Question Firefly not coming on

[ktd10]

I had the issue on a Slumber purchased in August as well. Basically we got it used it a weekend found a leak in the windshield and after that got fixed (took a few weeks) the firefly would not work once we got it back. The issue was even when connected to shore power non of the interior lites etc would work because the lithium battery would no longer charge.

We brought back to the dealer and and didn't get it back until February. The jump process for the battery is non trivial, in addition there was a fair amount of back and forth with firefly and road trek to get down to what the cause of the issue was.

The issue as explained to me:
- There is an issue with the firefly system and the battery hardware communicating. This results in the battery not engaging/charging, due to the harware and software not communicating.
- The "Fix" was a firmware upgrade on the firefly, now you have the ability to reset the battery if it get into this state via the diagnostics section.
- Also to note there were one or two recall's due to an inverter issue (though it was unrelated)

But the issue we have now is it's possible to get into a state where the firefly won't power on unless initially connected to shore power and won't stay online unless that battery is engaged. Also if you are plugged into shore (15AMP), engage the batteries through the Firfly, it will blow out the circuit on the receptacle (which didn't happened before if I recall correctly)

Its a bit of a mess, basically if you disengage the battery via the battery disconnect switch you can get into a state where you can't reengage until you connect to shore power or power on the firefly. Once the firefly is on you can connect to the batteries via the display.

I have no idea how this thing can boondock in the current state. My understanding was you could always engage the battery if needed and power on the firefly.

Anyways calling Roadtrek this week, extremely frustrated to say the least, owned this thing since August had it a full week, been in the shop since.

 

[steveslade]

I had the issue on a Slumber purchased in August as well. Basically we got it used it a weekend found a leak in the windshield and after that got fixed (took a few weeks) the firefly would not work once we got it back. The issue was even when connected to shore power non of the interior lites etc would work because the lithium battery would no longer charge.

We brought back to the dealer and and didn't get it back until February. The jump process for the battery is non trivial, in addition there was a fair amount of back and forth with firefly and road trek to get down to what the cause of the issue was.

The issue as explained to me:
- There is an issue with the firefly system and the battery hardware communicating. This results in the battery not engaging/charging, due to the harware and software not communicating.
- The "Fix" was a firmware upgrade on the firefly, now you have the ability to reset the battery if it get into this state via the diagnostics section.
- Also to note there were one or two recall's due to an inverter issue (though it was unrelated)

But the issue we have now is it's possible to get into a state where the firefly won't power on unless initially connected to shore power and won't stay online unless that battery is engaged. Also if you are plugged into shore (15AMP), engage the batteries through the Firfly, it will blow out the circuit on the receptacle (which didn't happened before if I recall correctly)

Its a bit of a mess, basically if you disengage the battery via the battery disconnect switch you can get into a state where you can't reengage until you connect to shore power or power on the firefly. Once the firefly is on you can connect to the batteries via the display.

I have no idea how this thing can boondock in the current state. My understanding was you could always engage the battery if needed and power on the firefly.

Anyways calling Roadtrek this week, extremely frustrated to say the least, owned this thing since August had it a full week, been in the shop since.

I purchased a new 2021 Case in February and consistently having an issue with our Firefly setting off code G12. Dealer apparently lacks the know how to repair- frustrated to the point of hiring a attorney

 

[UODuckZion]

I have a 2021 Roadtrek Zion Slumber. Just purchased, only 70 total miles. I started up the engine today and the Firefly panel will not come on. I pushed the battery disconnect rocker switch to "on" and still nothing. This means I cannot use any of the appliances or check levels. The step that goes out from the side of the van will not go back in after I close the side door. Does anyone have any ideas?

Purchased a 2022 Zion Slumber in March. Have about 3000 miles on it. Checked on it yesterday and the firefly would not power on. Difference is we keep the van plugged into shore power in the driveway and it had been working fine since we bought it. So no reason the lithiums should have been depleted. Eventually I tried turning the inverter on using the physical switch on top of the inverter. That powered up the firefly! The lithiums were at 12.7, but soon came up to full charge (13.7-14.0). I turned the physical switch on the inverter off and everything seems fine now. Talked to Roadtrek in Canada. Not sure what happened. Possible there was a power interruption and the lithiums got too low.
Bottom line - try turning the inverter on at the physical switch and see if that restores the firefly. But remember to put the switch back off and run inverter off firefly.

 

[holtvan]

I just got off the phone with Roadtrek tech support. The issue is a little different that the discussion above. The van has lithium batteries. To get those batteries going, there is a "kicker" battery. Apparently that kicker battery went dead and it could be because I didn't push the battery disconnect button long enough after I last used it. No amount of shore power or driving the van will recharge the kicker battery. It will need to be jumped but jumping it is complicated. I will let the dealer fix it. The tech support guy said that this problem could be avoided in the future by keeping the van plugged into a 15 amp circuit when not using it.

I'll update after the dealer takes a look.

how did they solved this issue, we are having the same problem?

 

[bill clark]

I have a 2021 Roadtrek Zion Slumber. Just purchased, only 70 total miles. I started up the engine today and the Firefly panel will not come on. I pushed the battery disconnect rocker switch to "on" and still nothing. This means I cannot use any of the appliances or check levels. The step that goes out from the side of the van will not go back in after I close the side door. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[UODuckZion]

In case this helps anybody I will share my update. This ended up being a nightmare. I'll spare the details but Roadtrek installed the inverter and wired the lithiums incorrectly at the factory. It took three months and a lawyer, but eventually the repairs were made under warranty. My dealer (who was not helpful since they have to eat the warranty work) said this is a common manufacturing error at Roadtrek. For their part the several times I spoke with Roadtrek during this 3 month process they seemed helpful and blamed the delays on the dealer. Everything seems to work for now, but I probably will look to trade the van at some point (I usually don't keep an RV more than 3 years anyway). The Firefly system is overly complicated and there are just too many things that can go wrong.

 

[steveslade]

Hola, we experienced these issues. To get your steps back in start the engine and steps should retract. We ended up calling road trek service dept secondary to firefly not working or at times throwing a G12 code - found a loose connection on the G12 panel over the drivers cab - tightened now resolved- may need a program update to get the correct software version

 

[LarryStevenson]

Thanks to all

Did you ever figure out why the firefly did not come on?

 

[dilbertjth]

Your AGM battery is likely drained. That is what powers the firefly. Since the battery disconnect switch (for the coach batteries) is just an on/off toggle, it can be difficult to tell when it is on or off when the firefly panel won't come up. Look for an illuminated LED on the propane alarm, near the floor next to the furnace. If that is on, then you should be able to charge the AGM from the UHG (under-hood generator) with the engine running. You can also try to charge it by connecting to shore power. The trick here is that, perhaps unexpectedly, the inverter needs to be turned on! But that is usually done from the firefly panel... So you need to use the manual switch on the inverter box itself to turn it on. DON'T forget to turn that back off when you are done charging up the AGM battery. There is an excellent write-up on the electrical systems of the Zion family of RVs that I found somewhere on this forum, and just posted as a resource:

Notes on the Electrical Systems of the Roadtrek Zion Family of RVs

This is an excellent write up of the electrical systems of Zion RVs by a guy named Rich, posted somewhere on this forum. I don't remember what post it was buried in, but I did save it, so I'm posting it here as a resource.

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