Roadtrek E-Trek Battery Replacement - Page 7

markopolo · 02-06-2016, 04:04 PM

Photolimo - I did get your PM & went looking for info then forgot to reply - sorry!

The owner manuals came later IIRC. Two links:

http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f5...able-2767.html

http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f2...html#post17802

You can look at previous versions of Roadtrek's website on the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/*/roadtrek.com

You can use the archive to locate a manual for example:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140804...Trek_model.pdf

July 2013:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130717...m/manuals.aspx

March 2014:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140330...m/manuals.aspx

Here's an order form from early 2013:

Roadtrek_Order_Form_early_2013.pdf

E-trek is on page 2 and has 6 year warranty like the order form you posted.

booster · 02-06-2016, 04:45 PM

Photolimo, what is the current status of your batteries? I think the last we heard was two batteries replaced and a balancer installed, and that the batteries were a different manufacturer and capacity.

markopolo · 02-07-2016, 04:39 PM

Photolimo - keep posting data. Individual battery voltages when the system is at 28.8V would be useful to know for example.

I still think rewiring would be the best way to improve the setup. It seems pretty clear to me that the Equalizer is not having the effect on the system that was hoped for.

Here's an illustration to help emphasize that point:

E-Trek Battery Layout equalizer unexpected result.jpg

Has any E-trek owner contacted Cooper Industries to find out if the installed equalizer is suitable for the job?

Has anyone seen any diagrams or notes from Cooper Industries showing the equalizer used with 6 volt batteries?

Has anyone seen any diagrams or notes from Cooper Industries showing the equalizer used with more than 2 x 12V batteries?

I still think using a Cooper Industries converter would be a good idea. A way to balance the voltages is still needed.

Two of these Sterling Power 24v [6-6-6-6v] Battery Balancer PN: BD244 Sterling Power 24v [6-6-6-6v] Battery Balancer PN: BD244 - would seem to be made specifically to solve this problem.

booster · 02-07-2016, 05:13 PM

I agree with Marko, the wiring change is needed, at a minimum, although it really needs more besides just the rewiring.

The questions about the warranty may indicate photolimo is hoping to get the batteries replaced on warranty, which IMO they certainly should be, so there probably couldn't be any changes right now. If the warranty is good, he still has many years left on it, so changes may be off the table for a long time.

It is highly likely that all the AGM systems are going to pushed into the lower tiers of attention at Roadtrek, with the lithium being the poster child, but it would be nice it they would allow some approved changes and still keep the warranty. Free testing for them.

photolimo · 02-08-2016, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booster

As far as I know the supplement showed up for 2014 units, and that is why Marco went looking to find information on the earlier units and found the order sheet information for the earlier ones. The posts about the supplement all referenced the 2014, and there don't appear to be any etrek specific warranty literature before that.

Really good info, thanks booster! And yes we are struggling to get the repair approved by Roadtrek because they claim they fixed the bank with two batteries. Currently with the two new batteries the entire bank lasts about 10 minutes with the A/C on. This is my definition of a broken unit. If your generator only ran for 10 minutes you would call it broke.

We may now begin the litigation process as Roadtrek has decided to stop answering phone calls and emails. Has anyone thought about a group class action lawsuit?

photolimo · 02-22-2016, 08:33 PM

Agreed, I wish they would offer a fix not a patch.

Currently we just took possession of the vehicle back since the warranty dealer near us would not do anything further. We did end up paying over $400 for the "inspection" that included some rewiring that Roadtred requested. But we had to pay for it.

So now we are working directly with the dealer that we bought the unit from in Michigan. They have been very helpful trying to advocate for us and get it fixed.

I will be doing some testing and battery balancing to try to get the batteries revived. Then we may try one of the rewires since the existing setup did not work. I am a fan of eliminating the two batteries up front because of the heat issue and I am also a fan of trying out the 8V setup but we will evaluate the situation once we get some working batteries.

Would we be able to use the balancer they installed as a 12V converter?

Quote:

Originally Posted by booster

I agree with Marko, the wiring change is needed, at a minimum, although it really needs more besides just the rewiring.

The questions about the warranty may indicate photolimo is hoping to get the batteries replaced on warranty, which IMO they certainly should be, so there probably couldn't be any changes right now. If the warranty is good, he still has many years left on it, so changes may be off the table for a long time.

It is highly likely that all the AGM systems are going to pushed into the lower tiers of attention at Roadtrek, with the lithium being the poster child, but it would be nice it they would allow some approved changes and still keep the warranty. Free testing for them.

booster · 02-22-2016, 08:43 PM

I think with the 8v batteries, you would need to use a 24 to 12v converter for the coach 12v power, as there is no center tap in the 3 battery setup. IMO, that would be a better setup anyway, as all the batteries will discharge together.

gregmchugh · 02-22-2016, 08:47 PM

If you have the Cooper battery equalizer I believe you can use it as a converter and it will output 1/2 of the voltage on the 24 volt input. There are some docs on their website with examples as I recall. They also sell a converter version with a fixed regulated output.

gregmchugh · 02-22-2016, 08:52 PM

Here is the doc I was referring to...

http://www.allbatterysalesandservice...00-Install.pdf

gregmchugh · 02-22-2016, 08:57 PM

Was your dealer American RV in Grand Rapids or another one? American RV seems to be one of the better Roadtrek dealers, we have been happy with them. If they cannot get Roadtrek to get it done, I expect no one can...

photolimo · 02-22-2016, 10:32 PM

Yes, they have been the most helpful. I will be working with them on a fix as they are the only ones at this point that are willing to help us out. Kirk is the service manager and great at keeping our spirits up. Hank is the E-Trek expert and very knowledgeable on the inner workings of the electrical system. The last time we had an electronics failure they were the only advocate we had.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Was your dealer American RV in Grand Rapids or another one? American RV seems to be one of the better Roadtrek dealers, we have been happy with them. If they cannot get Roadtrek to get it done, I expect no one can...

Arlo · 02-23-2016, 12:17 AM

I share your positive opinion of American RV, and, more importantly, my interactions with RT related to E-Trek warranty repairs have made clear that they have great confidence in them too.

hdevera · 10-10-2016, 11:37 PM

Markopolo, I noticed the diagram you posted on Feb 2016 and the voltages you were obtaining. If this is after the battery equalizer was installled, there is definitely something wrong. My voltages are generally within 0.03- 0.07 volts of each other in all eight batteries. Your diagram looks like the terminals are connected similar to mine. Did you install them or did you have the dealer do it?

Regarding the refrigerator running off 12v, you are correct. The RT solution was to address a symptom and not the problem. Since I no longer use small gauge wiring to the refrigerator that RT used, I have addressed the problem. I just wish I had not removed the resistor. Not a big deal, as I always monitor the voltage off the solar controller (knowing that my battery equalizer seems to be doing what it is suppose to. I only redid the wiring a about two weeks ago, but all seems to be well... certainly better than before.

I quickly reviewed the link to this thread, and noticed that someone commented that my batteries rear batteries were exposed and that you could see the ground below. Yes that is the case. I was surprised at this but assumed that RT did it this way with everyone (i.e. Not enclosing the rear batteries). If this is not the case, I need to address this with RT. Can you tell me if your batteries are fully enclosed? Thanks.

markopolo · 10-11-2016, 12:03 AM

I don't have an E-trek.

The original diagram and the data were all supplied by E-trek owner and forum member photolimo.

If the batteries in your E-trek are that close in voltage then it does look as though a correctly installed equalizer solves the voltage imbalance problem.

photolimo's batteries may have been without the benefit of the equalizer for too long and likely needed to be replaced.

That's good info to have about your batteries. Thanks for letting us know.

There are some E-trek owners on the forum. Hopefully they'll see this post and will let you know if their batteries are fully enclosed or not.

obgraham · 10-11-2016, 01:24 AM

The battery box on my 8-agm E-Trek is not "fully exposed", but there are certainly plenty of openings in it. However the batteries themselves have remained pretty clean.

Arlo · 10-15-2016, 09:38 PM

In my 2013 E-Trek the rear battery box has no obvious openings except for the lid. I had the battery balancer installed about 7 months ago. Just checked the voltage in all 8 coach batteries with my 0.1 volt resolution multimeter: 6 were the same and 2 were 0.1v lower than the others (one in the front and one in the rear). So the balancer appears to be working well in spite of almost 3 years of use without one.

hdevera · 10-16-2016, 01:27 AM

For those who have Sure Power Equalizer, please note there was a recall on certain ones. Sure Power will send you a new one, if yours is on the recall list. Had to do with materials melting at high temperatures and possibly causing a fire.

Hal DeVera, MD
2015 CS etrek
Davis, CA 95618

photolimo · 10-19-2016, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdevera

Markopolo, I noticed the diagram you posted on Feb 2016 and the voltages you were obtaining. If this is after the battery equalizer was installled, there is definitely something wrong. My voltages are generally within 0.03- 0.07 volts of each other in all eight batteries. Your diagram looks like the terminals are connected similar to mine. Did you install them or did you have the dealer do it?

Regarding the refrigerator running off 12v, you are correct. The RT solution was to address a symptom and not the problem. Since I no longer use small gauge wiring to the refrigerator that RT used, I have addressed the problem. I just wish I had not removed the resistor. Not a big deal, as I always monitor the voltage off the solar controller (knowing that my battery equalizer seems to be doing what it is suppose to. I only redid the wiring a about two weeks ago, but all seems to be well... certainly better than before.

I quickly reviewed the link to this thread, and noticed that someone commented that my batteries rear batteries were exposed and that you could see the ground below. Yes that is the case. I was surprised at this but assumed that RT did it this way with everyone (i.e. Not enclosing the rear batteries). If this is not the case, I need to address this with RT. Can you tell me if your batteries are fully enclosed? Thanks.

Yes, you are correct. They were wired incorrectly. We had the unit serviced at two different Roadtrek "Authorized" dealers in the Phoenix area and they both failed to get the wiring redone properly after the balancer was installed. I ended up doing the work myself because the communication and process was so difficult (service departments don't know what they are doing down here and don't like to admit they get things wrong). I worked directly with a Roadtrek tech from the factory and fixed the problems.

After about a year of dealing with this we now have a balancer with new batteries properly wired up and working. What a mess, but happy to have a working unit.

P.S. would you recommend changing the wiring to the fridge to help it run smoother? Or?

hdevera · 10-19-2016, 04:54 PM

Ii would not recommend changing the wiring to the frig unless you noticed some issues. I would recommend using a wireless temp monitor to monitor both freezer and frig. That way you can tell if there is a problem as soon as it occurs and also you can adjust your settings to give you optimal tempertures.

booster · 10-19-2016, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdevera

Ii would not recommend changing the wiring to the frig unless you noticed some issues. I would recommend using a wireless temp monitor to monitor both freezer and frig. That way you can tell if there is a problem as soon as it occurs and also you can adjust your settings to give you optimal tempertures.

I have what probably is a silly question, but nothing new about that.

The BD35 Danfoss compressors are rated 12 to 24 volts, I think, and the electronics either lift or reduce the voltage to the compressor. Low voltage makes that harder as the current increases.

Would it be possible to just connect the frig to the 24v area of the batteries and run it that way? 1/2 the current and voltage drop that way, and the voltage is being reduced at the frig module.

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