Ecotrek battery NOT turning On, NOT charging. '18 Roadtrek RS

[ahamuser]

Newbie here. I've posted this question on FB, but didn't get resolution so I apologize in advance if this is a repeat. '18 RT RS Adventurous, 400ah Lithiums, 470w Solar. Had her for a month now and just recently, my left battery bank would NOT stay on. I would flip the switch and hit reset. After a few clicks in the rear, the voltage reading would turn on and then 5 seconds later, I would hear same clicking noise followed by flashing (slowly) blue light. I hooked up shore power for 24hrs and repeated the test but same results. I then, took it for a 30 minute ride (hoping the 2nd alternator would charge that bank) and same result. Now, the right battery bank works fine, turns ON w/ resting voltage reading of about 13.5. While the left bank turns on for 5 seconds, the voltage reading showed 12.8 to 13.1 as it fluctuates before turning off. It seems to me the charge is low (From the Owners manual - states it should be turned on by starting the engine first - didn't help) . Somehow BMS is not allowing the charge and turns it off. It's about 55F in Houston, so not below freezing. Any ideas why the left bank not charging???

[ahamuser]

UPDATE: Well, I spoke with KS2 this morning. Apparently, a lot of new owners have experience a failure in one of their battery banks after a few months of use due to incorrect wiring. The KS2 lithium battery has two hot terminals - charge and discharge. The Charge terminal suppose to have the inverter, solar and GU connected and the Discharge terminal has the AC/DC distribution panel and disconnects. I will need to go under to check the wiring and more than likely will need to replace battery.

Does anyone know of an RV repair shop in the Houston area that has experience in electrical/charging system for Roadtrek???

[mondmn70]

Stahmann RV in Seguin has handled Roadtrek's for many years. I don't know if they are aware of how the wiring was done by Roadtrek on the lithium system and how to correct it but there is a lot of info on this subject on the Facebook groups: Roadtrek Zion & Simplicity, Roadtrek E-treks & Ecotreks and Carado and Sunlight Owners Group.

[ahamuser]

Originally Posted by mondmn70

Stahmann RV in Seguin has handled Roadtrek's for many years. I don't know if they are aware of how the wiring was done by Roadtrek on the lithium system and how to correct it but there is a lot of info on this subject on the Facebook groups: Roadtrek Zion & Simplicity, Roadtrek E-treks & Ecotreks and Carado and Sunlight Owners Group.

Thank you Mondmn70. I've been there before to test drive a class B, but not familiar with their repair service. I will call them up if needed.

UPDATE: After a lot of research, I was able to do my own rewiring of my inverter from the dishcarge side to the charge side. However, after a few tests and back/forth with Roadtrek and KS2, I definitely have a bad battery. I think RT may provide some warranty for the replacement of a reconditioned KS2 battery. However, I'm concern this is just putting a bandaid. The KS2's are the only lithiums that have 2 POS terminals - dishcarge and charge; which lends itself for mis-wiring. Second reason to move away from KS2 is the huge parasitic losses from the BMS.

I wonder if anyone has replace their KS2 batteries with another brand on their Roadtrek, ie. Relion, Renogy, Lithionics, Battle Born etc... If so would you share your new configuration? Thanks so much.

[mondmn70]

If you search the Facebook Zion & Simplicity group, several people have replaced their KS2 lithium batteries with Battleborn or other manufacturers. I recently bought a used 2018 Zion and I just moved the inverter/charger to the charge side and other changes needed. So far the H model KS2 batteries seem to be OK but they have not been used much by me. My understanding is that the newer model KS2 batteries (L models) are much improved especially with the BMS energy draw and I think that KS2 will provide some discount on Model L batteries for people who have had problems due to mis-wiring by Roadtrek. Give Karl a call at Stahmann's - I think he has worked with KS2 to get some replaced.

[mondmn70]

Here is a link to the Facebook Roadtrek E-Trek and Eco-Trek website where a replacement of KS2 lithium batteries is discussed.



https://www.facebook.com/groups/2455...9186282351243/

[ahamuser]

Thanks again. Great info. I spoke to a young man, Karl, at Stahman and he definitely is familiar with Roadtrek battery issues. Only problem is, they are booked until the beginning of next year. Don't want to wait, so i spoke to KS2 and plan to do the battery swap myself (was an electrical engineer back in the day) per their permission. During the swap, I plan to bench charge the individual cells in attempts to rehab/save the battery. Hopefully, the L1 if designed correctly, would go into self-protect mode and save the cells from permanent damage. Has anyone try to charge the individual cells successfully? Because the cells are 3V each in series of 4, what type of low amperage charger was used???

[mondmn70]

I don't know if anyone has tried to charge the individual cells but you could post that question to the Facebook Roadtrek E-Trek and Eco-Trek group and I would bet that someone will know if this has been done and how to do it. Some of the people in this group have been dealing with KS2 and Roadtrek for 3 or 4 years on this issue. Another site that might have some info is at this link and may have some links to charging individual cell.



https://sites.google.com/view/suiet-...ecotrek-system