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Rob Hentges · 06-30-2022, 08:11 PM

I also posted on the Winnebago forum, but thought I may have better luck here.
New, 2022 Winnebago Boldt with the Pure3 Volta lithium power system. I have it plugged in to my 30amp service at home and the Volta system has no signs of life. It appears dead and is not charging up. Anybody know what I may be missing? There is a chance that the power system was completely drained. My friend has only had the RV for about a week. We can’t figure out how to get the Volta to come to life. Something simple, or something wrong? The dealer is far away and has not been helpful.

Danny969 · 07-01-2022, 07:24 PM

Are you sure it's turned on? There's a key lock on the battery pack you need to turn clockwise to arm the system. Then, you need to push the green button on the Volta control panel to turn the system on.

Rob Hentges · 07-01-2022, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny969

Are you sure it's turned on? There's a key lock on the battery pack you need to turn clockwise to arm the system. Then, you need to push the green button on the Volta control panel to turn the system on.

Maybe we figured it out. I have a very basic 30 amp RV surge protector. I removed that and plugged the RV in without the surge protector and it seems that was the issue. I’ll know tomorrow.

Danny969 · 07-01-2022, 07:45 PM

FYI, I spoke to Volta a while back. I could not get a straight answer out of them on using an EMS. They seemed to recommend not using one as it may interfere with the system. They wouldn't say yes, use one. I don't think a plain surge protector would be a problem since all it does is pass power through until a high voltage spike occurs, but you never know.

Rob Hentges · 07-01-2022, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny969

FYI, I spoke to Volta a while back. I could not get a straight answer out of them on using an EMS. They seemed to recommend not using one as it may interfere with the system. They wouldn't say yes, use one. I don't think a plain surge protector would be a problem since all it does is pass power through until a high voltage spike occurs, but you never know.

With the surge protector inline, the 110v things in the coach worked, except the Volta wouldn’t charge or show any life. All we did was remove the protector and it worked. I will add that my friend had a protector, and I had a protector. The Volta would not work with either of them in use.

Danny969 · 07-02-2022, 08:03 AM

Interesting. Volta protects itself from over/under voltage, open ground, reverse polarity, etc so there's no need for an EMS. I'm not sure if Volta protects itself from surges, but if Winnie installed it right they should have put a fuse on the 30 amp in line to protect from surges. Are you able to find a fuse or breaker on the 30 amp in line that might be tripped? Are you sure the outlet your using is wired correctly? Try another outlet. Also, check the max branch amps setting on the Volta display. It should say 30 amps. If not, you'll need to change that to 30 amps. It should match the shore power rating (e.g. if you're plugged into a 20 amp outlet it should say 20, 30 amp outlet 30, 50 amp outlet 50, etc.

If none of this works, something is probably not connected or configured correctly and Winnie needs to take care of it.

Rob Hentges · 07-02-2022, 08:22 AM

UPDATE: the Volta batteries are now fully charged. The only thing done differently was to eliminate my surge protector. With the surge protector, the Volta was 100% dead and unresponsive. Removed the surge protector and everything seems fine now. I’ve used that surge protector and that outlet at my house for two years with no problems on my Newmar Baystar, so something about the protector that the Winnebago Boldt does not like.

Persistent · 07-02-2022, 11:48 AM

There are "Surge Protectors" that only clamp high voltage spikes to ground. However, most RV "Surge" protectors do additional analysis and protect against other nasty failures.

The RV surge protectors are electronic devices with microprocessor logic and control circuits. They hopefully do what their designers intended. It is complicated and unintended interactions can happen when new electronic systems are introduced.

The Volta system is the new kid on the block is therefore morally responsible for making its systems work with legacy systems. Of course behaving morally is a choice.

That said, using an RV surge protector with a 30 amp 120 volt shore power system is not all that important. Risk is minimal, although there are various regions like Florida that have special problems.

The same cannot be said for 50 amp 240 volt systems. The other things that surge protectors protect against have higher risk and higher cost of failure.