Ram Promaster Battery and Charging Behaviors. Basic diagnosis if it's not charging. Alternator. Fun!

Basic info about the charging system, not that you need to become a mechanic but knowledge is power.

[@NicholetteBrian]

I find your videos extremely helpful and informative and know the info is going to help me when problems come up! Thankyou for taking the time to make these!

[@promastersonly1419]

I'm hoping this "one make channel" idea catches on, and then someone can be MY guru for any particular vehicle.

[@brookele747]

great video

[@blueshieldpowerwashingfl]

Best intros in the business!!!

[@cathysupp9493]

WOW a LOT of great info I truly hope I never need to reference this again! I waited & watch for you to talk about simply checking the connections.......my 2016 chassis has a STUPID quick connect clamp It seemed to my old eyes and weak hands to be OK Lucky for me I got help when re-installing battery after test/charge at store! Younger eyes and stronger hands clued me in, was a simple fix, instead of towed in for $100+ diagnostic

[@nahornig]

Big fan. Sense of humor just clicks. The intro is superb.

[@promastersonly1419]

Thanks. Why does automotive repair have to be so dry? There's ALWAYS room for dick jokes.

[@wayuncharted236]

Keep the videos coming! Great stuff!!

[@conchscooter]

It’s never too hot to cuddle you.

[@BigZaddy2112]

You're The Man! Thanks for always taking the time to educate us!

[@promastersonly1419]

You are a graduate of Kip U!

[@Ferndale42]

As always, you rock.

[@jimneumann6099]

all your videos have at least one awesome nugget of info i needed to know ❤😊 Thanks for the lessons!

[@promastersonly1419]

That’s my goal! ONE piece of useful info, the rest just dick jokes.

[@johndagricola]

Thanks for this valuable info, Kip!

[@barontynan]

Excellent informative video as always. Although, my 58 year old juvenile ears heard a “shart” at 4:39

[@greglems206]

I immediately heard that as well, and was disappointed that Kip didn't make a shart joke.

[@promastersonly1419]

I heard it too! I resisted the temptation because I am mature and sophisticated!

[@LarryFlorence]

I have a 2021 Promaster 3500. You mentioned about lifetime battery replacement on Autozone Duralast Gold. I don't even see the Duralast Gold being available for the Promaster. And also don't see anything about lifetime replacements for any Duralast Gold battery. Other than that, great video as usual Kip!

[@promastersonly1419]

Sure enough, AZ site shows the Power Pro Ultra, who's part number starts with DLG which was duralast gold. 3 year warranty. Maybe other chains have a lifetime available, but you get the general idea. I do that for the 3 big wear parts - batteries, starters, and alternators.

[@slindsay4784]

Great info.

[@gregnorman3183]

Another great video, Thanks! Love my Promaster camper van except if I leave it sitting for just a few days, it won't start! Had the battery and alternator checked out twice they're good. I'm sure there is some sort of parasitic drain. I need to check out one day. A video might be a good idea??

[@promastersonly1419]

Tricky stuff. Generally, the way you figure that out is to put an ammeter on the positive battery cable, and start pulling fuses to find out which circuit is drawing the juice.

[@russellmitchell8177]

Excellent. Coincidence: i bought a replacement alternator atauto zone. Only place in Fairbanks that would even help me and it was $320. I didn't try the dealer because, well, I NEVER try the dealer. BTW, need more speshul eefecks like lighting bolts an' stuff in the video 🎉 R.

[@promastersonly1419]

I think I need to incorporate more nudity into the videos!

[@gregc5684]

I went to Costco for an Interstate battery replacement. Very happy with it.

[@Cocora22]

Back in JUly we went out to our 2021 Pro Master 2500 and it wouldn't start. We have one of those portable jump starter things, so no big deal jump started and headed out. I thought it was because it hadn't been driven in a while. So my husband started to take it out more often but every time he got in he had to jump start it. Took to the dealer. They Said he needed a new battery, but no OEM available but they put one in I don't know the brand. They checked the van and send him on his way, told him they found some faulty computer module that controls the airbags. A week later they had the part in and told him to come back and he could wait, it wouldn't take long to install. After close to 3 hours waiting, the mechanics all left, no one left at the dealer, the service guy hands him a set of keys for a loaner car. What the hell right? The guy says, when the mechanic was installing the part All the airbags exploded. That all happened at the end of July. Van still sitting at the dealer because they say there aren't drive side airbags available!!!!!! He still has the loaner car, at no charge, going on 4 months. So what could have happened that blew all the bags? I'm not a mechanic but could it be they didn't disconnect the battery while installing a computer module and caused a short? Mechanic is stupid? Freak accident? Needless to say we are super frustrated, van still under factory warranty, Thank God for that! Ruined our Summer vacation.

[@promastersonly1419]

That’s a very “dealership” story. Honestly, I didnt know that could be done - the airbags are designed specifically NOT to randomly explode. Then again, maybe dude forgot to disconnect the battery before messing with it. Not to open a can of worms, but you have a right to have it repaired privately, then submit the bill to chrysler if the dealer cant fix it in a reasonable time.

[@chrisbiernat2930]

Liked and subscribed! Great video. I have a 2019 Ram Promaster 3500 Ext that I use as a campervan. The battery light comes on intermittently. If the engine is turned off and then back on, the battery light usually goes away. Everytime I have the battery tested, I am told it is good. I like your suggestion about checking the belt. I was also told that whenever a battery is replaced in the promaster, their is something that needs to be reset using a scan tool. Are you familiar with that and any other suggestions regarding the battery light coming on intermittently?

[@promastersonly1419]

Aside from the obvious flakey plug or loose ground, there was a software patch around 2018 that fixed false positive battery lights. It's possible that's your issue. If you go to any dealer, they will do a software "flash" that updates everything in the computer to current. Cheap date, and some may do it for free.

[@revnhoj]

Sure, charging systems might be "convenient" and perform minor duties like "get you home" but a much more important topic is that totally badass vertical exhaust stack which apparently runs through the headlight hole of the van in the background. What's the going rate for that hot setup? Also does installation include the replacement of washer fluid with ATF and running the wiper hose to the intake? (One of my "special" high school classmates actually did this.) I think it's high time the promaster army started rolling our own coal!

[@promastersonly1419]

You are seeing the shop tow truck, which we call "The Tug Job" for obvious reasons. It's a work in progress, but there will be a full reveal someday. 1975 Chevy motorhome that some nut chopped up, shortened, added a flat bed, added a 36" Paccar sleeper, and I added the stacks from a 70s garbage truck. The hope is to LS swap it over the winter. Actually, the hope was to LS swap it LAST winter, but there's too many other vans to fix!

[@gregg9135]

Thanks for all the info. Duralast Gold from AZ says 3 year warranty, not life as you said. Have they changed?

[@promastersonly1419]

My mistake, more likely. Oriellys is lifetime I believe.

[@user-lm3ll1jp7f]

Thanks for the video... Have you heard of any special way to put the Promaster into park so as not to damage the transmission? example: first neutral, then emergency break, turn off engine then into park???

[@raymonddriggers]

Damn hope I haven’t damaged my transmission when I slightly rock it to get my key out

[@revnhoj]

This is true for any typical vehicle: 1 - come to stop in drive. Keep foot on brake 2 - apply handbrake firmly 3 - put trans in neutral. 4 - release foot off brake. Verify vehicle is being completely held by handbrake. If moving use more handbrake pressure. 5 - Place vehicle in park. 6 - Turn engine off. There will be no load on the parking pawl or other transmission components.

[@promastersonly1419]

Rev’s advice is solid. However, I dont follow it and do nothing special. Come to a screetching stop, slam it into park angrily, and run into the strip club.

[@user-lm3ll1jp7f]

@@revnhoj Thank you, I have converted my 2500 into my home. I want to keep it as long as possible.

[@russellmitchell8177]

​​@@promastersonly1419huh? Strip cub? I thought you were busy in the shop. Did you get a second job?

[@bevbender3587]

First thank you for your informative videos. It has helped me gain knowledge on my PM. I have a 2022 Ram Promaster Thor Rize 1500 van and wanting to add a solar panel to the chassis battery for those times (weeks) when it has to be parked in outdoor storage. What size solar panel (12w or 20w or something different) would I need to purchase to create a trickle charge to maintain this battery? I have a 190w solar panel on the roof for the coach batteries, which work great to maintain the coach batteries. I live in AZ so have an abundance of sunshine to help with this. Which ports on the van would be best to attach the solar connectors to to connect the solar to the chassis battery? Directly to the battery under the floor or under the hood?

[@promastersonly1419]

This is definitely not my area of expertise - solar and house battery stuff. But it occurs to me that the simplest of all possible solutions is to just plug in a regular trickle charger into one of the wall outlets already in the van. The trickle charger will draw some juice, but with ample solar to the house batteries I would think it would be almost nothing. Since it would be just two wires going directly to the van battery, I'd think the simplest would be to slip them in under the panel in the floor. But again, motorhome wiring stuff isn't my forte.

[@bevbender3587]

@@promastersonly1419 …I’ll check into that option.

[@raymonddriggers]

Thanks Kip

[@Steveteras]

Hi there, I always enjoy your videos. My 23 Promaster came with the stock 180 Amp alternator. I will use the vsn mainly for camping. I have a portable power station (Anker 767). I want to charge it when I am driving. I plan to hook up a 1000w inverterter to the car battery and charge the portable power station. What is the max watt that I can draw from the car battery? Anker can be charged max at 1440Watt. And the charging rate can be adjusted on the Anker, If needed. Is drawing 750w from the car battery to much when the van is running? I think pulling 1440w would put stress on the car battery.

[@promastersonly1419]

Not my real area of expertise, but yeah 1440 watts is 120 amps! What I can say is most people use what's called a BtoB device, which is a little box that controls how fast the rear or house batteries charge. The idea is asking for max power from the alternator all at once is bad for everybody. A BtoB also does the function of letting power flow from the van battery to the house battery, but not the other way around. So when you leave the stove on you dont end up with a dead van. They are less than $100 and the one everybody uses is from Renogy.

[@vwdocKevin]

Great info, as always! Any tips for things to look for with an intermittent light? Mine will sometimes stay on at start up, but if I shut the van off for a second and restart it, the light goes out. I’d take it to get looked at, but it only happens once a week or so..

[@promastersonly1419]

Most likely is the connector on the alternator is intermittent. We’ve seen that several times. That’s something that would light the battery light, but possibly not light the engine light. If it persisted, you would have a low system voltage code.

[@vwdocKevin]

THANK YOU for taking the time to answer, it wil certainty give me some direction!

[@peterappleby7885]

Always enjoy your show, practical and quick. I have a 2015 ProMaster 1500 with 116,000 miles on it. It has been throwing a U0140-86 DTC (lost communication with BCM). When it does it also has the ABS operate when I brake and shows the ESC warning light. It goes back to normal when I turn off the ignition and then restart it. It also has a C1221-86 DTC (ECU Signal invalid) stored. Any suggestions on how best to trouble shoot this? Any help is appreciated Thanks. Peter Appleby

[@promastersonly1419]

Hard to say. Can bus isnt my area of expertise, and it will have to be actively doing it to find it. Further, it can be any module that’s dropping out, triggering the bcm to freak and light the abs and tcs. I’m guessing it’s also showing the hill holder message. This problem is near universal on promasters. But a simple restart seems to get rid of it. Wish I had a better answer for you.

[@rickryczkowski6965]

Thank you for you videos. I have a 1500 and the battery is reading 12.1 resting. I thought that was too low, like around 40% charge. Close to damaging the battery? I have a version of the 12v plug in voltage meter and the volts jump up into the 13 and 14 volts when running.

[@promastersonly1419]

Perfectly normal. 12.2 at rest is right and normal, high 13s to mid 14s while it's running. That said, we usually see about a 3 year life on batteries, which is common for modern cars. It's a rare case where I usually send customers to Autozone, because even though the Duralast is crappy, the warranty is good and generally longer than the battery life. That warranty vs quality thing works in your favor for at Autozone for batteries, alternators, starters, a/c compressors, and brake calipers.

[@rickryczkowski6965]

Thank you. I have used duralast batteries in the past. My van is a camper and I am leaving towards an AGM battery for an added layer of safety since the battery is just below the panel under the floor and we sleep in the van.

[@alexanderkasyanov4946]

Thanks for the great information! Curious if you could help me with some electrical issues in my PM. Sporadically ac and windshield wipers won’t work. To fix it, I restart the van and everything works as expected again. Sometimes the battery light comes on, but nothing wrong is with alternator nor belt. The fix is also - restarting the van. Any tips on resolving this issue will be greatly appreciated

[@promastersonly1419]

I have to admit, I have no idea. It's going to be momentary loss of power to the body control module, but I have no idea how to tell you where to start looking. That kind of problem is going to require a trip to a shop. They can read the codes stored in the body module (which you can't see with your code reader) and that will point them in a direction.

[@CBL138]

Great video. I have a 2021 Travato and want to install a battery switch in the negative battery cable. What size do is the short ground cable that’s installed from the battery negative terminal to the chassis? I have some thing that’s killing my battery while in storage. Thank you much.

[@promastersonly1419]

The negative cable has a hand clamp already. But any battery kill switch would work.

[@CBL138]

@@promastersonly1419Thank you. What size wire…2 AWG or 4 AWG?

[@promastersonly1419]

@@CBL138 honestly, dont know. Battery cable sized!

[@user-nr8fu2me6q]

Hi Kip, I have a 2015 pro master 1500 my battery light is always on real dim, been like that for over a year now any ideas?

[@taga2699]

Curious how are you doing 7 months later?

[@rickymartin06]

I shorted some cables cause removed the cable from the alternator without disconnecting the battery after that everythings seems ok battery light turned on and i had 16v reading spent month trying to figure out the problem ended changing the ECM cause the voltage regulator of the alternator is inside the ecm 1400$ for the parts and labor at the dealer...

[@promastersonly1419]

Ouch. Painful lesson.

[@rmbuilder1]

I have a 2015 Promaster... The original battery lasted 8 years , finally quit last month

[@promastersonly1419]

Rare. Usually about 3 years is the lifespan. I salute you!

[@TheWellngood]

My 2017 Carado Van conversion 1500 is on the original battery-perhaps the temperate climate where I live helps,not very cold or hot.@@promastersonly1419

[@taga2699]

How do you use your van?

[@rmbuilder1]

@@taga2699 I use it for work everyday....well not right now as the tranny is now junk for the 2nd time....

[@thayalansuntharalingam]

How many miles you got gas or diesel?

[@PHATBASSASSASSIN]

My battery light came on I just pulled over to make sure my belt wasn’t broke it was there I turned it back on and the light went off

[@promastersonly1419]

@@PHATBASSASSASSIN many possibles. Loose ground, loose batt cable, slipping belt, momentary short.

[@garyvu1890]

My car battery started smoking. Help

[@promastersonly1419]

Could be many things, but it sure sounds like you need a new battery.

[@garyvu1890]

@@promastersonly1419 you think overcharging it could cause the battery to overheat and start smoking?