Any secret troubleshooting techniques for the HappyJac bed lift?

[ironpumper]

This is on a FUEL-250.

I was supposed to go on vacation the end of this week so I went out to
the trailer to prep it to load my Spyder (3 wheeled motorcycle) and
the bed was dead up/down. Checked all the fuses, seemed ok.

On the plus side, that trip has been cancelled for non FUEL-250 reasons
so I'm not in a super hurry to have to fix it.

It is cold (like 20 degrees) FYI.

I started to follow the troubleshooting guide from HappyJac:

Ok, so jumped the down limiter and I could jog the motor (enough to blow
the fuse) so it's got power. I tried to jump the UP (where I want to go)
limiter and I get nothing but I'm not convinced I'm jumping all 3 pins as
it's hard to get to.

I can't get to the clutch/brake to unlock it to manually take it up/down due to
the top bed being all the way up? (Who's idea was it to put the motor/stuff on
the top - The bottom would have been much better).

Anyway, I can get at the top limiter switch so I may try jumping that. If I don't
solve it soon I'm going to remove the bed from the lift mechanisms so I can get at
stuff better.

At this point I'm suspecting the limiter module and may order a new one but am looking
for any advice/ideas folks may have.

Also, this is my first winter with it - Are the lifts sensitive to extreme cold?

Thanks for any and all advice.

John O

 

[avvidclif]

One time mine appeared dead, it would do nothing. Closer inspection found the upper bunk had a holding pin in the wrong place and the bunk was cocked. Putting the pin in the correct hole to hold the upper bunk level fixed it.

 

[LBR]

If something is jammed into the chain (like at floor level) that prevents it from moving, that will stall the mechanism also.

 

[ironpumper]

I'll double check the chain but I would think if it was jammed I'd blow the fuse (Like I did
when I overrode the down) (It's all the way down).

Thanks for all the advise though, everything helps.

 

[Lynn1130]

Did you try calling HappiJack? They are pretty good about helping. 801-544-2585. Gary is who I usually talk with but probably any one of the techs can help.

 

[LBR]

I'll double check the chain but I would think if it was jammed I'd blow the fuse

I thought the same about it blowing a fuse...

We have 2 Happi jacks in our garage....last week the rear one all of a sudden would not go down....up no problem, but not down. I had 4-5 bungee cords tossed onto the floor by one of the chains getting ready to load the toy. The tip of one metal hook was inside the vertical chain slide and hooked the chain that cause the problem. Granted I didn't hold the switch in downward position but a second each time, but it didn't pop the fuse......to my surprise!

 

[ironpumper]

Well, I finally got around to trouble shooting it. Turns out it's the wire from the switch to the controller.
I was able to move the bed both directions by jumping the switch connectors to ground first, then by
using a cable I made up between the switch and the controller. I also redid the connectors on the existing
wire (no dice either) so it is the wire. Probably was partially cut during install, or a staple was there and in
transport it cut the rest.

Problem now is no way I'm tearing up the ceiling to run a new wire so I'll move the switch over on
the cabinet right next to the bed. (A nice short wire run). Just need to make either a surface mount
box for the switch, or mount it in the side of the cabinet. Shouldn't be bad either way.