Slide operation momentarly halted

DonHelenL

Active Member
I have a 2013 Bighorn 3010RE. This glitch only happened once But I would like to get some thoughts on what might have happened. I was bringing in the two main slides (shore power unhooked) and the slides stopped retracting, the welcome home light went out and there was no response to the slide controls. About ten seconds later the light came back on and the slides resumed retracting when the button control was pressed. This has never happened again....Any thoughts
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
I think its called an auto reset breaker, and it gets week, my old Montana use to do that until I put in a bigger breaker, I think the fix was going from a 50 to an 80 amp, I'm sure someone will chime in with a better memory than I.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
There have been a number of posts on this issue. Do a search for intermittent slide operation etc to find the discussions. The 80 amp breaker upgrade was one fix that was discussed. You can also call Lippert for their fix for this issue.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi DonHelenL,

There's a buss bar near the battery with automotive style 12V circuit breakers. The high current devices like the hydraulics pump are powered through one of the circuit breakers. As mentioned, it's usually a 50amp auto-reset breaker. If the pump draws more than 50 amps, the breaker trips and a few seconds later automatically resets.

In cold weather the viscosity of the hydraulic fluid in the pump can cause the pump to draw extra amps. A bind in the mechanism can also cause this. Loose connections are another possibility. Also, if the battery voltage is a bit low, the amperage goes up. And as mentioned, sometimes the breaker gets weak.

If it persists, a new 50 amp breaker will usually fix the problem. At one time Lippert had a service bulletin recommending replacing it with an 80 amp breaker, but I think they may have withdrawn that bulletin.

50 amp auto-reset 12V circuit breakers can often be found at auto parts stores or marine stores, or at RV dealer parts departments. They usually run $10 or less. Check the orientation of the mounts to get one that matches yours.
 

jjriker

Well-known member
Here is a link to the thread my husband started when we had a similar issue. I don't remember our welcome back light going off, but I wasn't paying attention to that at the time either. :) Other than that, it sounds exactly like what we experienced.

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...el-up-hydraulics-keep-shutting-down-Now-Fixed!
 

stevenssr

Well-known member
All of this would make sense. Off of shore power, you are just on the batteries. Not sure if you were hooked up to the truck batteries or not, but it definitely lacked the boost provided by the converter which would result in a little lower voltage and higher current as Dan said. The age of the rv battery can also be a factor in this. These deep cycle batteries don't last real long and it may be showing some age. As the battery ages, voltage (and capacity) begin to decrease, which again increases the current. If the battery is around a year old, it may be a good idea to have it checked. To me, this the first and easiest thing to check.
 

Westwind

Well-known member
The HUG section has a wiring diagram that I used to replace the 12v fuse that automatically resets, I have a 2012 Bighorn, at first it would stop once in awhile, then it kept getting worse and worse. I finally bought a 50Amp replacement at NAPA and replaced it, now no more problems till this one weakens, but I have a spare.
 

DonHelenL

Active Member
Thanks to everyone for your response. I will now know where to go if this becomes a problem. In response to jjriker, the only reason I noticed the lights was that I had the overhead kitchen lights on and the welcome home light stayed on extra long due to the door being open.( all the lights went out so I assumed that a breaker kicked that controlled all the power from the batteries) Thanks again .
 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
Hey Don...we had the same issue on the Bighorn years ago...like everyone said, up the breaker to 80 amp, never had any further issues. Still nice and level I hope...??? :)
 

DonHelenL

Active Member
Looks like I should have one on hand. Auto level is working great and the additive to the fluid had eliminated about 90% of the snapping noise. Thanks K.
 
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