Question

[mira1]

My Carado Banff has two 200amp battery packs and I use them one at a
time,I have no battery monitor to let me know condition of the battery before I switch over to the other one. Can someone suggest a good in a expensive one to install.
Thanks Joe

 

[markopolo-ClassB]

I'm guessing that's 2 x 200Ah Ecotrek lithium modules.

Maybe submit this question to https://ks2corp.com/

I think they assembled the modules for EHGNA so they should know if they can be monitored for state of charge. Let us know what you find out.

 

[mira1]

My Carado Banff has two 200amp battery packs and I use them one at a
time,I have no battery monitor to let me know condition of the battery before I switch over to the other one. Can someone suggest a good in a expensive one to install.
Thanks Joe

I sent a email to Ks2 Corp regarding battery monitor they returned my email stating that they are in the process of developing a battery display that will be able to display info on up to 4 batteries at a time, when I receive that info I will pass it on.
Joe

 

[gregmchugh]

I sent a email to Ks2 Corp regarding battery monitor they returned my email stating that they are in the process of developing a battery display that will be able to display info on up to 4 batteries at a time, when I receive that info I will pass it on.
Joe

Very good, no reason why EHGNA didn’t do this a long time ago except that I think they preferred that the owners didn’t know enough to see that the system was not as great as they claimed. They always touted the idea that the system was completely automatic and there was no need for or want from their customers to provide the detailed systems info....

 

[csaeger]

You might try posting your question to the Carado and Sunlight Facebook group. They have a number of technically savvy people who are knoweledgable about the electrical system.

 

[stevegoldfield]

I have a 2018 Carado Banff. If you only have one battery turned on and the battery disconnect is pressed so that you can see the display, that display shows you the voltage of that battery when the engine isn't running. What other kind of monitor do you need? When the engine is running, the voltage shown will rapidly rise but it will drop back to the battery level when the engine is turned off. As noted if you join the group on Facebook, you will find a lot of information on Ecotrek, including the voltages of the batteries.

 

[gregmchugh]

I have a 2018 Carado Banff. If you only have one battery turned on and the battery disconnect is pressed so that you can see the display, that display shows you the voltage of that battery when the engine isn't running. What other kind of monitor do you need? When the engine is running, the voltage shown will rapidly rise but it will drop back to the battery level when the engine is turned off. As noted if you join the group on Facebook, you will find a lot of information on Ecotrek, including the voltages of the batteries.

Ideally you would want a battery monitor display that shows the State of Charge (SOC) usually as a percentage of full. Especially with lithium batteries that have a very flat discharge voltage curve it is not easy to estimate state of charge from battery voltage even with no loads on the batteries. The state of charge information would seem to be available in the Ecotrek Battery Management System (BMS) but it was never used for a system monitor display. There are probably individual cell voltages and temperatures that could be displayed.

 

[rboegh]

Volt Chart Helper!

Ideally you would want a battery monitor display that shows the State of Charge (SOC) usually as a percentage of full. Especially with lithium batteries that have a very flat discharge voltage curve it is not easy to estimate state of charge from battery voltage even with no loads on the batteries. The state of charge information would seem to be available in the Ecotrek Battery Management System (BMS) but it was never used for a system monitor display. There are probably individual cell voltages and temperatures that could be displayed.

Here is a volt chart from EHGNA on volt reading and % of charge on Lithium's and AGM batteries. The system works great at over 12.8V, but you don't want to run down much past 12.6V as the system will power down the Lithium's, even more so in the cold to protect them. Remember you have 4 batteries in your Banff, 1 AGM under hood for van operation, 2 Lithium's under coach along with 1 AGM for the battery management system to operate the BCS (battery control system) which includes a warmer for the Lithium's as they will not operate under 32* and like all batteries their life is much shorter in cold and heat.....

We Love our EcoTrek system in our 2018 Banff despite the press given them, once sorted out like all RV systems no matter the price point! I have a buddy with a $850K 40' Desel Pusher RV and he has had nightmares with that thing versus the very few issues with our $60K Banff! Enjoy and Good luck!

 

[mira1]

Here is a volt chart from EHGNA on volt reading and % of charge on Lithium's and AGM batteries. The system works great at over 12.8V, but you don't want to run down much past 12.6V as the system will power down the Lithium's, even more so in the cold to protect them. Remember you have 4 batteries in your Banff, 1 AGM under hood for van operation, 2 Lithium's under coach along with 1 AGM for the battery management system to operate the BCS (battery control system) which includes a warmer for the Lithium's as they will not operate under 32* and like all batteries their life is much shorter in cold and heat.....

We Love our EcoTrek system in our 2018 Banff despite the press given them, once sorted out like all RV systems no matter the price point! I have a buddy with a $850K 40' Desel Pusher RV and he has had nightmares with that thing versus the very few issues with our $60K Banff! Enjoy and Good luck!

Thanks for that voltage info for lithium batteries and AGM it will sure come in usefull for me. Do you have by any chance a battery monitor.
Joe

 

[markopolo-ClassB]

Which chart is accurate?

12.8V on rboegh's chart is 44% SOC
12.866V on Shorai's chart is 20% SOC
12.8V on Solacity's chart is 17% SOC

https://shoraipower.com/lfxcheck




https://www.solacity.com/how-to-keep-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-happy/

 

[rboegh]

Thanks for that voltage info for lithium batteries and AGM it will sure come in usefull for me. Do you have by any chance a battery monitor.
Joe

Only the monitor/ voltmeter that came on the Banff, all systems will be slightly different readings as in 13.8 or 13.6 may be full reading (you will not see 14.0 unless on shore power for period and just after unplugging) on different systems. You should keep that in mind the trouble spot is around 12.6 (could be 12.4 on different systems). There are monitors out there that folks have put on to monitor more precisely, I just have not had the need to do this.

Good luck!

 

[rboegh]

Which chart is accurate?

12.8V on rboegh's chart is 44% SOC
12.866V on Shorai's chart is 20% SOC
12.8V on Solacity's chart is 17% SOC

https://shoraipower.com/lfxcheck


View attachment 7295

https://www.solacity.com/how-to-keep-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-happy/


View attachment 7296

Likely all are accurate for different batteries and systems, on the Banff the chart I attached is pretty darn accurate and works for my EcoTrek system, your voltage reading, as the fine print says, may vary slightly!

At 12.6V I get nervous and at 12.4V my system went to sleep and had to be jumped and woken up, again cold temps makes this all more critical and life spans shorter!