Slide Out Won't Extend

[RVFun4Us]

I have my 2016 Big Horn in storage about an hour away and has been there for a month, no electric hookup and I do not remove the batteries. Went there yesterday, hooked up the power cord to the truck, turned off the battery disconnect and I then had power. Opened the electric bedroom slide which worked fine. Then tried to open one of the hydraulic slides and it wouldn't budge, and the inside lights dimmed each time I tried. The battery monitor inside showed all four lights on showing full power. The batteries are only 18 months old. It was only 40 degrees when I tried to open the hydraulic slide. I have had problems in the past working my hydraulic jacks when it is cold but that is usually a start and stop issue. The slide not extending is new to me so wondering if the cold weather is affecting the hydraulic fluid and keeping the slide from operating. The hydraulic fluid level is down about an inch from the fill line but I attribute that to having the front jacks down. All other jacks are up. Any ideas on causes and fixes?

 

[danemayer]

If you left the rig for a month with the battery cutoff ON, your battery is probably dead. The 4 lights on the test panel are telling you that you have >12V coming from the truck. If you disconnect the truck and turn the battery cutoff ON, and test again, you'll have a better idea of battery charge.

The hydraulic pump motor takes a lot of amps and the amps coming off the connection to the truck won't be nearly enough to power the hydraulics. To run the hydraulics, you'd probably need to stay connected to the truck in high idle for 30-60 minutes to charge the battery enough.

It would be faster to use a jumper cable from the truck battery to the trailer battery if space allows. You might even get enough power through the jumper cables to operate the hydraulics.

 

[cookie]

When you push the button to open the slide do you hear the hydraulic pump attempt to run?
I doubt it is temperature related but it is possible. I've opened my slides at -10. Grunted a bit but it worked.

Peace
Dave

 

[wdk450]

If you have access to a generator, or grid AC power, you might get your batteries up faster (if they will take a charge). Also the shore power converter adds up to 60 more amps to power the 12 volt DC power draws. It takes my Progressive 9260 converter/charger over 2 days on shore power to bring the batteries back up to storage (slow flash on the green indicator pendant) full charge.

 

[sengli]

The stock hydraulic circuit breaker is a 50 amp, had to change mine to an 80 amp to keep my slides working. The cold makes them even harder to operate cause the ATF fluid is thicker, which makes the pump have to work more. If your battery is new or not, setting that long will in the cold will zap it. Get out your DVM and check the battery directly, I would bet its discharged. It needs to measure 12.6 volts or better.

 

[carl.swoyer]

The stock hydraulic circuit breaker is a 50 amp, had to change mine to an 80 amp to keep my slides working. The cold makes them even harder to operate cause the ATF fluid is thicker, which makes the pump have to work more. If your battery is new or not, setting that long will in the cold will zap it. Get out your DVM and check the battery directly, I would bet its discharged. It needs to measure 12.6 volts or better.

Going from a factory 50 amp to 80 amp breaker is risky without upgrading the wiring to accommodate the increases amperage draw..

Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk

 

[Piperflyer]

I upgraded to a 80 amp breaker and 2 AWG wire and haven't had a problem in 4 years as long as the batteries are up. Bussmann CB181F-80 High Amp Circuit Breaker, Red 3 Foot 2 AWG Battery Cable

 

[RVFun4Us]

So it sounds like when I store my fifth wheel without electrical hookups for a month or more, I need to pull both batteries and haul them home and put them on a trickle charger. Was hoping I could leave it with the batteries disconnected without fear of the batteries running down. Since I am an hour away from the storage lot, I will check battery condition when I return with a multimeter. Don't think the 50 versus 80 amp breaker is the issue since that for me has always resulted in starts and stops, not complete failure, because of the auto reset. Anyway, thanks everyone for the ideas.

 

[travelin2]

If you have level up, scroll through the functions to see the battery level (voltage), keeping in mind a full charge is 12.4 volts or higher.
I too upgraded breaker & cables to eliminate the proverbial start, stop, reset

 

[danemayer]

So it sounds like when I store my fifth wheel without electrical hookups for a month or more, I need to pull both batteries and haul them home and put them on a trickle charger. Was hoping I could leave it with the batteries disconnected without fear of the batteries running down. Since I am an hour away from the storage lot, I will check battery condition when I return with a multimeter. Don't think the 50 versus 80 amp breaker is the issue since that for me has always resulted in starts and stops, not complete failure, because of the auto reset. Anyway, thanks everyone for the ideas.

Assuming you have a residential refrigerator, there are two battery cutoff switches. If both are OFF, a month in storage shouldn't be a problem. On arrival, if you run jumper cables from truck to trailer batteries, you can top them off in 15-20 minutes on high idle.

 

[wdk450]

Have you thought about a solar panel battery maintainer?

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[RVFun4Us]

Assuming you have a residential refrigerator, there are two battery cutoff switches. If both are OFF, a month in storage shouldn't be a problem. On arrival, if you run jumper cables from truck to trailer batteries, you can top them off in 15-20 minutes on high idle.

No, just one battery cutoff. Refer is propane/AC. The battery was fully charged when I stored it. So with the battery cutoff in the off position, why would the batteries run down so quickly? I do check battery fluid levels routinely. Could it be the parasitic drains from stereo, propane detector etc? Again, will check batteries when I return to the storage yard.

 

[danemayer]

No, just one battery cutoff. Refer is propane/AC. The battery was fully charged when I stored it. So with the battery cutoff in the off position, why would the batteries run down so quickly? I do check battery fluid levels routinely. Could it be the parasitic drains from stereo, propane detector etc? Again, will check batteries when I return to the storage yard.

If the cutoff was in the OFF position, there shouldn't be any parasitic drain and barring a miswiring or malfunction, you should not have had a discharged battery after 1 month.

If you confirm that your battery is discharged anyway, and you're certain the battery cutoff was OFF, you should take the battery to an auto service or parts store to have it tested.

And with a fully charged battery installed, if you have a clamp-on meter that reads DC amperage, you might test for current drain with the battery cutoff switch ON and then OFF.

 

[RVFun4Us]

Have you thought about a solar panel battery maintainer?

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Good idea. Do you have one? With two batteries, do you need one for each battery? And in reading some of the reviews, sounds like some of the challenges are short cords, not being able to run the cord from the battery to a location where the sun can charge it. Interesting to see if anyone else has used these to keep RV batteries charged.

 

[wdk450]

I fulltime with park shore power hookups.

As far as the short cables, they are probably designed for cars, but you should be able to easily splice in longer wires.

 

[sengli]

I know for a fact that even with both battery cut offs turned off, there must be something drawing current. Cause when I connect the leads every spring there is a spark. When our rig is stored here on the property, it is always plugged in to AC. Heck even with the batteries on the bench in the barn, after a month or so they drain down on their own. For your situation I think using the jumper cables, connected to your truck.... is the best option for immediate power.

 

[donr827]

How I found that the battery was gone in my trailer was to disconnect the negative battery terminal and after a few days check the voltage of the battery. If the battery loses voltage the battery itself is probably the cause. Been there done that

 

[Lou_and_Bette]

Just another thought on battery loosing charge while battery cutoff is off, the emergency breakaway engaged for some reason? That circuit is 100% active and not affected by the cutoff switch. Someone walking by may have pulled the cable.

 

[RVFun4Us]

Well, I took the trip in between snow storms over the mountain 70 miles to check on my RV and batteries. No change, slides still would not extend. The Lippert leveling system indicated the battery level as 12.1 volts. So I removed them taking extra care (diagrams, labeling) to mark the connections to each terminal. Brought them home and put on a 12 volt charger (good for deep cycle). Finished one up last night. Put that one on a Battery Tender trickle charger and the other is on the main charger right now. Will test with multimeter to find out the voltage after each is done. So at 12.1, that most likely was the cause of the slides not extending since normal reading is 12.6 or higher. Will have both batteries on trickle charge with their own battery tender until we are ready for our first Spring trip.

 

[david-steph2018]

Test the batteries after you get them to full charge. If the batteries have the removable caps to allow water to be added;
remove the caps
take a multimeter on DCV
place one lead in a cell and place the other lead on a battery post
the reading in each individual cell should be close to the same, if one is less, under 2.0, good chance that cell is going bad.