Promaster battery issue

[Woodpaddler]

Will took into the dealer. They tested battery and draw. Everything checked out fine. Draw was way below the max for the battery. It set for 4 days before I took it in and it started up. It's stared up each time now.

[cruisefx]

Thanks Woodpaddler,

Did you go to a RT dealer or a Promaster dealer? I am glad your Zion starts up. Just hoping to find a resolution for another Promaster owner that has a situation similar to yours.

[Woodpaddler]

Dodge dealer

[papab]

Originally Posted by cruisefx

I don't have the issue but there is a new Aktiv owner with the issue...just trying to assist. She called a Dodge dealer and she posted the following.

"I called Promaster about my chassis battery going dead after several days. Was told that the chassis battery WILL discharge if engine not started within 5 days or so. The tech spoke very confidently that this is the case on all Promasters and stated that many modern vehicles have the same issue. Is this true or is the tech brushing this issue aside?"

Does not sound right to me but then I have a Chev RT.

That's BS.

[gerrym51]

Again- i have a 2015 zion/promaster and the manual itself says 21 days.

I've had mine unstarted for as long as 14 days twice and it has started.

[gerrym51]

Page 398 of the 2016 Ram Promaster users manual-most current i could find

Vehicle Storage.

If you are leaving vehicle dormant for more than 21 days

[gerrym51]

Page 398 of the 2016 Ram Promaster users manual-most current i could find

Vehicle Storage.

If you are leaving vehicle dormant for more than 21 days you may want to take these steps to protect your battery.

I have always interpreted this 21 days as still starting.

[Saldar]

I came across a Ram document describing a magic handshake that possibly would put a Promaster into "Ship Mode". I don't know if the document is up to date, or if it applies to cargo vans. The mode is intended to protect against parasitic draw. I'm not sure if the instructions shown will turn on the mode as when it is off, or just cancel the factory magic.

http://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/bbg/...cs/vf/ship.pdf

"ProMaster Ship Mode

ProMasters as shipped from our assembly plant will be in ship mode. This mode disables multiple electrical components to minimize battery drain during shipping and storage. For more detail on which features are disabled, See ship mode feature function chart on page 2.
The tell tale that the vehicle is in ship mode is a flashing battery light in the cluster. There is one condition where the battery lamp will be on all of the time in ship mode. See ship mode charging status table on page 2.
To reconfigure the vehicle to customer mode, follow the instructions below.
• Key OFF
• Headlights OFF
• Key ON
• Right turn signal ON
• Pull multifunction lever all the way to High Beam position (past “flash-to-pass”), and hold for more than 10 seconds."

The next page describes what features get turned off, and there are quite a few.

[xvert]

Wincrasher, what battery tender do you use? Plug in or solar? Model, capacity, etc?