Xantrex: inability to update firmware [updated]

[Jim_Oker]

[Update: after politely explaining my current frustration to Xantrex in email and asking them how quickly they would expect to turn around my inverter if I send it in to them to troubleshoot in their shop, they emailed me telling me they're quite backed up in that sort of tech  troubleshooting  work (you  think!!???) so it would take a while to turn around, so they're instead going to ship me a replacement  unit and RMA info for  sending my unit back once I receive the replacement. I'm hoping it's fairly straightforward to remove and replace  - looks likely to just be a matter of shutting off its breaker and being disconnected from incoming power and then taking it off its mounts and removing a few wires (looks like I'll have to remove a panel to get at the connections). I will review the manual and  have asked Jason Essary for their take on steps and any warnings as well. I will reply back to this thread once I've dealt with the replacement. I do not know whether  Jason  intervened with Xantrex on my behalf or not, but in any case wanted to quickly  update with this info in case anyone else has this as an outstanding problem. If you're not sure, you  may want to try updating your  firmware if its out of date (the  manual discusses  how  to see the current  versions) and consider whether you want it fixed if you're under warranty and yours also won't update! /update]

After months of grindingly slow responses from Xantrex and Oliver for the E20 issue on the Xantrex remote, and after finding that my unit fails at attempts to update its firmware, I've finally been told by Xantrex to ship them my inverter so they can troubleshoot it on their bench. I'm not super happy about having this removed from my trailer for an indeterminate amount of time particuarly given how long it seemed to have taken them to even start to address the issue with Oliver so I'm wondering whether anyone else here has had the same issue and if so what steps did you have to take to get it resolved? Did you remove your inverter yourself and ship it in? Have it done at a shop? Or did Xantrex send you a replacement in exchange for your malfunctioning unit? 

I'd like to have a sense of how this was dealt with for and by anyone else who's already dealt with this to have an idea of what I should be trying to negotiate here.

[rant] I get that the components in the trailer will have troubles from time to time but damn this was broken out of the box and was clearly a known problem for m onths before I took delivery so it would have seemed that Oliver would have likely been able to easily know whether they were delivering me a defective unit before my delivery date. And given that it clearly didn't work from day one I would have hoped to have gotten to this point much faster. I hope this is an outlier in terms of service experiences in my future with this trailer. Otherwise things have gone mostly fine with my trailer but damn this is a big pebble in my shoe. [/rant]

[Ray and Susan Huff]

2 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

[Update: after politely explaining my current frustration to Xantrex in email and asking them how quickly they would expect to turn around my inverter if I send it in to them to troubleshoot in their shop, they emailed me telling me they're quite backed up in that sort of tech  troubleshooting  work (you  think!!???) so it would take a while to turn around, so they're instead going to ship me a replacement  unit and RMA info for  sending my unit back once I receive the replacement. I'm hoping it's fairly straightforward to remove and replace  - looks likely to just be a matter of shutting off its breaker and being disconnected from incoming power and then taking it off its mounts and removing a few wires (looks like I'll have to remove a panel to get at the connections). I will review the manual and  have asked Jason Essary for their take on steps and any warnings as well. I will reply back to this thread once I've dealt with the replacement. I do not know whether  Jason  intervened with Xantrex on my behalf or not, but in any case wanted to quickly  update with this info in case anyone else has this as an outstanding problem. If you're not sure, you  may want to try updating your  firmware if its out of date (the  manual discusses  how  to see the current  versions) and consider whether you want it fixed if you're under warranty and yours also won't update! /update]

After months of grindingly slow responses from Xantrex and Oliver for the E20 issue on the Xantrex remote, and after finding that my unit fails at attempts to update its firmware, I've finally been told by Xantrex to ship them my inverter so they can troubleshoot it on their bench. I'm not super happy about having this removed from my trailer for an indeterminate amount of time particuarly given how long it seemed to have taken them to even start to address the issue with Oliver so I'm wondering whether anyone else here has had the same issue and if so what steps did you have to take to get it resolved? Did you remove your inverter yourself and ship it in? Have it done at a shop? Or did Xantrex send you a replacement in exchange for your malfunctioning unit? 

I'd like to have a sense of how this was dealt with for and by anyone else who's already dealt with this to have an idea of what I should be trying to negotiate here.

[rant] I get that the components in the trailer will have troubles from time to time but damn this was broken out of the box and was clearly a known problem for m onths before I took delivery so it would have seemed that Oliver would have likely been able to easily know whether they were delivering me a defective unit before my delivery date. And given that it clearly didn't work from day one I would have hoped to have gotten to this point much faster. I hope this is an outlier in terms of service experiences in my future with this trailer. Otherwise things have gone mostly fine with my trailer but damn this is a big pebble in my shoe. [/rant]

We had the exact same issue with our 3000w Xantrex inverter (hull #699); apparently ours came from the same mold as yours 😏 There must have been a batch of bad components when ours were assembled - namely the communication board.

Here is our story:

The inverter/remote panel functioned fine the first couple of days, while we were still in Tennessee.  The "20" code did not pop up until we were headed West for home (of course!).  When we returned home, we read posts and decided we needed to update the firmware; Oliver concurred and Jason emailed use the update file.

After multiple attempts to install the update, and phone support with Oliver, they ran out of ideas at which point Jason suggested we contact Xantrex.  This was back in March, I believe.  At any rate, Xantrex was not inundated with support requests at the time.  They spent a lot of time on the phone with me trying to get to the bottom of the issue - multiple reboots, checking communication cables and connections, etc.  They finally decided the inverter had a bad communication board; inverter/charger itself works fine and the display on the inverter was functioning.  Using it without the remote panel, wasn't an acceptable option, since it it hard to get to the inverter and even harder to see to display to monitor power.

At that time, Xantrex wanted us to send the inverter in for repair, estimating a 2 week turnaround.  I called Oliver because that would put us without power for a long period of time.  Jason tried to convince Xantrex to send us a new inverter, but they declined that option.  Thus, Oliver stepped in and sent us a new one from their stock and instructions on how to install.  We then returned the defective unit.  I will say, the bad inverter was no fault of Oliver since it worked when we took delivery and they were not yet aware of the "20" code problem.

The installation was easy, though removing the attaching screws was a bit tricky (I suggest you put something on the "floor" under the inverter in the event one of the screws is dropped; the voice of experience speaking).  Oliver offered to walk us through the install, but I had them email written instructions and, being it was pretty straightforward, we attempted it on our own and had success.

Kudos to Oliver, for going above and beyond to keep us on the road.  We had another component warranty problem with the Dometic stove; On a trip to Utah, one of the burners detached from the stove.  We had to take it to a Dometic Service Center (2 1/2 hr drive, one way from home), for them to diagnose.  They determined they were unable to repair the stove and would have to submit a request for replacement under warranty.  The service center kept us posted, but were not getting a prompt response from Dometic, which is to be expected with current demands.  All the while, Jason and I kept in touch with the situation (I had submitted a service ticket).   Last week, the service center called and wanted us to bring the trailer back in because they needed more pictures for the warranty submission.  They tried to tell me Oliver was requesting the pictures, which was not true; I asked and Jason had not contacted them about this.  So, I expect someone in the Dometic Service Center didn't get or send the necessary pics.  I was a bit abrupt with them - expecting us to return, only to have the stove taken out again for inspection, then have to return again (who knows when) to have a replacement installed.  I don't know if this is Dometic's way to get you to give up and just buy a new stove (if you can find one) or simply an honest mistake.  At any rate, they said they could fit us in to get it taken care of.

At this point, Jason stepped up and said he was certain Dometic would (eventually) honor the warranty, but knew they were taking a long while to processes warranties.  However, making multiple trips back and forth to Medford and being without a stove was not acceptable.  As we speak, a new stove is on the way from Oliver.  Jason spoke with the Dometic Service Center, telling them he was sending us a new stove.  And, since they had already planned to remove the defective stove and put it back in, he expected them to do the installation at that time.  Oliver is covering the cost and will process the warranty for reimbursement at their end.

If you need to know more about the inverter install, I might be able to locate my notes 😇

[SeaDawg]

@Jim_Oker I'm really sorry this has been so frustrating for you.

I tried googling e20 again, expecting suggestions to come up on sailing and cruising forums that I use, and I got nothing. 

I sincerely hope this was a short term, isolated problem,  and sorry it happened to you. And Susan.

[Jim_Oker]

I just heard from Jason that Mike called Xantrex after seeing their mail which is forwarded to Jason and Mike/service to push them on sending me the replacement. They’ve been working to get Xantrex to do this as a standard response when the issue is isolated to the inability to update rather than having Xantrex have customers be stuck with no inverter for some time. But it seems it still takes some pushing from both customers and Oliver service, FYI.

 It sounds like Susan and I aren’t the only customers to have gotten a bad unit and at least one other customer has had Xantrex agree to provide a replacement (with a push from Oliver as in my case). 

Again, I hope this info is helpful if anyone else here is dealing with this issue. 
 

Oh and thanks Susan for the offer to look for your notes. Jason told me today that when I get the replacement inverter they I should call service and someone will walk me through the relatively simple steps of disconnecting it without electrocuting myself. So I think I’m set. 

[minor historical note - according to a comment in this thread Oliver was aware of the Error 20 issue at least a week before our Dec 18 delivery date, for what little  it's worth]

[Jim_Oker]

One other  comment - if you deal with Xantrex they will want the serial  number. It's  of course on the side of the unit that faces the floor, BUT that side is a few inches above the stuff below so I was able to get a readable photo of it with my phone (with flash turned on) after blindly taking about 15 photos of various spots along that side. 

[BackofBeyond]

37 minutes ago, Jim_Oker said:

One other  comment - if you deal with Xantrex they will want the serial  number. It's  of course on the side of the unit that faces the floor, BUT that side is a few inches above the stuff below so I was able to get a readable photo of it with my phone (with flash turned on) after blindly taking about 15 photos of various spots along that side. 

I had to laugh at this - a friend had a problem with his Xantrex - I was trying to help - and standing on your head with a light to get the serial number -was something I remember.

Xantrex was very good to work with in this case - and eventually sent a replacement.  have nothing but praise based upon my experience. 

[Jim_Oker]

6 minutes ago, BackofBeyond said:

I had to laugh at this - a friend had a problem with his Xantrex - I was trying to help - and standing on your head with a light to get the serial number -was something I remember.

Xantrex was very good to work with in this case - and eventually sent a replacement.  have nothing but praise based upon my experience. 

Yeah to be clear I don't blame Xantrex for trying the "send us your unit and we'll look at it" mode as the first response. I just wanted to let folks know that at least in my (and it appears one other's based on Jason's comments) case it was possible to get a better third response from them (the second reply to my asking  how fast their turnaround was and whether they could send me a replacement instead was "maybe you  have a warranty repair place near you..." which wasn't going to help afaict)  with some background nudges from Oliver. Earlier in this half year plus adventure I was a little surprised that it took multiple months for a decent answer from them (relayed to me via Oliver) on things to even try to address the  Error 20 problem, but I get that some problems are tough to track down and offer a semi-reliable fix for, and I'm sure they've been taking orders faster they can service them downstream in the current market environment.

And yeah, when I get the replacement unit I'll be writing down the inverter's serial number in my maintenance notebook before I mount it in the trailer!!

[Mike and Carol]

I just replaced my inverter before leaving on this trip.  The serial number is on a sticker on the outside of the box of the new inverter.  Peel it off and stick it on the manual.  I did the phone picture thing when trouble shooting my old one and Xantrex wanted the serial number.  Oliver should put it in the owners book.  Mike

[Ray and Susan Huff]

4 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

I just heard from Jason that Mike called Xantrex after seeing their mail which is forwarded to Jason and Mike/service to push them on sending me the replacement. They’ve been working to get Xantrex to do this as a standard response when the issue is isolated to the inability to update rather than having Xantrex have customers be stuck with no inverter for some time. But it seems it still takes some pushing from both customers and Oliver service, FYI.

 It sounds like Susan and I aren’t the only customers to have gotten a bad unit and at least one other customer has had Xantrex agree to provide a replacement (with a push from Oliver as in my case). 

Again, I hope this info is helpful if anyone else here is dealing with this issue. 
 

Oh and thanks Susan for the offer to look for your notes. Jason told me today that when I get the replacement inverter they I should call service and someone will walk me through the relatively simple steps of disconnecting it without electrocuting myself. So I think I’m set. 

[minor historical note - according to a comment in this thread Oliver was aware of the Error 20 issue at least a week before our Dec 18 delivery date, for what little  it's worth]

Our delivery was Dec 7 and we weren't told of any problem.  I do know that when Oliver discovered there was a problem and told Xantrex about the 20 error, Xantrex programmers had to do some work to get the firmware update to Oliver.  That may have taken some time.  I'm afraid to look and see what firmware our new inverter has.  It's working fine, so I'll be the proverbial ostrich with my head in the sand 😏

[Ray and Susan Huff]

2 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

One other  comment - if you deal with Xantrex they will want the serial  number. It's  of course on the side of the unit that faces the floor, BUT that side is a few inches above the stuff below so I was able to get a readable photo of it with my phone (with flash turned on) after blindly taking about 15 photos of various spots along that side. 

Tip: If I remember correctly, I located the sticker using a mirror, then put the phone on selfie mode which put the screen facing up so I could tell if the lens was picking up the serial number.

[Jim_Oker]

35 minutes ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

selfie mode

On my phone the  selfie mode wouldn't focus that  close so I only saw heavy blur

A portable mirror would indeed be a handy thing to have for such shenanigans. I may have to buy one someday

[Ray and Susan Huff]

15 minutes ago, Jim_Oker said:

On my phone the  selfie mode wouldn't focus that  close so I only saw heavy blur

A portable mirror would indeed be a handy thing to have for such shenanigans. I may have to buy one someday

You must have an iphone lol

We have a cheap folding travel mirror I got at a yard sale.  Folds flat and takes up little space.  We've used it several times now 😏

[Ray and Susan Huff]

2 hours ago, BackofBeyond said:

I had to laugh at this - a friend had a problem with his Xantrex - I was trying to help - and standing on your head with a light to get the serial number -was something I remember.

Xantrex was very good to work with in this case - and eventually sent a replacement.  have nothing but praise based upon my experience. 

Xantrex spent a lot of time on the phone with me trouble shooting our problem, but didn't offer to send us a new inverter.  Oliver suggested the same and tried for a week but got no response from Xantrex.  At that point, Jason said we'd already been without the inverter long enough and sent us a new one.

I looked back at my emails and service ticket (85 responses!).  The 20 code was identified the first part of April.  Mid April, after we made several unsuccessful attempts to install the firmware, Oliver directed us to contact Xantrex support.  After several weeks of monitoring and trying to troubleshoot the problem over the phone, Xantrex decided our inverter had a bad communication board.  Mid-May they requested us to send the inverter in for repair, with a minimum estimated turn-around of two weeks.  When I shared this with Jason, he said that wasn't acceptable.  For a week he attempted to contact Xantrex to request they send us a new inverter, but could not get an answer.  Frustrated, he decided to simply send one from the Oliver plant.  Since we were leaving for Utah, he deferred shipment to arrive after our return.  June 9 we had the new inverter installed.

One note for anyone doing the installation:  The inverter came programmed with default settings; we had to change some settings to be appropriate for our battery and power configuration.  Jason sent me the proper settings.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

2 hours ago, Jim_Oker said:

Yeah to be clear I don't blame Xantrex for trying the "send us your unit and we'll look at it" mode as the first response. I just wanted to let folks know that at least in my (and it appears one other's based on Jason's comments) case it was possible to get a better third response from them (the second reply to my asking  how fast their turnaround was and whether they could send me a replacement instead was "maybe you  have a warranty repair place near you..." which wasn't going to help afaict)  with some background nudges from Oliver. Earlier in this half year plus adventure I was a little surprised that it took multiple months for a decent answer from them (relayed to me via Oliver) on things to even try to address the  Error 20 problem, but I get that some problems are tough to track down and offer a semi-reliable fix for, and I'm sure they've been taking orders faster they can service them downstream in the current market environment.

And yeah, when I get the replacement unit I'll be writing down the inverter's serial number in my maintenance notebook before I mount it in the trailer!!

Once installed, make sure you check the inverter programming and make sure it matches your battery/power configuration.  Ours arrived with program defaults which were not appropriate for our Lithium batteries.  Jason supplied us with the proper programming codes.

[Jim_Oker]

2 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

Once installed, make sure you check the inverter programming and make sure it matches your battery/power configuration.  Ours arrived with program defaults which were not appropriate for our Lithium batteries.  Jason supplied us with the proper programming codes.

Thanks, great advice - yeah I figured I'd better  snapshot my current settings so as to not end up with an improper set of default settings. 

[Jim_Oker]

2 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

You must have an iphone lol

Guilty as charged. 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

6 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

I just replaced my inverter before leaving on this trip.  The serial number is on a sticker on the outside of the box of the new inverter.  Peel it off and stick it on the manual.  I did the phone picture thing when trouble shooting my old one and Xantrex wanted the serial number.  Oliver should put it in the owners book.  Mike

When we purchased a new Leisure Travel Van a few years ago, it came with a list of model numbers, serial numbers, and support contact information for all components.  These were compiled as the RV was being built.  When I asked Oliver about this, they said they do not keep a record of these.  Too bad, since some of the components are "buried" where you can't get to the service tag.

[dewdev]

In my second O&M manual, which has all the component in it, I printed out a index for the book. In the index, I have placed model numbers and serical numbers.

[Mike and Carol]

8 hours ago, dewdev said:

In my second O&M manual, which has all the component in it, I printed out a index for the book. In the index, I have placed model numbers and serical numbers.

Good idea, but Oliver should be providing serial numbers for components.  Mike

[Overland]

I thought they did. My production sheet - the one that is taped to the trailer in production - had all the serial numbers for the components. Some of that made it into my folder of manuals and stuff but not all - I assumed that was just because of my rushed delivery. 

[Maverick]

When we purchased our 2015 Oliver I requested for a list of all serial numbers; when the trailer was delivered not a serial number was provided.  I had to obtain all serial number my self for product registration. 

 

[Overland]

Perhaps it was something that they were experimenting with in '17, when they were first grappling with the expanded production woes.  It makes sense to keep track of it all, and of course to provide that info to owners.  When my hull was making its way through the line, this and a few other sheets were taped to the side to keep track of these numbers, QC checks, etc.

 

They were also keeping track of a few things the old fashioned way 😂

[Jim_Oker]

That would be handy!

[Mike and Carol]

5 hours ago, Overland said:

I thought they did. My production sheet - the one that is taped to the trailer in production - had all the serial numbers for the components. Some of that made it into my folder of manuals and stuff but not all - I assumed that was just because of my rushed delivery. 

It would have been nice.  Nothing provided in 2016.  Hope they are doing it now. 

[Jim_Oker]

I found no such thing in my packet (December 2020 delivery)