Solar panels / charger doing what it is supposed to?

[Kevin D Pem]

Nice!

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

I received a response from Newmar support RE my ticket asking if the Xantrex C60 solar controller with the Lithionics batteries was correct when both solar and lithium options are selected together as part of the factory build. They said somebody from Xantrex would reach out to me. I did press back in my response that both Lithionics and Xantrex don't recommend that lead acid / nicad solar controller with lithium batteries and asked their position on it. The plot thickens. Stay tuned...

Best,
-Mark

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

Still awaiting a call from Xantrex, but the mystery continues to unfold. I noticed this morning while on Newmar's online parts ordering site newpar.newmarcorp.com that it appears on or around 02/20/2023 Newmar stopped using the Xantrex C60 solar controller designed for lead acid and nicad and then began using the Xantrex 710-3024-01, which does support lithium batteries. Perhaps the factory built my unit with the Lithionics lithium option before Newmar changed over to Xantrex’s solar controller that supports lithium? Surprised Newmar support hasn't/can't just tell me the answer.

If you have the factory-built Lithium and solar options, you may wish to ensure the correct controller was installed. This image from their parts site:

Best,
-Mark

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

Since June 15th, still no further response from Newmar Customer Support nor any outreach from Xantrex. I have to admit this first interaction isn't delighting this customer.

It is clear to me they installed the wrong solar controller in conjunction with the Lithionics lithium factory upgade. A mistake they made in Oct 2022 at the factory and perhaps stopped making by Feb 2023.

With my previous Tiffin, their customer service would have profusely apologized and quickly shipped me a replacement within days. Here I'm almost 2 months out with the last response on 6/15 still being "we are looking into this."

I have pinged them yet again to see if there is any status update On my customer service ticket.

Stay tuned...

Best,
-Mark

 

[Rich W.]

Since June 15th, still no further response from Newmar Customer Support nor any outreach from Xantrex. I have to admit this first interaction isn't delighting this customer.

It is clear to me they installed the wrong solar controller in conjunction with the Lithionics lithium factory upgade. A mistake they made in Oct 2022 at the factory and perhaps stopped making by Feb 2023.

With my previous Tiffin, their customer service would have profusely apologized and quickly shipped me a replacement within days. Here I'm almost 2 months out with the last response on 6/15 still being "we are looking into this."

I have pinged them yet again to see if there is any status update On my customer service ticket.

Stay tuned...

Best,
-Mark

Well in the mean time, if you want the system to work, I suggest a Victron “SmartSolar” controller. Its a superior charge controller and provides very functional and user-friendly blue-tooth monitoring - much better than anything Newmar or Xantrex would supply if they were willing and able. RV solar is really not their strong suit (not even close) so it’s an upgrade you’d probably end up doing on your own anyway.

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

Newmar Customer Support got back to me today. Turns out I wasn't ghosted and it looks like they are going to do the right thing by the customers impacted. I appreciate that they are admitting to the factory error and are going to do the right thing by their customers who have this issue.

Bottom line is that those of us who purchased new rigs which had both solar and lithium options installed at the factory in builds before 2/20/23 do indeed need our solar controllers and some related components replaced. I was told to reach out to my dealer and refer them to Service Bulletin 603: https://newpar.newmarcorp.com/instance1Env99NEWMAR/html/images/BLTN603T.pdf

In my case I gave up while waiting for a response these last couple of months and ordered a Victron SmartSolar Controller from Amazon and installed it myself the next day (so I'd have working solar while in storage and before my 4K mile summer trip). Details in previous posts in this thread. But for all those who have this factory installed option combination, this validates the issues I raised in this thread and provides a path to get it resolved under warranty.

Best,
-Mark

 

[Richpatty]

I am glad to hear they figured it out. But is amazing that they didn't catch this at the design stage. And what controller does not work with Lithium? I can even make my old Magnum work with my lithium....

 

[Rich W.]

I am glad to hear they figured it out. But is amazing that they didn't catch this at the design stage. And what controller does not work with Lithium? I can even make my old Magnum work with my lithium....

The problem was spec’ing a cheap xantrex charge controller. And the replacement while in spec for lithiums probably (I’d say almost certainly) isn’t as good as the Victron unit Mark is now using. Good for Newmar for stepping up (do they read this forum?) but Mark made a better choice anyway. My opinion, fwiw, is that Newmar is in the coach business, not the RV solar business, which explains the pricing (almost like they don’t want the job) and their choice of components.