The time has come to take Buffy in for the big fix. The toilet needs to be replaced and the dead battery needs to be tested and possibly replaced as well. We drove to the outskirts of London Ontario to Forest City Motorhomes, our trusted dealer (unfortunately out of business now…) who had a new toilet waiting for us.
The toilet was supplied under manufacturer’s warranty, so our plan to explore the possibility of a composting toilet is on hold for the time being. Maybe the next time our toilet breaks.
They were kind enough to let us in the bay area where they tested the battery while replacing the toilet.
We have to say that this is one nice clean shop!
Fixing the toilet
We were surprised to see how easy it is to replace the toilet with just a few simple tools.
We were even more surprised to discover the way that the toilet was mounted with the discharge on the side wall and not underneath and through the floor. This may allow for a smooth transition to a composting toilet one day.
We kind of liked hanging out in the shop and check out the goodies, while trying to stay out of the way.
Oh, no! The battery!
In the meantime, the diagnostics for the uncooperative battery seemed grim. It seemed to be really really dead.
He removed the cover plate and fished the wires out to check them,
but the tester and the display remained dark.
Still no sign of life.
He then drove the van on little ramps for easy access underneath.
Testing the batteries directly confirmed our fears, and yes, we will need to replace one of the batteries.
Our batteries are the revision H, which are the cheaper ones. Ks2, the battery manufacturer will replace one of the batteries with a refurbished H battery at a cost of $450 plus shipping. We can’t replace the battery with the newer revision because we would have had to replace both batteries as the two versions should not be mixed. UPDATE: see in comments below comments about using the 2 revisions together.
Now what?
Although the warranty is not really being honoured by the manufacturer, at least he is providing us with some cheaper options. We really like the concept of the Ecotrek so we’ll take it and give the system another chance. Below is the current warranty offered by Ks2.
There are new parameters for programming the solar controller that may better protect the batteries from overcharging (see numbers at the end of the post) Perhaps reprogramming the system with the new parameters will make a difference as well.
Eco Trek
In case you are not familiar with the Ecotrek system, this display shows the different components of the system. There are different configurations and number of batteries, and not all are wired the same way. Ours consists of an underhood generator, an AGM battery, 2 lithium batteries, and 2 solar panels. It also includes a regulator, inverter, and a solar controller. Not confusing at all, is it?
So here it is – a deconstructed Ecotrek system on display looking all innocent. Do not be fooled, it can be a source of great pleasure or extreme pain depending on your circumstances or level of battery paranoia.
Can you name all the components, or is it still a mystery to you?
Fingers Crossed
We’ve had the van back for a few days now. The refurbished battery and new toilet seem to be working just fine. The batteries are more consistent and are holding charge without shore power or idling really well. It looks like we just need to plan another trip and test it in the field, right?
BY THE NUMBERS:
- cost to replace toilet: n/c – covered under manufacturer warranty
- cost to replace and reprogram battery: CAD$1,100 (including labour and shipping). Some of the labour charges may have been to replace the toilet.
- – new solar controller setting:
- – over voltage disconnect: 13.7 (was 16)
- – charging limit voltage: 13.6 (was 15)
- – over voltage reconnect voltage: 13.4 (was 15)
- – equalize charging voltage: 13.6 (was 14.6)
- – boost charging voltage: 13.6 (was 14.4)
- – float charging voltage: 13.6 (was 13.8)
- – boost reconnect charging voltage 13.3 (was 13.20)
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OUCH!! Welcome to the world of lithium. Is there a way to take them out of the van when your not traveling? They are not heavy, but are extremely temperature sensitive to high heat and freezing temps.
The investment in lithium is well worth it. I believe 1 of your lithium batteries can out perform 4 AGM batteries of the same amp hours. What is the cost of 4 AGM’s?
Soon, you’ll be on the road. See you sometime.
We contemplated bringing them in, it they are pretty big…they are also sealed units with heat pads and are supposed to be able to withstand the cold. Maybe heat as well, but unfortunately there is no heat to be seen anywhere. I should have mentioned in the post that the battery cells where not damaged, but of the components on the board. We really like the system so hopefully the growing pains are behind us.
Planing a trip soon?
For shure in October. If we get a cheap tow truck…sooner. My wife got a contract for 6 months to work from home…that means she can be on the road! We both have things we want to do on the road; she, chasing fibre (wool), and me, RV’s.
In the mean time we need to cut, split and stack wood for next winter. Our tails are wagging!!
Mixing ecotrek revision H and L is permitted and I recommended upgrading to Rev L. The dealer debug serial interface is different but your RV doesn’t connect to it.
Good to know! All the information that i saw advised against it and suggested that it may cause problems. It’s working fine now, but should there be issues in the future, we’ll consider the Ls!
Our Aktiv has one L and one H. They behave differently since the L is smarter. It’s been handy for me to test both side by side. I hope they checked your balmar and inverter settings too. https://sites.google.com/view/suiet-hacks-llc/programming-an-aktivs-ecotrek-system?authuser=0
Yup, they check the entire system as far as I know. I looked at your site before, but I guess I missed the 2 different batteries (or perhaps it wasn’t relevant to us at the time). Are there performance differences between the 2 that you can tell us about? I find the many variables a bit overwhelming and just when I think I got it, there is something else entering the equation that throws it all off for me…
P.S. you guys may want to sell your new (fresh) toilet and get a composting toilet!?
We have the marine one by Airhead (elongated seat) https://airheadtoilet.com Extreamly happy with it.
We’ll stick with this one for now, but we might come knocking on your door one day 🙂
Very informative. Thank you for taking the time to share the knowledge 👌🌹
Thanks, Fawas! We enjoy sharing with you!
Are the new numbers for the solar controller direct from the manufacturer? Thanks much…
I believe that they are from KS2, but can confirm.
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Hi, we just bought a hymer sunlight V2 and are having issues with 1 of the lithium batteries > dead. I am wondering if changing the battery a year ago solved the issue for you or if you are having more electrical problems. Thank you!
Hi Karine, the battery that we replaced is still fine, but we needed to make some adjustments in the settings of the Balmar and solar to prevent it from recurrIng since Hymer didn’t do it right the first time. If you are not familiar with these issues I would suggest that you join the Carado and Sunlight owners Facebook group. There is a lot of info there and lots of helpful folks to help you with the learning process. There are some things that you can try before declaring the battery dead and you can find that info there as well. I hope it’s salvageable!
A new owner of a 2008 poplar. Trying to find blogs referring to lithium’s. 2008 was pre lithium so inverter dip switches do not have the option. I have a battle born battery and zantrex 2000w inverter that I would like to swap out with the two lead acids, and inverter supplied. Can’t find where this has been done on an RT. I see the new 2021 come with this but don’t know how to remove or by pass current inverter. Any ideas?
Congrats on your new campervan! We are not familiar with the Popular and its electric system, but you might find some help and knowledgeable folks at the Roadtrek Canada Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/768972059966401 good luck and let us now if you were able to solve this!