On the DT-generation Ram 1500 the 12V battery lives in the front passenger corner of the engine bay under a snap-on plastic cover, so it's one of the easier batteries on a modern full-size truck. Two 10 mm terminal nuts, one 13 mm hold-down bolt buried low beside the tray, and it lifts straight out. The only real awkwardness is reaching that hold-down bolt, which is why a 6 in or 10 in extension and a wobble adapter turn a frustrating job into a two-minute one.
What varies is the battery itself. Most DT trucks - 3.6 eTorque, 5.7 eTorque and 3.0 EcoDiesel - use a group H7/94R AGM, and some configurations add a second auxiliary 12V battery in the same area, so open the cover and look before you buy. The thing people get wrong is levering the negative clamp off with a screwdriver and damaging the intelligent battery sensor bolted to that cable; the second mistake is fitting a cheap flooded battery to a start-stop truck and wondering why it dies in 18 months.
| Item | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Safety glasses Protects eyes from acid residue and corrosion dust around the terminals. | Safety | shop |
| Nitrile or mechanic's gloves Keeps acid film and lead oxide off your hands. | Safety | shop |
| OBD-II memory saver 9V or 12V feed into the OBD port under the dash Keeps radio presets, HVAC settings, seat memory and stored adaptations alive while the battery is out. | Recommended | shop |
| Plastic trim tool Nylon pry wedge Pops the plastic battery cover and any push-pin clips without cracking them. | Recommended | shop |
| Socket wrench 3/8 in drive ratchet Drives the terminal and hold-down sockets. | Required | shop |
| Socket 10 mm 6-point, 3/8 in drive Loosens both battery terminal clamp nuts and most ground/cable studs. | Required | shop |
| Socket 13 mm 6-point, 3/8 in drive Removes the battery hold-down clamp bolt at the base of the tray. | Required | shop |
| Extensions 3/8 in drive, 6 in and 10 in Reaches the hold-down bolt down beside the battery tray where the socket alone won't fit. | Required | shop |
| Universal swivel / wobble adapter 3/8 in drive Helps line the socket up on the hold-down bolt in the tight fender-side gap. | Recommended | shop |
| Combination wrench set 8, 10, 13 mm Backup for terminal nuts and any positive-post distribution block studs you have to move. | Recommended | shop |
| Battery terminal spreader or puller Small clamp puller Frees a corroded clamp from the post without levering on the post or the IBS sensor. | Recommended | shop |
| Battery terminal cleaning brush Post and clamp wire brush Cleans the posts and clamp bores so the new battery makes full contact. | Required | shop |
| Battery carry strap or handle Nylon strap, 50 lb+ An H7/94R AGM weighs 50-55 lb and has no handle once the strap tabs are gone. | Recommended | shop |
| Torque wrench 1/4 or 3/8 in drive, 5-25 Nm / 40-200 in-lb range Terminal nuts and the hold-down bolt thread into light hardware and are easy to strip. | Recommended | shop |
| Shop vacuum or brush Clears leaf litter and corrosion out of the tray before the new battery goes in. | Recommended | shop |
| Baking soda and water or battery terminal cleaner spray Aerosol acid neutralizer Neutralizes white/green corrosion on the tray, clamps and cable ends. | Consumables | shop |
| Battery terminal protector Red aerosol or dielectric grease Sprayed on after tightening to stop corrosion coming back. | Consumables | shop |
| Shop towels Wipe cleaner, grease and residue off the tray and cables. | Consumables | shop |
| Replacement 12V battery Group H7 / 94R AGM (most DT trucks, ~730-800 CCA); confirm group and CCA against the old battery label eTorque, EcoDiesel and auto start-stop trucks require AGM - a flooded battery will shorten life and upset the charging strategy. | Parts | shop |
| Auxiliary battery (if fitted) Match the label on the second battery in the tray Some DT configurations run a second smaller 12V battery that ages at the same rate as the main one. | Parts | shop |
| Battery hold-down bolt (spare) 13 mm head The original is often rust-welded or rounded and cheap to replace. | Parts | shop |
| Battery tester or multimeter 12V DC, or carbon-pile/conductance tester Confirms the old battery is actually the fault and that the new one is charged to ~12.6V before install. | Recommended | shop |
| Scan tool with Chrysler coverage wiTECH or capable aftermarket bidirectional tool Clears battery-related codes and, where supported, resets the battery-state/aging data after replacement. | Recommended | shop |
The fasteners are the same across all DT engines: 10 mm terminal nuts and a 13 mm hold-down bolt. Access is tightest on the 3.0 EcoDiesel, where the intake ducting crowds the tray and a wobble extension really helps. eTorque 3.6 and 5.7 trucks add a 48V lithium pack and orange high-voltage cabling that you do not touch for a 12V battery swap, and all start-stop/eTorque trucks require an AGM battery rather than flooded.
| Battery terminal clamp nuts (10 mm) | verify in the service manual - snug only, roughly 8-11 Nm; do not overtighten |
| Battery hold-down clamp bolt (13 mm) | verify in the service manual |
| Negative cable body ground stud | verify in the service manual |
The 10 mm terminal nuts, 13 mm hold-down bolt and passenger-side under-hood location are consistent across 2019-2024 DT Ram 1500s, but battery group size and the presence of an auxiliary battery vary by trim and package - verify against the label on your existing battery and confirm torque values in the FCA/Stellantis service manual.
Most DT trucks use a group H7 (94R) AGM battery in the 730-800 CCA range, including 3.6 and 5.7 eTorque and the 3.0 EcoDiesel. Always confirm against the label and terminal layout on the battery currently in the truck, since packages and auxiliary batteries vary.
There is no BMW-style mandatory registration, and the truck will run fine after a straight swap. However, resetting the battery-state/aging data with wiTECH or a capable bidirectional scan tool lets the charging strategy relearn faster, and auto start-stop will typically stay off for several drive cycles either way.
The PCM needs to relearn the new battery's state of charge over several drive cycles before it re-enables start-stop. If it is still disabled after about a week of normal driving, scan for charging system codes and check the intelligent battery sensor connection on the negative cable.
No. The 48V lithium pack and its orange cabling are a separate system and stay untouched for a 12V battery replacement. Never cut, unplug or probe orange-insulated cabling - it can cause serious injury and is a dealer-level repair.