Roadtrek Ecotrek Charging Issue

[rich731]

We just took our first long trip in our 2018 Roadtrek Zion SRT and are experiencing a new issue.

We have the batteries on and the inverter off to power the fridge and keep our food cold. After a few hours of highway driving the voltage meter goes dark and it stops powering the 12V appliances.

If I hold down the reset button the voltage shows back up (usually around 13.8 - 13.9) but as soon as the reset button is released the voltage disappears again. I've tried 3 seconds, 10 seconds and 20 seconds on the reset as I've seen multiple different recommendations for that. I've also tried multiple combinations of which battery I reset as well as both at the same time.

If I turn the batteries off when this happens the voltage meter shows voltage (usually around 4 - 5 but sometimes as high a 9 or 10). I can hold the reset down, use the battery disconnect switch and then turn the batteries off and I don't get the residual voltage.

If I let it sit for an hour or so and try a reset the batteries usually comes back online. but that only seems happen when the voltage shows 13.75 or below while holding the reset. After this it seems to work fine when boon docking but it happens again when we hit the road.

I'm wondering if the UHG is overcharging the batteries and not cutting off when they are topped off causing them to shut down.

As a side note, we were having an issue with the inverter overloading when the engine was running along with the AC. Roadtrek suggested the AGM battery might be bad, which it was, so it was replaced. That seemed to solve the inverter overload issue. Not sure if it is related at all.

Any advice on what might be going on or shared experience with this issue is much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mumkin]

The Roadtrek system is little known except to Roadtrek owners, because no other companies use their complicated combination of UHG, lithiums, AGM kicker, and solar.

The specific facebook pages contain more people who might be able to help. The specific model owners page and there is also a group for Ecotrek owners.

Since you are in Florida, I suggest that you connect with Sunshine State in Gainesville as they are the only Roadtrek service department in that state I would trust.

 

[gordonhks]

Custom Coach Works in Deland is very good with Rv electrical issues. Ask for James.

 

[rich731]

Thank you mumkin and gordonhks for the replies. We did post this on the Facebook groups as well and the consensus is it may have to do with the voltage threshold on the BMS/Balmar. The two locations you each mention are promising but very far north of me by about 4-5 hours so still looking for something down here in South Florida.

I do have the Good Sam repair insurance but it's been tough to find someone that participates.

All new to this but sure am learning a lot through this process and hopefully will be able to be a resource for others as I come up to speed.

 

[Ken Allan]

I have a 2018 Hymer Sunlight2 that probably has a very similar ecotrek system. it worked great...until it didn't. It seemed like I needed witchcraft to get it working. I had the same exact problem you described. And some weird transient voltages. There is no good way to troubleshoot the crazy Ks2 batteries. In my case, I eventually did a load test on each battery. Supposed to be 200Ah each. One tested at 80-90Ah and one was 8Ah !!

I replaced with SOK 206Ah batteries. Took a bit of work and new settings but now I have a simple to control and monitor system.

Hope you can find someone that can help you. Ks2 will not repair just sell you new batteries for $$$$. KenA