Slideout issue - stops part way, wait, then finish?

[Peteandsharon]

Hey guys,

I got the Bighorn out of storage to replace the four tires with new Maxxis tires. Glad that job is done. However, while I had the rig at home I noticed a bit of a quirk with the slideouts. As many of you know the BH 3055 has 3 slides. Sliding them out was no problem. However, while sliding them in, I noticed something consistently weird. The bedroom slide comes in fine. Then the small living room slide comes in fine also. But when the main slide comes in it gets 1/2 or 3/4 of the way in and then stops. If I let go of the slide button and immediately push it again I get nothing. However, if I pause a few seconds and then push the button again it finishes coming in. Over the course of two weekends that I had the rig home it consistently followed this pattern.

Not sure what the issue could be. I first thought it was sticking so I did the due diligence and liberally sprayed the rails with dry lube. This didn't change anything. I also checked the hydraulic fluid level and it looked the same as it always did. It also had a fully charged battery and was plugged into shore power so that shouldn't have been an issue either. At this point I don't know if I have an electrical issue, a hydraulic issue or just a case of the slide sticking somewhere that I can't lube. Maybe it is an adjustment issue with the slide.

Really it does not seem to be laboring when it quits. It just stops. Also, I'm not sure what it means that I have to pause a brief time before pushing the button again to make it finish coming in. Maybe it is hydraulic and needs to build pressure up again. I dunno. It's not a major deal right now. But obviously, I worry that this is just the first sign of what will become a bigger problem.

Have any of you seen this before in your slides? I spoke to my dealer about it and they had no ideas off the top of their heads either. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks,

Pete

 

[cookie]

One idea that comes to me is that you may have a bad breaker. Your breaker is an auto reset and when you pause for a while it gets a chance to cool down and reset. Then you finish bringing your slides in.
Just a thought.

Peace
Dave

 

[Bob&Patty]

What Dave said. Probably a weak circuit breaker. It wont take the heat of moving 3 slides.

 

[brianharrison]

Another thought - if the battery voltage is down, a large draw (big slide) with low voltage might exceed the auto reset breaker rating. Amps=Power/Voltage. Lower voltage increases amps for same power.

Of course this assumes you are on battery power, or connected to shore power and converter not charging....

Brian

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Same problem with mine. Took it back when under warranty , they replaced the breaker with a heavier one. Still having issues with it. I just live with it. Sure wish it would work correctly but life goes on.

 

[jnbhobe]

Same old Lipert story the circuit breakers are under sized for cold weather when the oil is thicker.

 

[DougS]

Probably the breaker, mine just started same thing, it's on the ToDo list. Usually auto parts carry breaker, got my last one at NAPA.

 

[Peteandsharon]

Great information guys. It seems electrical because it just stops with no grinding, growling or complaining. I just didn't understand about the auto reset. I figured it either kicks the breaker or it doesn't so I didn't think about this angle. Also, the idea of the fluid being thicker in the cold is another possibility that I hadn't thought about. It really wasn't that cold (upper 50's) but maybe it doesn't take much. Regardless, swapping out the breaker is an easy enough fix that will either fix the problem or it won't.

Thanks again for the quick responses.

 

[TedS]

I was having that problem with just two slides. Changed out the breaker to an 80-amp and no more problems. The fluid, ATF, is not too thick at your temperature. Got my breaker, Buss 80-amp manual reset, for $15 + shipping from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun online.

 

[danemayer]

I don't know about the hydraulic fluid being too thick at 50 degrees. I've pulled our slides in at -5 degrees without any problem. Weak breaker might be the problem. Loose wire/bad ground connection to the pump?

 

[fawsty]

This is the same thing mine was doing. Did research here, and found it to be the weak breaker. I ordered one off Ebay, and changed it out myself. I got the 80 Amp unit with a manual reset, and have not had to reset it as yet, so it fixed the problem. Total job was very easy and fast. I have the Bighorn, with 4 slides too.

Steven

 

[TedS]

View attachment lippert0058.pdfHere is a Lippert Information Publication about replacing the breaker.

 

[zigzag3337]

I had the same issue with my FR Wildcat. A couple of weeks ago after a lot of reading online and debating, I finally broke down and fixed it. I know this is Heartland, but the slides are still Lippert and we just bought a Cyclone yesterday. Here is what I did....

After reading on Lippert's website, the 50 amp breaker can be replaced with two 40 amp breakers in parallel. I found a print online, bought both auto reset breakers from O'Reilly Auto parts store for less then $10 and spent less then an hour making the change.


Here is the schematic that I went by.

The auto reset breakers for my coach is located behind the rubber guard right behind the battery.

This is what my breakers looked like. The one that feeds the hydraulic pump is the one in the middle.

This is what it looks like now. I elected to leave the weak breaker there as I could use it in an emergency if I had to. The two new breakers are located on the top. I cut down plumbers strap to tie the breakers together. Now when the slides go in, they don't sound like they are sluggish anymore.

I hope this helps someone else and I've should have done this a long time ago.

 

[jmgratz]

This is an old but continuing issue. It is due to an under sized breaker. Lippert told me to add another breaker in parallel and after I did that fixed the problem. Not had another problem with it in 3 years. Mine had a 50 amp breaker and I was told to add another 50 amp in parallel by Lippert. The problem is the under-sized breaker and the fix is adding the 2nd breaker. I bought the second breaker at NAPA auto parts store.

 

[Peteandsharon]

Earlier in the thread Ted talked about adding a single 80 amp breaker. Is there any advantage to adding two smaller ones in parallel compared to adding a single larger one?

 

[cookie]

The advantage is that your wiring will still be protected by the correct size breaker.
If one of the breakers pops out then the other will still allow current through the circuit. The second breaker should last long enough for the first to reset.
So you should always be properly protected.

Peace
Dave

 

[jnbhobe]

Dave is right, If you add a bigger breaker and not upgrade the wiring you risk overload and with that FIRE !!

 

[TedS]

If you add a second breaker, you have the capacity to run twice the current through the existing wiring. Just like adding a single, larger breaker. With two breakers in parallel, equal current flows through each breaker. If one of those parallel breakers trips, then twice the tripping current flows through the remaining untripped breaker which will trip due to over-current for that breaker. Adding a second parallel breaker allows you to buy a less expensive breaker rather than paying more for a larger capacity breaker. So you have 2 $10 breakers in parallel or one $15 breaker in my case. I see no risk with the existing wire size since the time to run the slides out and the shortness of the wires will not result in overheating the wiring and having a fire. If undersized wire is a concern for a single higher amperage breaker, it should be the same concern for two parallel breakers allowing the same higher current through existing wiring. I don't hear that argument.

I chose to go with the single breaker.

 

[branson4020]

If you add a second breaker, you have the capacity to run twice the current through the existing wiring. Just like adding a single, larger breaker. With two breakers in parallel, equal current flows through each breaker. If one of those parallel breakers trips, then twice the tripping current flows through the remaining untripped breaker which will trip due to over-current for that breaker. Adding a second parallel breaker allows you to buy a less expensive breaker rather than paying more for a larger capacity breaker. So you have 2 $10 breakers in parallel or one $15 breaker in my case. I see no risk with the existing wire size since the time to run the slides out and the shortness of the wires will not result in overheating the wiring and having a fire. If undersized wire is a concern for a single higher amperage breaker, it should be the same concern for two parallel breakers allowing the same higher current through existing wiring. I don't hear that argument.

I chose to go with the single breaker.

I believe Ted knows what he is talking about.

 

[Jimmy]

Here is what I went with, and the price is great...

http://order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/46933/HI AMP AUTO RESET 80 AMP/