2023 Winnebago Ekko

We believe our Balmar (the second alternator that powers our Lithium batteries) failed and then created enough heat to either have a small fire or produce copious amounts of toxic smoke. This is a known problem with the Winnebago EKKOs. There has been one round of recalls for the Balmar re-wiring which we had done at the Winnebago Factory Center in Forest City, IA on November 21, 2023. We were in the parking lot at Whole Foods in Jackson, Wyoming when this happened. We opened the hood when we smelled the plastic burning smell and smoke was pouring out. People were gathering and telling us to call 911 to get the fire department out. We decided to discharge the fire extinguishers provided with our EKKO (a Kidde ABC model). If the whole thing caught fire, obviously other people and cars parked next to us would have been in danger. Yesterday, we heard a new “whine” coming from our engine and noticed that our app that measures the power coming into the lithium batteries was fluctuating way more than usual and so we suspected the system was starting to fail. We had no idea it would fail so quickly and so dangerously.

After completion of NHTSA Campaign Number 23V-234, the Balmar alternator charging system on my EKKO has twice shutdown and gone into a locked state which also trips the 250A house breaker in the RV. This state disables all charging while the engine is running and also disables the house 12V system due to the breaker trip. The locked state is supposedly triggered by an alternator over temperature condition. The NHSTA campaign previously replaced this entire Balmar charging system and its wiring, however, there are still clearly issues with the post-recall system as it fails and shuts down. The safety issue here is that the Balmar system over temperature condition can lead to a fire. Winnebago has not been helpful and refers me to Balmar. Balmar is entirely non-responsive and does not answer any calls or emails via their support mechanisms.

The Winnebago installed under hood generator (Balmar brand) produced a burnt, smokey smell immediately upon starting the engine on September 22nd. The previously 3 days when the vehicle was started and driven a whining type notice was coming from the generator. This was the first time any noise from the Balmar generator was given... 18,000 miles had been put on the vehicle during the last 11 months without issues. Since this is a well known issue with the Winnebago Ekkos I knew to pull the 4 pin connection to the house battery system to prevent any fires or other issues. With the Balmar being disconnected from the battery system there is no noise or burnt smell coming from the Balmar generator. And vehicle could be driven. As mentioned, Winnebago is well aware of this issue and said they had fixed the problem when I purchased this camper RV in 2023. No one has looked at the vehicle yet but I will have Winnebago or the dealer look at it when I can get it scheduled.

Last August 2023 we had Recall 174 completed at Winnebago’s factory service center. This was for the Balmar 2nd alternator, Regulator, and wiring harness. This morning around 6:45am upon starting the vehicle I smelled smoke. Since this is common when the alternator fails I checked our lithionics battery app to discovery we were not inputting any amperage to our house batteries from the 2nd alternator. It had burned up and failed once again (had failed last year, recall was done to fix it, and has worked since August 2023). We are not the first owners who have had the recall done and have the system fail again.

I purchased Transit 2017-2023 Front 2pc All Weather Floor Liner Tray Part Number: JK4Z1613086AA. Order #87359. Only 1 of two holes in the drivers side floor liner tray matches the fastener location in the driver's side floor liner. The passenger floor liner tray has no holes even though there are two fasteners in the passenger side floor liner for the floor liner tray. I contacted Ford Parts and offered to send pictures. The person I spoke to said the floor liner tray is correct for my VIN and there is nothing they can do. I offered to send pictures but he did not want them. I decided to keep the floor liner tray instead of return them since they fit the shape of the floor very well. Unfortunately, the drivers side tends to slip up under the gas and brake pedal.

Blind Spot Monitor System never worked from the time of purchase of this vehicle, and yes it’s available for inspection. Eventually took it to the Winnebago Factory Service Center in Forest City Iowa to be fixed in August 2023. It worked after that for about 200 miles or until the first rain and then it stopped working. I put on my turn signal to move to the left lane and there was a car in my blind spot. No warning from the BSM. Very dangerous. No warning at all. If you look at the Facebook group “Winnebago Owners And Wannabes” do a search on Blind Spot Monitor. You will find many with the same issue.