Hi, I have a Ram 2500 in which it keeps draining the battery. The overhead dome lights go out when I shut the door and everything seems ok when I shut it down. The battery itself is only 1 year old, and I had it recently had it tested where I bought it at O Reillys (and it's good).

They suggested something in the truck keeps draining it down (like within 2-3 days of fully charged). I suspect something in the alarm system, because when I jump start it to charge it up to start the truck, the doors lock automatically (after they are UNLOCKED).

Any help??

 

Might be as easy as the under hood lite, or glove box lite staying on.

 

I don't think it's the case here but when I ran a shop, I got a truck that kept draining the battery. I had it for a week and could never reproduce the problem. I finally gave up and took it back to the owner. One of my guys was going to give me a ride back to the shop. It was early December so it was quite dark when I parked it in his driveway. He would back in as the drive was really steep and backing out was a problem. The hills on his area are really steep, almost small mountains. As I was climbing into the wrecker cab, I noticed a light under the engine compartment. The hill was steep enough, it was turning the engine compartment light on. I took the bulb out and the problem was solved.

With the doors locking, it may very well be in the alarm system. However, do you have keyless ignition? If so, where do you store your fob? I have a Mazda with keyless ignition and the dealer told me to NEVER leave the fob in the car as it will drain the battery waiting for a command. As long as the fob is near, it is awake and not dormant.

 

How Dodges work is they don't wait for a command, the remote sends a command and asks up the truck. So leaving a fob in a Ram wouldn't affect the battery. Use a multimeter and start checking fuses is where I would start

 

Plenty of information how to track down parasitic draws available on da Interwebs. Basic steps: Add a multimeter with 10A DC measurement capability in between the battery positive and the battery cable (Better if you have the clamp style that goes around the battery cable). It probably will show much more than say 100mA. Now pull/reinsert fuses and watch for the current changing. That should narrow it down to a specific circuit. Don't forget any aftermarket stuff that might have inline fuses somewhere.

 

For some reason I though it was a 2011. I don't think 2001 had fobs. I know my old 2001 Ram 2500 didn't.

 

they have the factory remount unlock and lock which technically is a fob but nothing like a 2011 lol. Even the 2011s sleep until the FOB wakes it up. Now the 5th gens I assume are always waiting for a signal