Electric Rear Stabilizer Motor

Since the Troubleshooting forum is still under development (won't take new posts), I'm putting this here.

Yesterday I removed the non-working motor from the stabilizers. I found if I cranked the armature manually a bit, then hit the switch, it would work. Let it sit for a moment, and no joy until I cranked it again. I've got it home, now, and am going to try taking it apart to see if the brushes are messed up. That motor has not seen a lot of usage since we got the trailer, so wear should not be a factor. Can't complain about it being Chinese non-quality since it was made in India (which isn't saying much, either).

If you do remove it, you will find the fitting it drives into is the same as the manual fitting on the opposite side of the stabilizers. If I can fix the motor, I just might try removing the end of the armature and turning it into a fitting for my 18V drill. Since the jacks operate fairly easily with the hand crank and I've got Ground Control jacks, having the convenience of an electric operation is probably not worth the expense of buying a new motor.

While I was out at the storage yard, I dropped the rear Ground Control jack mounts an inch closer to the ground. I think I had them a little too high. Lots of fun trying to hand-torque 12 bolts to 43 ft-lbs, sitting on the ground with a box wrench in one hand and the torque wrench in the other. Good thing I ate my Wheaties.

I also riveted a piece of rubber onto the broken FlexGuard I mentioned earlier. The way it collapses when the slide is retracted leaves no wonder why it broke so quickly. For now, the fix is good enough for the occasional movement my slides see.

McGyver to the rescue. I pulled apart the errant motor and found that one of the brush springs was so weak that it could barely move the carbon brush. Looks like a bit of corrosion in there, as well. Guess Punjab at the India factory didn't seal it properly. So, I took a spring from a ball point pen, cut it down to where it pushed the brush without jamming it (both brushes) and reassembled it. Using my battery charger, I tried it out. WORKS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, without hesitation. Since the rig is in storage, I'll keep it in my garage until I need it next spring.

Thanks, Lippert, for supplying junk. I didn't bother contacting them because they've probably already shook the Etch-A-Sketch the warranty was written on.

JohnDar said:

McGyver to the rescue. I pulled apart the errant motor and found that one of the brush springs was so weak that it could barely move the carbon brush. Looks like a bit of corrosion in there, as well. Guess Punjab at the India factory didn't seal it properly. So, I took a spring from a ball point pen, cut it down to where it pushed the brush without jamming it (both brushes) and reassembled it. Using my battery charger, I tried it out. WORKS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, without hesitation. Since the rig is in storage, I'll keep it in my garage until I need it next spring.

Thanks, Lippert, for supplying junk. I didn't bother contacting them because they've probably already shook the Etch-A-Sketch the warranty was written on.

Click to expand...

John,
I've always been warned that sarcasm didn't come through in on-line posts, but somehow, you made it work

JohnDar said:

McGyver to the rescue. I pulled apart the errant motor and found that one of the brush springs was so weak that it could barely move the carbon brush. Looks like a bit of corrosion in there, as well. Guess Punjab at the India factory didn't seal it properly. So, I took a spring from a ball point pen, cut it down to where it pushed the brush without jamming it (both brushes) and reassembled it. Using my battery charger, I tried it out. WORKS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, without hesitation. Since the rig is in storage, I'll keep it in my garage until I need it next spring.

Thanks, Lippert, for supplying junk. I didn't bother contacting them because they've probably already shook the Etch-A-Sketch the warranty was written on.

Click to expand...

John, another job well done and thanks for making this forum fun. Trace