Magnum (now owned by Sensata) not making inverters and chargers any more

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

I was surprised as well; it turned a green color and wouldn't conduct the electrical connection.
My shunt is under the hood of my Mercedes Benz Sprinter with the 3 liter V6 diesel engine. I understand that it gets insanely hot under the hood.

Besides the fact that my coach was wired for AGM batteries and not lithium, lithium batteries I'm told would have to be inside the vehicle and strangely enough I have no space inside for them. It's OK, the set-up I have with the AGMs is fine to run my Nova Kool refrigerator 24/7 and not have any effect on my electric system.

Maybe running the refrigerator 24/7 contributed to the batteries failing in 4 1/2 years, but, I'd rather keep the unit running for the door seals. My Nova Kool refrigerator is now 6 years old and runs great. That along with the solar panels was the best upgrade I made on the rig. Very consistent service.

I chalk all of this up to the overall cost of owning and operating an RV. In 8 years and over 52,500 miles we've driven on the rig ourselves, the overall cost per mile for maintenance, repairs, upgrades on the Mercedes Benz and the Roadtrek RS Adventurous figures out of 71 cents per mile. I don't work on my own rig.

Fortunately, it gets excellent mileage. My last segment was over 20 MPG. If you look at the long haul, MPG is a one the most expensive things you put in your vehicle.

 

[booster]

My Fullriver batteries 2 x 12V/115Ahr lasted 11years. How did your first shunt fail, it is unusual for them to fail, maybe mechanical or corrosive damage.

Based on the settings, he probably has a Victron monitor with circuit board on the shunt. Shunts work on tiny voltages so spikes probably are a bad thing, and the mentioned loose wire might have caused that, or the charger kicking back somehow.

11 years on premium AGMs is very good, 4.5 years isn't and is in line with 30 months on the cheap AGMs. From what we have seen over the years the short life is typical of the Roadtreks with Tripplite units in them.

on edit: If the shunt is under the hood that is just plain a major mistake by Roadtrek or whoever installed the shunt and monitor. The monitor manufacturers specifically say not to put it anyplace hot.

 

[GeorgeRad]

I was surprised as well; it turned a green color and wouldn't conduct the electrical connection.
My shunt is under the hood of my Mercedes Benz Sprinter with the 3 liter V6 diesel engine. I understand that it gets insanely hot under the hood.

Besides the fact that my coach was wired for AGM batteries and not lithium, lithium batteries I'm told would have to be inside the vehicle and strangely enough I have no space inside for them. It's OK, the set-up I have with the AGMs is fine to run my Nova Kool refrigerator 24/7 and not have any effect on my electric system.

Maybe running the refrigerator 24/7 contributed to the batteries failing in 4 1/2 years, but, I'd rather keep the unit running for the door seals. My Nova Kool refrigerator is now 6 years old and runs great. That along with the solar panels was the best upgrade I made on the rig. Very consistent service.

I chalk all of this up to the overall cost of owning and operating an RV. In 8 years and over 52,500 miles we've driven on the rig ourselves, the overall cost per mile for maintenance, repairs, upgrades on the Mercedes Benz and the Roadtrek RS Adventurous figures out of 71 cents per mile. I don't work on my own rig.

Fortunately, it gets excellent mileage. My last segment was over 20 MPG. If you look at the long haul, MPG is a one the most expensive things you put in your vehicle.

Based on the settings, he probably has a Victron monitor with circuit board on the shunt. Shunts work on tiny voltages so spikes probably are a bad thing, and the mentioned loose wire might have caused that, or the charger kicking back somehow.

11 years on premium AGMs is very good, 4.5 years isn't and is in line with 30 months on the cheap AGMs. From what we have seen over the years the short life is typical of the Roadtreks with Tripplite units in them.

on edit: If the shunt is under the hood that is just plain a major mistake by Roadtrek or whoever installed the shunt and monitor. The monitor manufacturers specifically say not to put it anyplace hot.

Spilling DEF liquid (Ad Blue) directly on a shunt could cause corrosion hence green but the auxiliary battery, where shunt is likely located is on the driver side and DEF filler on the opposite side. Just heat will not turn shunt green, any electrolyte is needed.

I don’t know if there are any electronics on the shunt, many years ago this topic was disused on the Sprinter forum when Victron battery monitor was introduced to US market. Based on the need for a twisted pair needed for low voltage signal wiring the conclusion was that it was just a connection box.

 

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Interesting that Tripp Lite has a reputation for shorter battery life. I wouldn't have known this or even questioned it because this is my first RV, never had experience with anything else. Also, Full River told me that 5 years is average.

Regarding the battery shunt; where else could I have put this? The batteries are located under the hood. When they installed the Victron they said that it should be within close proximity to the batteries. Battery shunt is attached to the side of the vehicle adjacent to the two 6 volts.

Wires run in the engine compartment through the firewall. Was this wrong?

 

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Spilling DEF liquid (Ad Blue) directly on a shunt could cause corrosion hence green but the auxiliary battery, where shunt is likely located is on the driver side and DEF filler on the opposite side. Just heat will not turn shunt green, any electrolyte is needed.

I don’t know if there are any electronics on the shunt, many years ago this topic was disused on the Sprinter forum when Victron battery monitor was introduced to US market. Based on the need for a twisted pair needed for low voltage signal wiring the conclusion was that it was just a connection box.

George, no where near the DEF .... this couldn't have been an issue. See the pictures of where it is in the engine bay.

 

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Based on the settings, he probably has a Victron monitor with circuit board on the shunt. Shunts work on tiny voltages so spikes probably are a bad thing, and the mentioned loose wire might have caused that, or the charger kicking back somehow.

11 years on premium AGMs is very good, 4.5 years isn't and is in line with 30 months on the cheap AGMs. From what we have seen over the years the short life is typical of the Roadtreks with Tripplite units in them.

on edit: If the shunt is under the hood that is just plain a major mistake by Roadtrek or whoever installed the shunt and monitor. The monitor manufacturers specifically say not to put it anyplace hot.

This is what a normal reading should look like on my Victron BMV 712 .

 

[Boxster1971]

I just looked at the Volta site, and it has been scrubbed of anything to do with Sensata and Magnum. The long on the site layouts of the system with Magnum components now are just arrows going to the blank area.

Have any of the Volta system on their vans heard anything about it? I am sure Volta knew about it coming a long time ago, but it is still going to cost Volta a bunch to change it all to other parts.

I just looked at Volta Power Systems web site and they still have links to spec sheets for the Sensata Dimensions inverter.

https://voltapowersystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/VPS-Low-Profile-Inverter-Data-Sheet-v5.pdf

However Volta has recently indicated they are having some financial issues and have stopped supporting their 3-year warranty. They have pushed the warranty support burden to the RV manufacturer that are using their systems, like Winnebago, Storyteller Overland and Airstream.

I wonder if these issues are related?

 

[booster]

I just looked at Volta Power Systems web site and they still have links to spec sheets for the Sensata Dimensions inverter.

https://voltapowersystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/VPS-Low-Profile-Inverter-Data-Sheet-v5.pdf

However Volta has recently indicated they are having some financial issues and have stopped supporting their 3-year warranty. They have pushed the warranty support burden to the RV manufacturer that are using their systems, like Winnebago, Storyteller Overland and Airstream.

I wonder if these issues are related?

I hadn't heard that, or much else, about Volta for quite a while.

Are they still producing units for the OEM vans? I would think the OEMs would be getting mighty nervous about the possibility that they are installing orphans in their new sales. Add on the no warranty with Volta and it sure doesn't sound good for the customers at all.

How many Volta units do you thing there are in field at this point?

If they are short of funds and won't be able to get the inverter chargers much longer, they could be in tough shape. No money or time to do whatever design and integration it would take to switch to another brand of inverter charger.

 

[Boxster1971]

I hadn't heard that, or much else, about Volta for quite a while.

Are they still producing units for the OEM vans? I would think the OEMs would be getting mighty nervous about the possibility that they are installing orphans in their new sales. Add on the no warranty with Volta and it sure doesn't sound good for the customers at all.

How many Volta units do you thing there are in field at this point?

If they are short of funds and won't be able to get the inverter chargers much longer, they could be in tough shape. No money or time to do whatever design and integration it would take to switch to another brand of inverter charger.

There are thousands of Volta systems in the field. Airstream, a smaller user, has several hundred in field and is still installing them as far as I know. Winnebago probably has the most systems in the field, followed by Storyteller Overland.

Lithionics has already developed a plug-and-play upgrade that enhances the existing Volta setup — no complete overhaul needed.

Volta Battery Support | Lithionics Upgrade

Worried about your Volta battery warranty? Upgrade with Lithionics for smarter charging, diagnostics, and complete system support.

lithionics.com

 

[booster]

There are thousands of Volta systems in the field. Airstream, a smaller user, has several hundred in field and is still installing them as far as I know. Winnebago probably has the most systems in the field, followed by Storyteller Overland.

Lithionics has already developed a plug-and-play upgrade that enhances the existing Volta setup — no complete overhaul needed.

Volta Battery Support | Lithionics Upgrade

Worried about your Volta battery warranty? Upgrade with Lithionics for smarter charging, diagnostics, and complete system support.

lithionics.com

Thanks Boxster, that is very interesting information, and I think a very good, and smart, move by Lithionics.

They appear to be dealing mainly with alternator charging and don't mention if their controller does any control of the inverter/charger and/or solar controller. The alternator charging is probably the one with most issues along with communications, which they may address pretty completely, and also is most important to users once they get the system to actually run at all. With the Magnum thing going on, Lithionics may go after that part also, but then they would have to go inside the forbidden box to install it. Once they got that far, they could put an entire Lithionics system in the box and only use the batteries, which are said to hold up OK.

Are you considering any of this at this point or doing a wait and see unless you have a failure?

 

[Boxster1971]

Thanks Boxster, that is very interesting information, and I think a very good, and smart, move by Lithionics.

They appear to be dealing mainly with alternator charging and don't mention if their controller does any control of the inverter/charger and/or solar controller. The alternator charging is probably the one with most issues along with communications, which they may address pretty completely, and also is most important to users once they get the system to actually run at all. With the Magnum thing going on, Lithionics may go after that part also, but then they would have to go inside the forbidden box to install it. Once they got that far, they could put an entire Lithionics system in the box and only use the batteries, which are said to hold up OK.

Are you considering any of this at this point or doing a wait and see unless you have a failure?

I’m not doing anything to modify my Volta system now. I had the Power Distribution Hub replaced last year under warranty because the alternator charging was not working. I did the Airstream Technical Service Bulletin 200 last year to update all the firmware and install a new Volta display and a patch cable. I got great support from the Volta technicians, but not help from Airstream. They just wanted me to take it to a dealer over three hours away and have me leave the van with them for weeks. My systems are working fine now. Just gathering info in case I have future failures.

 

[booster]

I’m not doing anything to modify my Volta system now. I had the Power Distribution Hub replaced last year under warranty because the alternator charging was not working. I did the Airstream Technical Service Bulletin 200 last year to update all the firmware and install a new Volta display and a patch cable. I got great support from the Volta technicians, but not help from Airstream. They just wanted me to take it to a dealer over three hours away and have me leave the van with them for weeks. My systems are working fine now. Just gathering info in case I have future failures.

It may be about something different, but when I was looking at the upgrade Lithionics parts you mentioned I also ran across a bunch of posts on another forum about how their systems got bricked by some Volta upgrade that they had done. I think they were done at a dealer, though. Did you do the TSB work yourself with Volta guidance?

 

[Boxster1971]

It may be about something different, but when I was looking at the upgrade Lithionics parts you mentioned I also ran across a bunch of posts on another forum about how their systems got bricked by some Volta upgrade that they had done. I think they were done at a dealer, though. Did you do the TSB work yourself with Volta guidance?

Yes - I did the TSB upgrade myself with help from Volta and Firefly. When I tried to get the Firefly firmware upgrade files from Airstream they refused to help me and got offended when I told them I could do the TSB upgrade quicker than a dealer. I convinced Firefly to send me the firmware update files after Airstream refused to help me. I’m a retired flight test engineer and have tested, modified and troubleshot systems much more complicated than anything on an RV.

 

[booster]

Yes - I did the TSB upgrade myself with help from Volta and Firefly. When I tried to get the Firefly firmware upgrade files from Airstream they refused to help me and got offended when I told them I could do the TSB upgrade quicker than a dealer. I convinced Firefly to send me the firmware update files after Airstream refused to help me. I’m a retired flight test engineer and have tested, modified and troubleshot systems much more complicated than anything on an RV.

Did you have to go into the "magic box"?

Having the background and experience to do this kind of stuff sure can simplify things when problems come up and dealers and manufacturers bail on you.

 

[Boxster1971]

Did you have to go into the "magic box"?

Having the background and experience to do this kind of stuff sure can simplify things when problems come up and dealers and manufacturers bail on you.

I did not open the PDH as that would void the warranty. The Airstream TSB called for changing the inverter fuse inside the PDH from 100A to 175A, but the technician from Volta said that wasn’t really necessary. I did have to fix an issue with the Victron Solar controller inside the replacement PDU. I was able to do the repair through one of the vent slots on the PDH. There was a control cable not plugged into the Victron solar unit that made the system do weird things. I sent the information on the fix to the Volta technician and I think that was how I gained their confidence that I could do my own work.

 

[booster]

Excellent information, thanks.

 

[avanti]

I did not open the PDH as that would void the warranty.

Just for the record, repairing a device you own does NOT "void" its warranty, at least not in the US. Illegal. Those "warranty void if seal broken" stickers are nonsense and contrary to law.

 

[Boxster1971]

Just for the record, repairing a device you own does NOT "void" its warranty, at least not in the US. Illegal. Those "warranty void if seal broken" stickers are nonsense and contrary to law.

Makes no difference now as Volta has said they no longer support their warranty. I’ll open the Power Distribution Hub if I need to in the future.

 

[booster]

Magnum will soon be available for, possibly, most of the Magnum and Dimension products.

Common thing in other shutdowns was used and product rights, names, tech, etc is now at a new company started by ex Magnum employees.

Too late for me to get a replacement, but should help some others if it all works out. Many of these buyouts don't survive based on what I have seen, but I hope they can make it. Manufacturing all said to back in US and based in Minnesota where the where made before Sensata got in on it.

DMX Power Aquires New Product Lines | Magnum Dimensions

www.magnum-dimensions.com