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Bad intelligent battery sensor (IBS)

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13K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Bmoose15  
#1 ·
2018 Hellcat Charger 56k miles

Has anyone experienced a bad or failing IBS? I’ve been dealing with low voltage gremlin from hell for about 2.5mo now. So far I’ve replaced the alternator and the battery.. no change, I have had all the grounds checked.. ✅ I’ve had all the recent after market wiring checked ✅ 95% of the aftermarket wiring is 3+yrs old on the car.. so I’m fairly certain they aren’t related to the issue.

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#2 ·
2018 Hellcat Charger 56k miles

Has anyone experienced a bad or failing IBS? I’ve been dealing with low voltage gremlin from hell for about 2.5mo now. So far I’ve replaced the alternator and the battery.. no change, I have had all the grounds checked.. ✅ I’ve had all the recent after market wiring checked ✅ 95% of the aftermarket wiring is 3+yrs old on the car.. so I’m fairly certain they aren’t related to the issue.

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The IBS is a sensor and does not control Voltage and Amperage outputs. The PCM controls Volts, thus Amps, based on the difference between Battery Voltage and System Load... it's called Electromotive Force (EMF) versus Counter Electromotive Force (Counter EMF). Voltage always pushes Amperage.

Go to the Performance Pages/After Run Cooler. What does the Battery Status say?

Who's alternator, new or rebuilt?

Who's battery & model?

What aftermarket wiring are you talking about specifically?

1. Do you have a separate Voltmeter? If so, attach to the battery terminals under the hood at the passenger front and situate it so you can see the meter from the driver's seat.

2. Start the engine.

3. Bring up the Voltmeter on the Performance Page.

4. Raise the engine RPM to at least 1,500 to 2,000 & hold.

5. Turn on everything possible... headlights on highbeam, A/C on Max, Fan on High, both front & rear defrosters. Do this for 2 minutes.

6. What is the voltage readings on both? Do the readings compare and are they steady and consistent?
 
#3 ·
battery status says 13.5 +/- (I assume that’s that’s you’re asking) tends to throw the batter indicator light with heavy throttle not always but usually.

I bought a brand new factory alternator installed at the dealer and the battery is also the OEM factory battery purchased Friday.

the aftermarket wiring I mentioned is a dash cam and independent battery wired to recharge while engine is running. I have some custom headlight lighting, a radar that’s taped into the rear view mirror for power and a battery tender thats attached to the engine bay terminals.

the reason I’m asking about the IBS is became my cars issues match what I read about the symptoms of a failing IBS the only symptom I’m not seeing is engine pulsing.

I will try to the voltage meter suggestion you provided.
 
#4 ·
battery status says 13.5 +/- (I assume that’s that’s you’re asking) tends to throw the batter indicator light with heavy throttle not always but usually.

I bought a brand new factory alternator installed at the dealer and the battery is also the OEM factory battery purchased Friday.

the aftermarket wiring I mentioned is a dash cam and independent battery wired to recharge while engine is running. I have some custom headlight lighting, a radar that’s taped into the rear view mirror for power and a battery tender thats attached to the engine bay terminals.

the reason I’m asking about the IBS is became my cars issues match what I read about the symptoms of a failing IBS the only symptom I’m not seeing is engine pulsing.

I will try to the voltage meter suggestion you provided.
System Voltage output should be a minimum of 13.8 or .9 in warm weather, closer to 14.0. If the ambient temps are under 70, then you should see voltage at 14.0 or .1 or .2. Suggest temporarily disconnecting all of your add-ons, radar detector, battery tender & custom headlights and see what happens. They could be causing a short (internal short) and thus a draw/drain.

There are some other threads where custom lights emit a very strong magnetic field that interferes with other systems. Not a joke!
 
#16 ·
In my experience, I've had Dodge flat out refuse to work on a car of mine that had a swapped PCM. I too was having voltage issues (2018 modified T/A 392) with an unlocked PCM. I took it in for a diagnostic and they said that since I had an aftermarket PCM, they didn't want to waste time chasing gremilns on an aftermarket setup and sent me down the road. Luckily, it turns out it was just the positive connection on the underhood junction box. I noticed a day or two later that when I'd hit a bump, the volts would fluctuate, so I knew then that it was a loose connection somewhere.