2022 Winnebago Ekko: whining or grinding noise

Filed Nov 2, 2025 · Electrical · FL

The Balmar alternator installed on our RV, which provides electrical power to charge the coach battery started a noticeable whine at idle, it stopped providing a charge to the coach battery, and upon further inspection, after opening the hood, we noticed a faint burning electrical smell. To confirm that the Balmar alternator was failing, I checked its electrical output to the battery, and it was not charging. I then proceeded to unplug the regulator for the alternator to see if the whine and smell were still present. They were not. Since the whine was not present with the Balmar alternator unplugged, the burning smell had dissipated, and no charge coming from the alternator when plugged in, I determined it was starting or already failed. Knowing that there have been multiple reports from other owners that their EKKO's caught fire or had severe smoke coming from the engine compartment, that was later found to be the Balmar alternator, I made the decision to leave it unplugged. I was concerned about our safety and the real possibility of a fire if we continued with it plugged in and running. This just happened to us so we have not had it looked at by a dealer or independent service center yet, but we could make it available for inspection upon request. Please note, this is the second Balmar that has failed on us in our four year ownership of this RV, and we have a friend that has had five Balmar's fail on him! Winnebago needs to be held accountable and should be required to remove and replace the Balmar alternator from all owners RV's and replace it with a more suitable and capable alternator that will provide the secondary power they advertise when they sell this model to consumers.

Filed Oct 11, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · WI

October 10, 2025. The vehicle is a 2022 Winnebago EKKO RV on a 2021 Ford Transit with 49,000 miles. The incident occurred after driving the vehicle for about 5 minutes with outside temperatures around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and noticed an unusual high pitch whine. When I opened the hood the Balmar MC-618 Alternator unit was extremely hot, smoking, and had a strong burning smell. Since the EKKO models have had numerous reports of secondary alternator/Balmar malfunctions I knew enough to disable the alternator by unplugging the 4 pin connector on the Balmar 618 regulator before traveling any further. The following morning I plugged the Balmar unit back in and the whining sound and burning smell immediately returned. There is a the federal safety agency Safety Recall 23V‑234, Campaign # 174 EKKO 12V Charging System, sent out by Winnebago for this very safety issue due to fires. This recall was completed during the time that the original owner had this 2022 Winnebago EKKO (prior to our purchasing this 2022 Winnebago EKKO in June 2024). There have been numerous failures on Balmar units that have had the campaign #174 recall completed, including ones performed at the factory. The Winnebago fix is obviously not working and is still an extreme fire issue.

Filed Dec 15, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · WA

The vehicle is a 2021 Ford Transit with a 2022 Winnebago Ekko RV. The incident occurred when I started the engine and noticed an unusual high pitch whine. When I opened the hood the Balmar unit was extremely hot with a strong burning smell. Since the Ekko models have had numerous reports of secondary alternator / Balmar malfunctions I knew enough to disable the alternator by unplugging the 4 pin connector on the Balmar 618 regulator before traveling any further. The following morning I plugged the Balmar unit back in place to see if the high pitch sound reoccurred. The sound immediately returned and I used my infrared thermometer which read 438 degrees Fahrenheit on the Balmar alternator. The Lithionics battery app indicated the batteries were 90 percent full but would no longer charge, leaving me only shore power to recharge the batteries. There is a the federal safety agency Safety Recall 23V‑234, Campaign # 174 Ekko 12V Charging System, sent out by Winnebago for this very safety issue due to fires. We had this recall completed at the Forest City Iowa Winnebago factory in April of 2024. There have been numerous failures on Balmar units that have had the campaign #174 recall completed, including ones performed at the factory. The Winnebago fix is obviously not working and is still an extreme fire issue.

Filed Nov 21, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · CO

The Winnebago factory installed secondary alternator (manufactured by Balmar) responsible for charging the batteries in my motorhome started to whine and overheat. Luckily the week prior, I had read about another EKKO owner experiencing the same symptoms before it created enough smoke that caused the driver to immediately pull off the road and extinguish the engine bay with a fire extinguisher. In an effort to avoid that, I disconnected the Balmer until it was able to be replaced. This original problem was supposed to be addressed in recall 174. Over a year later the recall supposedly addressed the issues by moving the regulator out of the engine bay, replacing the Balmer and a major reworking of the electrical system. After multiple components failed during the recall repair, my EKKO took over 6 weeks to get a working solution at a Winnebago dealership. That was a year ago. 10 days ago the same symptoms of whining and overheating returned resulting in me returning to the same dealer with them diagnosing the Balmer as defective and a health risk. Had I not disconnected the Balmer it would’ve overheated and resulted in melting the primary drive belt and potentially damaging the engine and other major components as documented by numerous other EKKO owners.

Filed Sep 28, 2024 · Electrical · AZ

Winnebago adds a 2nd alternator to the engine for charging the coach/house Lithionics batteries. This 2nd alternator is a Balmer brand. The Balmer alternator suddenly developed a high pitched whine. Once whining it ceased to charge the batteries. The Balmer regulator begins to smoke quickly once the alternator is whining. We’ve been told to disconnect the regulator quickly or a fire can happen (we’ve been told others have had fires). This is our 2nd Balmer alternator failure. The first failed alternator was replaced at the factory end of July 2024 (apx 60 days ago). Changing the alternator is not addressing the root cause and the danger of a fire. Winnebago and Balmer have been aware of this risk for months and have not been able to identify the root cause.

Filed Aug 1, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · FL

Balmar alternator or regulator fails to work as designed. No charging of batteries when idling or driving. This is a Safety Issue because fires have been reported as a result of these electrical system failures. Lithionics (battery) app confirms no charge reaching the batteries, see attached screenshots. Potential Risk of Fire when not working properly as evidenced by others with Balmar failures as reported to the federal safety agency. This is the 3rd failure we have encountered: 1st failure confirmed by Winnebago, and was replaced with like parts. 2nd failure occurred just prior to the 2023 recall, and was addressed by Winnebago Factory Service during recall by replacing parts again. 3rd failure occurred today. The current failure happened when the unit (2022 Winnebago EKKO) was parked in our driveway, not while travelling. Upon starting the vehicle, the alternator emitted a loud whining sound and subsequently provided no charging to the batteries. We are aware of the symptoms based upon our previous failures, and know of others who also had a Balmar failure after having the prior recall completed. We desire a lasting permanent solution for this problem as it has not been adequately addressed by the previous Winnebago recall.

Filed Jul 27, 2023 · Electrical · 23,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2022 Winnebago Ekko RV built on a 2021 Ford Transit Chassis. The contact stated that the Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) system had stopped functioning. Additionally, the contact stated that upon starting the RV, the RV made abnormal whining sounds and there was a strong burning odor inside the cabin of the RV. The contact stated that she determined that the secondary alternator had failed after investigating the issue online. The contact stated that she opened the hood and disconnected the secondary alternator by disconnecting all the alternator pins from the regulator. The contact stated that the A/C foam insulation close to the alternator had melted and was burned. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she had received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V234000 (Electrical System), that the contact related to the failure; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and scheduled an appointment with the dealer for November. The dealer was notified of the failure. The RV was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.