NHTSA Complaint #11702351 — 2024 WINNEBAGO EKKO

The 2024 Winnebago Ekko Ford Transit base includes standard a second alternator in the engine bay manufactured by Balmer and installed by Winnebago to charge the house batteries, in this case two 320amp batteries manufactured by Lithionics. A service recall was completed by Winnebago Authorized Dealer in 6/2025 to reduce the charge capacity based on prior failures and fires in the alternator. Our vehicle has 26,000 miles and have had no indication of failure. After an 80 mile drive, we smelled burning electrics and smoke came from under the hood. I applied a fire extinguisher from underneath on the alternator to stop the burning and disconnected the alternator from the electrical system. I am aware of this happening to many additional owners via a group forum. Ultimately, it appears Winnebago has change suppliers of this alternator, but those with the original are subject to this risk. Also, many have replaced on their own or outside of the dealer network due to the lengthy time to replace so they need to have a mechanism to reimburse for those expenses. Thank you.