Do you think is not the alternator the problem! which is new ! & all my wires new also!
I just clicked again! Just keep cables tight, clean and keep tight. There's a sensor under batteries. 14.1 volts. That crossover can get corroded in the middle. This has been sinse sensors were added.
I have a 2005 ram 3500 , béen having this problem recently , my alternator was bad and i noticed when i baught the truck 2 uears ago that the positive terminal on the passenger side was melted a little i replaced the alternator and seen the terminal glowing red and the alternator was pushing 19.0 volts , so i replaced the terminal and just checked it this weekend and its still pushing 19.0 volts , so i figured i would look into it more , seen this video , do thats the next thing i will check , probably wont be able to get to ot till next weekend.
I kind of have the same issue except my alternator overcharge and caught on fire blew the main 40 amp fuse going into the fuse box on the fender and now all gauges do not work truck runs fine but it won't go about 1200 RPM and will not charge
Screw that!!! Keep connections tight and clean. If still have problems, change the cross over cable and upgrade to military style universal terminal and shrink wrap everything you repair. The cancer can travel to the middle of the crossover wire! #keepclean. Normal problem
I have this exact issue. I checked the voltage where it comes over tho the driver side battery at the connector before the main terminal and it read what the alternator was putting out. But the driver side battery isn’t taking it. When I wake up I’m going to clean my connections on the driver side positive terminal especially my crossover. I put unhooked positive side on the passenger side battery and everything runs normal and it charges normal. So it’s gotta be this crossover wire.
I replaced the two batteries, and even installed a new high output alternator, and replaced the one battery terminal on the passenger side negative because it was so loose and it wouldn’t tighten. It was working when I first did the alternator and now it is like 11 volts. I also cleaned the battery connections. My passenger battery is like almost 18 volts and my driver is 12.78. I did changed the alternator ground cable and the crossover cable with a black one from autozone but I’m not sure if it is the proper gauge because they had one for like $100, and the one I got is $21. Do you think it could be my crossover cable that is not power full enough? Thanks
Would hide a failing battery from the computer since the end of the line is being mixed with the source. More likely on the passenger side I would think. Since it's sampled on the driver side.
Well thats exactly what my truck did. Except i disconnected the passenger side and the voltage when back to normal and truck ran good. Ill try it i smoked on battery put a new one in and it started boiling in about 45min into my next trip
Hahahaha winter time I block off most of my rad so it warms up a little faster 23 Liters of coolant and that big cast block take a while to warm up in Canadian winters lol. It’s actually a Huggies diaper box LMAO
Makes since I unplugged my battery and started getting these light my passenger side head light also started acting up hopefully this fixes it thank you for the info 🙏🏽
My check gauge light didn’t come on but when I start my truck up my voltage gauge it’ll be at 14 it’ll drop down to zero then I’ll go right back up to 14 V and then the lights kind of flicker a little bit is that the problem you was having
Down to zero???? Or like 10-11 Volts. The Grid heaters on these trucks draw ALOT of juice. With a cold start my dash lights/Hvac fan will slow and dim when the grid heater is on. Then come right back to 14+ volts when it shuts off. It will cycle like 6 times ish.
mine was reading low voltage then shows about 16 volts on dash… hour later battery is dying as im driving finally cuts off and wont start. passenger battery positive terminal is melted. no connection
Very interesting! I'll have to check this out, my cousin been fighting simular problems for years on his 2000 RAM. I know that Low voltage/ bad ground / bad connections or bad battery can cause a shit-load of codes and other problems.
In all honesty. I would suggest when you change batteries you to do then both! The old one could bring the new one down in time. Which battery has the hot positive cable?
@@hogie1685 yes I will do what you said on the video and test the voltage while the truck is running. Just got the new battery about to install and see if the terminal continues to heat. Thanks for uploading this video by the way very good information 👍
My truck is doing the same. I had warranty on my batteries so i swapped em both. I let the truck sit over night, and went to start it the next morning....dead. like dead dead. Is this another symptom?
@@hogie1685 yes yes. I had literally all the same symptoms as you. Cleaned the terminals and battery ends, put a brand new battery end for the cross wire on the passenger side, and put the new batteries in both sides. I was done and test started it around 11p.m. I went to leave around 6am the next day, and the truck has zero power.
@@hogie1685 Nope, found a loose connection. Installed the batteries yesterday. New Alternator a year and a half ago. Thanks for making me look again You saved my sanity
@@hogie1685 I'm at my fishing pond now dealing with cables. Idk why but mine loosen. And eventually end up pulling apart as I continue to tighten. They stretch.
Yes, passenger battery was smokin hot and charging at 18 volts while only 12v on the drivers side battery, took the cross over cable off driver battery cleaned it with a grinder and boom, saved me a ton bro thank you
You saved me a grip of money today. Thank you for posting this video.
: check Guage light came on... I opened the hood and discovered the passenger side 1 battery cap had blown off the battery...acid was all over so I cleaned it carefully.... problem 2 truck will not start.... showing 17 volts on passenger battery 10.5 on driver side battery. Googled ( why is only one battery on my 5.9 cummins charging?) Your video popped up and you were spot on. I cleaned every connection including the ground and replaced 1 battery terminal connecter on driver side positive. She fired right up after a 20 minute charge on the driver side bat. You and my $120. Dollar harbor freit battery charger ( that I have had for years) saved me several hundred dollars. Thanks for helping me out on this.
You made my day!!!. This is why I make videos. I’m really happy I was able to help.
You are a life and money saver! This is all it took to fix my low voltage signal. And credit to the Napa fellas for NOT selling me a new battery when I didnt actually need one!!! Thrilled to have found this video!!
U made my day!!!!
TH-cam very helpfully recommended this video to me TWO DAYS AFTER I figured it out 😂
Good stuff, wish it were more common knowledge.
I got the same problem. My primary battery got so hot that I couldn't touch it. Cleaned connections and good. Thank you.
Had this happen after changing the alternator. I checked the voltage of each battery and driver side was at 12 and passenger was at 15. Cleaned the wires on the battery post and it fixed the problem. Thank you
Awesome
This is a must. My truck did the same thing. I melted 2 batteries. I changed the alternator, and still showed discharge on my 06 Dodge Cummins. I watched this video,went and cleaned my connection of my cross over cable. Started the truck,and it started charging at a little over 14 volts...Great information..Thank you very much...
Oh wow glad I could help glad you saw the video
How do you clean the battery cables?
With some Emery paper or sand paper or a battery terminal cleaner. Wire brush. Etc
Better be safe and buy a brand new battery connector, then scrub your battery terminals with a wire brush 😎
I just changed my alternator, literally yesterday $210 bucks and still doing the same, I guess I have this problem thanks for sharing..
Shoot. I’m sure it is. Let me know!!!!
Thanks bud. This was a big help. 2006 5.9 Cummins. Replaced a bad battery on driver side. The connecting cable was not making good contact. So the alternator was charging passenger battery @ 16.8v while truck was showing 11v. This video solved my problem. Thanks!
AWESOME MAN!!!!!! Made my day!!!! Glad it helped you! Before you spent a lot of money
My 1998 appears to be having the same problem. The connection on the crossover and actually all the connections needed some cleaning up. Hopefully it'll start after this third time finding it dead after a few days of sitting.. Thanks for the video!
Let me know how she turned up
i had this problem today. passenger battery boiled over bad. the connection on the crossover on the driver side was bad. thank you for posting this, its exactly what was wrong with mine. when i checked with a volt meter...passenger side was 18-19 volts.
Right on man!!!!
I'm a single woman who has to do everything on my own. I think you just saved me thousands of dollars. This might explain while my left battery. Looks like the post or fried. And the battery look like it was leaking. I put new batteries in and still had a charging issue immediately. Things were wrong, so I'm going to check that. Thank you.
That’s great! Let me know. I’m sure that’s your issue. That’s why I do this to save yah’ll money. Shops are so expensive!!!!!
Corrosion can create resistance within the crossover cable. It is not always the connection, but often times the crossover cable is corroded internally and needs to be replaced.
Thank you! They also told me that I had an alternator issue. It wasn't.
Great video and very helpful. Bad connections will also create transmission problems with the low voltage.
Thanks. Yes you are right about trans issues. Good thing I don’t have to worry about that. #G56
I have an 04 Ram 2500 doing that exact same thing, has loose connections, exact symptoms as in video and also will search for a gear when rpm’s rev
I'm having that very issue with my 01 dodge
Thank you for the info Your doing a great service
Thanks that means a lot!!!!!!
Just had this happen to my 2010 burned the Alt. & Batteries. Excellent Video!
Thanks man. Sorry that happened $$$$ eh
I unfortunately replaced the 2 batteries Luckily they were still under warranty but I bought an alternator when it didn't work I took my old one in and got a bench test done, It passed. Was starting to think it might be my computer I'm gonna go home and try to clean everything really well hopefully this fixes it... Thank you for taking the time to post this video.
Let me know!!!!
Mine passed as well but replacing the alt finally fixed mine. Corroded cables and just horrible connections. Cleaned everything and started it up and the alt set at 11 vots then jumped to 14. Ran that way for about 5 miles then the guage started playing ping pong. It finally dropped out and the CE light came on. Was tired of it so I replaced the alt and the issue is resolved even though the old one bench tested fine. 308 and original alt so it was time.
Good video my charging gauge went crazy yesterday voltage jump up to 18 plus than drop down to 14.5 than up and down and check gauge coming off and on. Pulled alternator out lights on dash still flickering, brake controller making noises still, pulled battery out of drivers side and it quit so put it back in and the flickering lights didn't start up again, ill check cable connections, thanks for video. Rick
I changed all of the ground and power wires with heavy duty and larger gauge. Need to check all connections and apply contact grease and sprays through out.
Wow just had this happen and was looking for a vid and found you, thank you saved.
You made my day!!!!!! Perfect!!! Saving money baby!!!!!
You’re the man! Intermittent problem, loose connection on mine. Thanks for pointing that out. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
No problem. Glad it helped yah!!!!!
I have this problem right now and am about to order an alternator for my 04 2500, my terminals are very clean. Idk if this is the problem but I’m going to check it out and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for this video. Hope it fixes the problem
FIRST THING check both batteries with a volt meter. They should be the same!!!! If not It’s the cross over cable. Take the connections apart and clean them. With emery paper or Sos pad or sand paper. Put back together start truck and check both batteries with Volt meter. Again they should be the same
@@hogie1685 way too strong on the passenger side and draining drivers side battery still idk what to do besides change the entire cluster
U need a new cross over cable try using jumper cables to jump one battery to the other and see if it works then there’s an issue with your actual crossover cable. U know
What I mean?
@@hogie1685 I think so I’ll try it in the morning my brains fried for the day thanks brother
Thanks, I’ll check that cable on mine, I also had to get new batteries though because it boiled the acid out of the passenger side one.
Yup that’s what happens!!!!!
Well...ya done me right sir. And saved me a butt load of money! Thanks.
Perfect I LOVE hearing this MAN!!!!!!!! So glad!!!!!
Great video man. I ran into this exact problem today. My battery crossover cable had a loose connection. After I cleaned all the connection I checked the voltage on both batteries while vehicle was running and both matched up perfectly .
Awesome man!!!!!!!
Dude great video, just came home to the exact same issue found loose connections to my battery where the computer pulls information from. Thanks, wish I could give more thumbs ups.
Again I’m so glad to hear this. This is why I make videos!!!!! Tell your fellow diesel friends
Thanks man! Saved me from an alternator purchase lol
Perfect man love to hear that!!!!!
Thanks for the information. Really appreciate it. The check engine I mean the check gauges light came on with my voltmeter dropping.
I hope I just saved you a lot of money!!!!!!
Thanks for the tips. Just happened to me today. Check gauges. 11 volts.
Right on man. Glad it helped
I’m having the same problem I change my batteries last month cuz one of them was exploded I thought the reason was because they were old and that day was 100* degrees hot but today I have again passenger side exploded
Thanks for the video 👍🏼
Ohhhhhhhh man. That’s sucks. Glad I was able to help!!!
Your my F*#king hero, my terminal started getting so hot, that I cut the cable to the alternator before my battery blew up. Watched this video, cleaned all connections and all is good. I love youtube. I was ready to go purchase a new alternator. Now I know why I see many of these trucks all burnt up from fires. 06 Mega with the 5.9
Man you made my DAY. When I made this video, if I could just help one person it is worth it’s weight in gold!!!! I am so happy that it helped. This is why I make vids. Tell your friends. Post it on Facebook for all your friends and fellow diesel enthusiasts. So much headache and money to be saved from watching this vid. Thanks again man!!!! Glad I could shed some light on this issue!!!!
Removed the crossover cable connection on the driver battery and scrubbed the shit out of everything with a wire brush, put it back together and it charges perfect now. I already ordered a new crossover cable but it could definetly use it so I'm not top upset about it
Awesome man!!!!!
Great explanation. Much appreciated. Mine has bad corrosion. Tried cleaning it up, but may have to replace it.
Thanks. I try
Unless the corrosion is like crazy bad. Try a file or really aggressive sandpaper they should clean up
Thanks Kev, that's my BOY...keep those terminals clean.
Dude you just saved me a lot of headache. Thanks
I love comments like these!!!!! This is great!!!!
Thanks it work😊
Mine passed as well but replacing the alt finally fixed mine. Corroded cables and just horrible connections. Cleaned everything and started it up and the alt set at 11 vots then jumped to 14. Ran that way for about 5 miles then the guage started playing ping pong. It finally dropped out and the CE light came on. Was tired of it so I replaced the alt and the issue is resolved even though the old one bench tested fine. 308 and original alt so it was time.
Mine had this very problem. Visually the connections were clean. I thought my driver side battery had gone bad. I was about to replace it. The issue with mine was the positive battery clamp bolt on the driver side battery. The corrosion was on the bolt, inside the lead clamp. I couldn't see it. The give-away was 12.6 volts on the crossover cable terminal, but only 4.5 volts at the clamp itself, with that battery disconnected. The voltage was making it to the connector, but not thru the bolt into the terminal and into the battery. Once I discovered it I removed the bolt completely and cleaned off all the hidden corrosion. Then coated everything with corrosion protectant before putting it all back together. The driver battery is charging nicely now and all the engine codes have cleared. Check the thru-bolts where they mate inside the terminals. My problem was hidden from view. I thought it was all clean but no, it was some wicked corrosion on the bolt inside the terminal.
I recently had “check gauge” on the display. I decided to clean all the connector after I saw an accumulation of battery acid. As I was cleaning them I discovered the crossover cable connected but the nut was not completely tight. I cleaned and tightened the nut and I fixed it. Check Gauge was gone immediately after I turn on the truck
Love it
Great video, thanks. We just had a light snow, temp only 34, and I try to crank my 4 yr old 2500 Ram. All good lights, heater comes on, instead of crank I get clugg and reset. I'm getting my voltmeter and going to check your idea now.
Let me know
@@hogie1685
I spent awhile reading and trying. 2 batteries voltage were the same turned off. I've read don't charge one without disconnecting other among other ideas. I figure if everything is off, charge one on passenger side- check their charge volts. They are the same. 11v nothing on, 13.2v charging. at 43 degrees. my plan to crank when at 12.8v failed. I think, grid heater draws 10v and is on at/below 59 degrees. Charging to 12.8v and 43 degrees failed to crank but grid heater did come on first. next plan - plug in that block heater and heat'er up - and charger it up. 2 hours passed, sun set and at 9pm and colder. It cranked like brand new. water temp showed 89, volts on volt meter 13.8 both batteries with charger disconnected. IT WAS CHARGED! SSOOO, getting above the 59 degrees for the grid heater - if it did kick on I never showed it. I pressed the break and ON button and it fired immediately. While the batterys are 4 years old, and its cold, I will need to warm the block to get past the grid heater and its great to crank. UNTIL I take it shopping and there isn't a handy dandy plug for the block heater. new battery time but I have a way to crank if I have to get out, Thanks for your reply and input to get me working on it, ed
Yah I would load test the batteries tho. They can seem fine with a volt meter. But when under a heavy load show there true colors lol. . Those grid heaters draw a lot of amps. Quick and easy check really
I had the block heater on Saturday night, only 29 degrees but wanted to see if the warm engine cranked. Showed 91 degrees and cranked immediately. I believe the volts were 12.5. Drove to autozone for a load test and it showed 86% charged with battery at 66 degrees. I thought it went by outside temp. He set the 730cca. I don't understand everything entered but it showed both batteries passed. I can only assume the load test doesn't check for a grid heater. Warm - it cranks. But I bet if it's cold and a week not cranked or charged I get a clunk!! I appreciate the replies - but looking at my 3 4.5 yr old truck batteries, it looks like it'll be an expensive winter..
You are a gentleman and a scholar good sir 👍
Hope it helped!!!!!
Thanks for the info man. Explained a lot to me - new to diesel RAMs.
But this applies to any diesel/equipment with two batteries ! Glad it helped man. Always good practice to keep your battery tops/Posts CLEAN!!!!!!
This is a really good video I also had this problem I looked at my cables they look good so I put a alternator. It is still doing the same thing am going to try thus next hopefully it works thanks man
Thanks man. Right on. Let me know!!!!!
I don't think I've seen this one before now! Must have missed the notification!
Informative lol
If you guys want to see if this is your problem the easiest way to find out it to connect a jumper cable from one batter of your truck to the other one just the positive cable and you should get the battery voltage up
ABSOLUTELY!!!!!
Hello friend ! Yeah man I got this problem! I don’t know till now what is wrong with my truck ! Bcuz in my case battery in driver’s side is the one getting terminal melting! Once I crank my truck The voltage gauge reader stay in 6 for a couple of minutes the go to 11 or 12 after that ! I just get a new battery today the one one driver’s side! Bcuz the positive terminal was cracked! Do you think is not the alternator the problem! which is new ! & all my wires new also!
Yah I would have the Alternator check and a shop. Could be a voltage regulator or something
Thanks for the video. Going to clean the crossover cable. Hope it works 💪
Yeah man! Let me know!!!!!
I just clicked again! Just keep cables tight, clean and keep tight. There's a sensor under batteries. 14.1 volts. That crossover can get corroded in the middle. This has been sinse sensors were added.
Right on!!! Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh buddy
I have a 2005 ram 3500 , béen having this problem recently , my alternator was bad and i noticed when i baught the truck 2 uears ago that the positive terminal on the passenger side was melted a little i replaced the alternator and seen the terminal glowing red and the alternator was pushing 19.0 volts , so i replaced the terminal and just checked it this weekend and its still pushing 19.0 volts , so i figured i would look into it more , seen this video , do thats the next thing i will check , probably wont be able to get to ot till next weekend.
With what has happened to that cable previously I would purchase or make a new cross over cable
Thanks for the tip. Knowledge is power!
The pen is mightier than the SWORD!!!
I kind of have the same issue except my alternator overcharge and caught on fire blew the main 40 amp fuse going into the fuse box on the fender and now all gauges do not work truck runs fine but it won't go about 1200 RPM and will not charge
Wow Yikes!!!!!!
Problem fixed. Your a fkn God
Well I wouldn’t go that far. Lol. Glad it helped man. What year is your truck?
I have 12 valves but isn’t that hooked up backwards? Shouldn’t the alternator be hooked up to the passenger battery first?
The alternator is hooked to and charges the passenger battery, which is hooked to the driver side battery via the cross over cable.
My 5th gen had battery issues but was from not driving it alot. Put a maintenance chargers on them be fine since
Thanks super helpful
Right on!!!! Thanks
Screw that!!! Keep connections tight and clean. If still have problems, change the cross over cable and upgrade to military style universal terminal and shrink wrap everything you repair. The cancer can travel to the middle of the crossover wire! #keepclean. Normal problem
So my terminals aren’t even close to as dirty as those really zero dirt but I cleaned everything but it’s still doing that same crap
It would help to keep those connections as well as the battery tops clean.
Yeah I’ll put that in the comments. Keeping the top of the battery clean is a big deal also. Thanks!
I have this exact issue. I checked the voltage where it comes over tho the driver side battery at the connector before the main terminal and it read what the alternator was putting out. But the driver side battery isn’t taking it. When I wake up I’m going to clean my connections on the driver side positive terminal especially my crossover. I put unhooked positive side on the passenger side battery and everything runs normal and it charges normal. So it’s gotta be this crossover wire.
Right on. This just saved you a lot of money and head ache!!!!!!
Mine loses charge overnight, the auxiliary will be at 8 volts in the morning and the main battery will be at 10 volts
Very helpful! Thanks!
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Funny because I was just gonna buy a alternator but I remembered putting a new one in a few months back
I replaced the two batteries, and even installed a new high output alternator, and replaced the one battery terminal on the passenger side negative because it was so loose and it wouldn’t tighten. It was working when I first did the alternator and now it is like 11 volts. I also cleaned the battery connections. My passenger battery is like almost 18 volts and my driver is 12.78. I did changed the alternator ground cable and the crossover cable with a black one from autozone but I’m not sure if it is the proper gauge because they had one for like $100, and the one I got is $21. Do you think it could be my crossover cable that is not power full enough? Thanks
What i recommend doing is run power to both batteries from alternator.
Hmmmmmm 🤔
Would hide a failing battery from the computer since the end of the line is being mixed with the source. More likely on the passenger side I would think. Since it's sampled on the driver side.
I have a 2012 ram 2500 and nothing on the cluster popped up the truck was running fine then 2 hours later it just shut off on me .
mine was at the battery terminal. i bought new terminals yesterday and covers.
So everything is good now?
Well thats exactly what my truck did. Except i disconnected the passenger side and the voltage when back to normal and truck ran good. Ill try it i smoked on battery put a new one in and it started boiling in about 45min into my next trip
Hogie1685 Great video! Question, why do you have a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator?
Hahahaha winter time I block off most of my rad so it warms up a little faster 23 Liters of coolant and that big cast block take a while to warm up in Canadian winters lol. It’s actually a Huggies diaper box LMAO
Makes since I unplugged my battery and started getting these light my passenger side head light also started acting up hopefully this fixes it thank you for the info 🙏🏽
My check gauge light didn’t come on but when I start my truck up my voltage gauge it’ll be at 14 it’ll drop down to zero then I’ll go right back up to 14 V and then the lights kind of flicker a little bit is that the problem you was having
Down to zero???? Or like 10-11 Volts. The Grid heaters on these trucks draw ALOT of juice. With a cold start my dash lights/Hvac fan will slow and dim when the grid heater is on. Then come right back to 14+ volts when it shuts off. It will cycle like 6 times ish.
mine was reading low voltage then shows about 16 volts on dash… hour later battery is dying as im driving finally cuts off and wont start. passenger battery positive terminal is melted. no connection
Thank you
Very interesting! I'll have to check this out, my cousin been fighting simular problems for years on his 2000 RAM.
I know that Low voltage/ bad ground / bad connections or bad battery can cause a shit-load of codes and other problems.
Thanks .
Glad it helped
If one battery is old, and the other one is new, would that be a reason why the positive cable on the passenger side battery is overheating?
In all honesty. I would suggest when you change batteries you to do then both! The old one could bring the new one down in time. Which battery has the hot positive cable?
@@hogie1685 passenger side battery
@@hogie1685 thanks I will replace the other battery and see what happens
Clean all battery terminal connections as best you can. Do you have a multimeter or voltage tester?
@@hogie1685 yes I will do what you said on the video and test the voltage while the truck is running. Just got the new battery about to install and see if the terminal continues to heat. Thanks for uploading this video by the way very good information 👍
My truck is doing the same. I had warranty on my batteries so i swapped em both. I let the truck sit over night, and went to start it the next morning....dead. like dead dead. Is this another symptom?
You put 2 new batteries in and by morning they where both dead????
@@hogie1685 yes yes. I had literally all the same symptoms as you. Cleaned the terminals and battery ends, put a brand new battery end for the cross wire on the passenger side, and put the new batteries in both sides. I was done and test started it around 11p.m. I went to leave around 6am the next day, and the truck has zero power.
Wow. Yah u have some sort of draw somewhere. Do u have a subwoofer in the truck?
@@hogie1685 negative. Pretty stock inside. Owned the truck a couple years now and never changed anything except fluids and tires.
Batteries too.
Thank you!!!
Your welcome lol
I had 2 brand new duralast explode in my 04 cummins cross over cable was loose
Yah man. It’s something that should be cleaned and Checked annually lol
Absolutely. I had just installed them. I messed up n wasn't quite tight enough. Blew the caps right off
My battery on passenger side just exploded after running the truck for about 5 min. The lid blew off and threw battery acid everywhere.
Ohhhhhhhh noooooooooo!!!!! Did you get her all fixed up now???
God bless you
I hope it helped. Make sure you share this video with friends
I have low voltage. But my batteries are new and terminals are clean.
Ok this could be a case of your Alternator. But would take a little time and clean up some grounds. Before dropping a couple Hundred.
@@hogie1685 Nope, found a loose connection.
Installed the batteries yesterday.
New Alternator a year and a half ago.
Thanks for making me look again
You saved my sanity
I’m glad you found it. Good job. All about saving money and doin it yourself
I actually had my battery exploded and the truck caught fire burns to the point I got insurance payout I now know why thanks ehhh
Ohhhhhhhhhh noooooo way. That’s terrible. Sorry that happened
Cables first.
Yeah I have herd cables on these trucks cause issues also
@@hogie1685 I'm at my fishing pond now dealing with cables. Idk why but mine loosen. And eventually end up pulling apart as I continue to tighten. They stretch.
Dies anyone find this guy IMPOSSIBLY unable to follow?
What could I have done to explain the situation better?
@@hogie1685 learn to talk without putting people to sleep
@@oldguitarguy7528 will try to be more exciting next time. Thanks for your input.
Hogue 1685 this is a very informative video don’t pay attention to those short attention span people 😂🤣😅
Thanks
It’s starter
Huh?
Sure wish I would have seen this 550 dollars ago 💩💩
Ohhhhhhhhh no!!!!!!
@@hogie1685 I have just about beat my head against the wall all evening and then I seen the video and had that “You F’n idiot” talk with myself 😂😂
I know I felt that way myself when I figured it out. It just makes sense lol. Light bulb moment.
100% ran into this problem today, bad cross over cable connection
Did you see the video first?
Yes, passenger battery was smokin hot and charging at 18 volts while only 12v on the drivers side battery, took the cross over cable off driver battery cleaned it with a grinder and boom, saved me a ton bro thank you
U made my day. That’s great!!!!!! Happy to help
Thank you