Electric slide will not extend

[ram22]

*** UPDATE: I went to bed and woke up and tried the switch again and the slide extended electrically. WTH! What does this mean? Nothing else changed. I’m in an RV Park in my trailer.

I just retracted my dinette slide on a 2015 North Trail 22FBS and now it will not extend. No motor noise at all. My trailer is level and battery shows fully charged and I am connected to shore power. This is actually a chronic problem and sometimes it will not retract from fully extended. I end up having to use the flexible bit on a cordless drill to manually move the slide. It’s as if loose wiring or c/b tripped but I’ve checked switch and everything else electrical works normal. There is no c/b for the slide other than the automatic c/b near the batteries. Always fails at full travel so I feel like it’s a limit switch type problem. I called Heartland a year ago and they just gave me some common sense things to check, loose wiring, loose connections at switch, thermal c/b bad, etc. It’s intermittent so hard to isolate problem. Sometimes slide extends and retracts normal. I’m trying to remember but Heartland might have said there are no limit switches, like on a garage door. As soon as I hear motor start to strain I immediately let off the switch. Why does it seem like there is no power at this motor right now?

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[carl.swoyer]

I just retracted my dinette slide on a 2015 North Trail 22FBS and now it will not extend. No motor noise at all. My trailer is level and battery shows fully charged and I am connected to shore power. This is actually a chronic problem and sometimes it will not retract from fully extended. I end up having to use the flexible bit on a cordless drill to manually move the slide. It’s as if loose wiring or c/b tripped but I’ve checked switch and everything else electrical works normal. There is no c/b for the slide other than the automatic c/b near the batteries. Always fails at full travel so I feel like it’s a limit switch type problem. I called Heartland a year ago and they just gave me some common sense things to check, loose wiring, loose connections at switch, thermal c/b bad, etc. It’s intermittent so hard to isolate problem. Sometimes slide extends and retracts normal. I’m trying to remember but Heartland might have said there are no limit switches, like on a garage door. As soon as I hear motor start to strain I immediately let off the switch. Why does it seem like there is no power at this motor right now?

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Have you tested it with a meter?
Test the power at the connection just before the motor. You're going to have to have someone press and hold the button. If you have confirmed 12 Volt's to the motor then look for an in line fuse. Possibly an in-line auto reset breaker tripping.

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[cookie]

You mentioned that Heartland said possible bad breaker. Did you change the breaker? They do go bad by getting weak. It's about a $5 item.
Might help.

Peace
Dave

 

[danemayer]

Something to try at a time when the motor won't turn: manually turn the motor 1/8 - 1/4 turn. If it then operates normally, there may be a problem with the motor having a dead spot internally.

 

[ram22]

Have you tested it with a meter?
Test the power at the connection just before the motor. You're going to have to have someone press and hold the button. If you have confirmed 12 Volt's to the motor then look for an in line fuse. Possibly an in-line auto reset breaker tripping.

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The motor is not accessible with the slide retracted. I can barely reach across the top of the slide with the drill and flexible bit and get the end of the bit into the fitting in the motor.


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[ram22]

Something to try at a time when the motor won't turn: manually turn the motor 1/8 - 1/4 turn. If it then operates normally, there may be a problem with the motor having a dead spot internally.

Heartland mentioned that possibility. I have tried to resume electric operation after starting manual retraction/extension with still no electric operation. That also kind of eliminates limit switch type problems.
*** I have a new development. I’ll try to update my post!


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[TedS]

The switch is going bad giving intermittent contact. Or a connector to the switch is coming loose and making intermittent connection.

 

[wdk450]

I haven't heard of any limit switches on landing gear, rear stabilizers, or slide mechanisms - in short on ANY of the major electromechanical Heartland systems. You may want to splice in some wires to the motor feed wires to bring out for accessible test points when the slide is out, to help with troubleshooting when it doesn't work again. You may have to "bite the bullet" and just replace the motor (expensive) to see if this helps with the intermittent problem. Get some numbers off of the motor, or look up the slide manufacturer's part number for the motor, or get the part number from Heartland service dept (have your VIN ready when you call them), and do some internet searches to find a cheaper source for the same motor (E-Bay has a lot of these). Lippert routinely charges about $400 for a motor you can get for about $200 on E-Bay.

BTW, the lack of limit switches on electric motor drive heavy electromechanical RV systems can let owners keep the operating switches depressed after the motor has stopped due to mechanical limits being reached. This operating current through a stopped DC motor commutator can easily burn a non-conducting spot into the motor commutator and make the motor unreliable as you have described. Time delay circuit breakers on such motor electrical circuits can allow the burning damage to be done before the breaker finally trips.

Good luck with your frustrating intermittent electrical problem!

 

[danemayer]

*** UPDATE: I went to bed and woke up and tried the switch again and the slide extended electrically. WTH! What does this mean? Nothing else changed. I’m in an RV Park in my trailer.

Given this, I'd replace the switch. Switches are inexpensive and readily available at RV dealers, marine dealers, Amazon, etc.

When you start to pull the switch away from the wall, take a clear picture of the wires so you know where they go.

 

[ram22]

You mentioned that Heartland said possible bad breaker. Did you change the breaker? They do go bad by getting weak. It's about a $5 item.
Might help.

Peace
Dave

There is no separate cb for slide. That auto cb you’re talking about is for entire 12V DC system and everything else has power.


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[ram22]

Given this, I'd replace the switch. Switches are inexpensive and readily available at RV dealers, marine dealers, Amazon, etc.

When you start to pull the switch away from the wall, take a clear picture of the wires so you know where they go.

One of the first things I tried was to pull that switch out and reattach the wire nuts. Obviously no help. The few times I thought to jump the switch, I tried the switch first and found it working again!


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[ram22]

Considering my update, slide worked normal the next morning without otherwise manually moving the slide, could burned commutator/bad motor still explain my intermittent problem?


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[danemayer]

One of the first things I tried was to pull that switch out and reattach the wire nuts. Obviously no help. The few times I thought to jump the switch, I tried the switch first and found it working again!


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Well, if you haven't replaced the switch, might be worth giving it a go.

 

[wdk450]

Considering my update, slide worked normal the next morning without otherwise manually moving the slide, could burned commutator/bad motor still explain my intermittent problem?


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Replacing the switch would be a cheaper and easier thing to try before swapping out the motor. Switch contacts can burn too and become intermittent, especially with high initial startup current.

 

[2psnapod2]

We have had to change the switch.

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[ram22]

We have had to change the switch.

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Maybe I’ll start by swapping the Awning and Slide switches.

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[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Thats what I'd do. Swap switches. That will eliminate that possibility.

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