Lippert Electric Stabilizing Jacks

[Barrington]

We have a 2012 NorthTrail 32BUDS Caliber Edition with Lippert Electric Stabilizing Jacks and when I went to leave on vacation recently the rear jacks would not work...nothing...not a sound out of them...

Any ideas? I googled and found something about the ground wire...however no direction as to where to find the wire.

Second...I also have no brakes...my electronic brake controller has power as when I put my foot on the truck brakes the light goes on showing me there is power at the controller but nothing happens on my trailer. Again may be the ground...any ideas as to what I should look at.

My local dealer closed a month after we purchased this trailer and the closest is about an hour away...

Any direction will help.

Thank you very much.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Barrington,

If you have no trailer brakes, try this: pull the emergency breakaway cord and see if your trailer brakes stop you from moving forward. If they don't work, the problem is on the trailer side. If they do work, the problem is on the truck side.

Considering the stabilizer problem and the brake problem together, check the cable on the negative battery terminal. You may have lost the ground connection at the other end of that cable.

 

[Barrington]

Thank you very much...I'll check this all out on Saturday, much appreciated...

 

[TedS]

Does any of the other 12v stuff on the trailer work? Interior lights?
If nothing 12v on the trailer works, then it is probably your battery connection. Positive or negative connection.

 

[JohnDar]

Can't help with the brakes, but your stabilizers should have a manual crank rod. On the opposite from the motor is a fitting it goes into. You should be able to operate them in either direction even with the motor still in place. Failure of the motor due to internal corrosion is a well known problem.

 

[Barrington]

So here is my latest update...as far as the Electric Stabilizing Jacks...still not working...of course I can lower and raise with the crank supplied however I even exchanged the switches in the storage compartment between the front and back and that's not the problem...must be a motor issue...I heard someone say on another forum that there may be a fuse in the wiring somewhere but I cannot locate that...I may have to take the long route to the dealer to repair. The trailer brakes are still not functioning...I hooked up the wiring harness to the truck and pulled the emergency breakaway cord and nothing happened...thus I am told this should mean that this shows a problem with the brakes on the trailer and not the brake controller itself...my problem now is finding the blue power wire and the ground wire as all trailers today have the underside covered so it's impossible to trace the wires back...any suggestions on how to easily locate the ground? Anyone ever see a video on youtube? Photo's? Much appreciated

 

[TedS]

Sounds like a break in the 12v+ feed. Have you checked for 12v at the stabilizer motor switch? I believe the fuse is in a holder in the wiring near the motor/switch. If pulling the breakaway does not activate the brakes, the break in the 12v+ may be close to the battery.
Does the other 12-volt stuff in the trailer work or not?

 

[cookie]

With all the 12 volt issues you are having, be sure to check all the connections on the 12 volt neutral buss bar located behind the battery.

Peace
Dave

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[danemayer]

Sounds like a general electrical problem, not necessarily a failure of brake wiring or stabilizer motor. Some 12V diagnostics here.

http://manuals.heartlandowners.org/?man=Troubleshooting Guides and Tips


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Barrington]

Gentlemen...you are the best...I cannot believe all the support here on this forum...I really appreciate this by you all...I have looked at the neutral bus bar behind the battery last week and the red wire was not connected securely at all...I am having trouble tightening the nut and bolt holding the wire as it appears as tight as it can be however there is still some play in it although it sems to be working OK...I'll have to dig deeper to get it fixed...plus the reset button on the diagram is something I have not even thought of for sure...also, the neutral bus bar does not look to be of very good quality as this is a 2012 TT and the connections are plastic and some are cracked and chipped... Dan, Dave, Ted and John...again...thank you very, very much for all your expert advice. My TT is 20 minutes away in my inlaws yard as my driveway is too steep to keep it in plus the dealer I purchased it from is almost an hour away so working on this myself is what I have to do whenever I can find the time...and for a banker/mortgage man this is not the easiest thing to do...Cheers!

 

[JohnDar]

It's what this forum is all about.

 

[Westwind]

Hey Barrington don't knock your knowledge or lack of. We were all where you are at one time. If you spend time reading this form you will learn more and more. You will be like the rest of us Experts! LoL

 

[TedS]

I know Expert. Ex, a has-been; spert, drip under pressure.

 

[Barrington]

So I spent the better part of 2 hours at my TT today and realized quickly I was not going to have a quick fix...the Circuit Breakers on my Buss Barr were a mixture of plastic and metal ones...the plastic ones actually had cracks in them and one was broken off where it was screwed into the frame. There was no manual reset button on the circuit breakers which I had hoped to find thinking a reset of them would bring my brakes and electric stabilizer jacks to life. The whole thing looked a mess to me so I took it apart and will go to a local RV dealer tomorrow and look at finding replacements. I hope I can and then when reinstalled it may be my fix. Can someone tell me how to install them properly or post a photo of their RV Buss bar to show the correct installation as what I had was a mess...some attached and some not attached to the frame...some metal and some plastic as I noted earlier and the plastic ones cracked and broken. Sorry to ask for so much but we are headed out again this weekend for a short trip and we will not have services so I'll need to have this fixed in a couple days. Thanks again.

Chuck

 

[Barrington]

So...I went to the local RV dealer (not where I purchased the Northtrail) and talked to a parts clerk...I bought replacement circuit breakers and rebuilt the Bus Barr and then reattached the battery and behold...nothing is different, go figure ...same issues...so my father in law is out in the yard for a walk (he's 82, retired trucker) and he says " we should have Ronnie Pierce have a look. Ron is a retired mechanic." I then get his number and call him...he agrees to look for some time in his schedule to look at the trailer...I go back to the office and get a call...he's there...and there is no issue with the trailer side of the brakes...and he wants to see my truck. Darn it I cannot get there but will see him tomorrow at 8 AM and we'll see what the issue is...thank god for family and their friends...Cheers!

Chuck.

 

[GOTTOYS]

Are you sure the battery has a charge? If you leave it parked and it isn't disconnected there are enough things still operating in the trailer to drain the battery after a week or so..Don

 

[Barrington]

Hi Don...I am pretty sure it is charged. It is plugged in at my inlaws and when I was working on it I unplugged from the house and checked other components when I reconnected everything...the front electric stabilizer jacks work fine on battery power...all the lights, etc but not the rear stabilizer jacks and no brakes...hopefully the retired mechanic will get me moving or should I say stopping tomorrow.

Chuck

 

[JohnDar]

Just a thought, check your umbilical plug and the receptacle in the truck for oxidation/corrosion. Some contact cleaner spray and working the connection some may clear up the brake problem. DAMHIKT.

 

[danemayer]

.I hooked up the wiring harness to the truck and pulled the emergency breakaway cord and nothing happened...thus I am told this should mean that this shows a problem with the brakes on the trailer and not the brake controller itself.

Ron is a retired mechanic." I then get his number and call him...he agrees to look for some time in his schedule to look at the trailer...I go back to the office and get a call...he's there...and there is no issue with the trailer side of the brakes...and he wants to see my truck.

I don't think both of the above statements can be correct.

 

[Barrington]

Hi Dan, I thought the same as you when he told me this on the phone today...I actually said this to him and he sounded surprised...I'll see in the morning as I plan to be with him at 8 AM... The plot thickens...

Chuck