SOLVED: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

[busted2341]

All has been well with the hydrolics and Electric part of the 6 point system as well as slides working over the last 18 months with no problems. However as we started to pull in the slides on our latest trip, the D/S slide went about half way in, stopped working. Wife had to wait a minute then continue bringing in the slide. Then As I raised the landing gear/stabilizer it stopped mid-lift and shut down. I had to turn on the box again and continue. This happened several times just raising the gear. I checked the voltage and it showed 12.7 volts. Not sure why this is now happening. Any ideas???

 

[jimtoo]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Sounds like your 50amp mini breaker may be getting weak. I would start by replacing it.

Jim M

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

This is only somewhat related but since it's winter in North America, figured I'd reply about my recent experience...

I believe my 50 amp breaker is weak and I'm carrying a replacement as well as an 80 amp breaker if I choose to use it. During normal operation in warm weather, our flush floor slide will sometimes trip the breaker.

That said, all bets are off in cold weather. I mean REAL cold weather. When I left home in 5 degree F weather and camped in same on our way to AZ this January, the breaker tripped after 3 seconds of operation. It auto-reset in 8 seconds, giving me another 3 seconds of usage.

My theory is that the cold weather really thickened up the hydraulic fluid causing the pump/motor to draw a lot more current than normal, resulting in an over-current situation, tripping the breaker.

It took me a LONG time to get the jacks up and slide in. Guessing all that breaker tripping is a bit hard on the breaker as well - further weakening it. Perhaps I'll change it out today while I'm thinking about it

 

[TravelTiger]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

This is only somewhat related but since it's winter in North America, figured I'd reply about my recent experience...

I believe my 50 amp breaker is weak and I'm carrying a replacement as well as an 80 amp breaker if I choose to use it. During normal operation in warm weather, our flush floor slide will sometimes trip the breaker.

That said, all bets are off in cold weather. I mean REAL cold weather. When I left home in 5 degree F weather and camped in same on our way to AZ this January, the breaker tripped after 3 seconds of operation. It auto-reset in 8 seconds, giving me another 3 seconds of usage.

My theory is that the cold weather really thickened up the hydraulic fluid causing the pump/motor to draw a lot more current than normal, resulting in an over-current situation, tripping the breaker.

It took me a LONG time to get the jacks up and slide in. Guessing all that breaker tripping is a bit hard on the breaker as well - further weakening it. Perhaps I'll change it out today while I'm thinking about it

Jim, ours started tripping on our recent trip to Angel Fire, NM. We had a couple of set ups/tear downs in sub-freezing weather. Will see this week if it does it in 70 degree weather.


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[danemayer]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

I think your batteries also supply lower voltage in cold weather. That could be contributing.

 

[TravelTiger]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

We were plugged in and still had the issue.


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[TedS]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

The breaker is undersized, always has been. I noticed in a Lippert after market 6-point installation that the breaker is an 80-amp.

 

[TravelTiger]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Can someone post a link to where to get the 80amp and/or 50 amp breakers?


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[sjandbj]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Can someone post a link to where to get the 80amp and/or 50 amp breakers?


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Here is a page that showes the 80 amp breaker. It is the same one I installed on my Big Country.

Steve

https://www.solar-electric.com/mrcb...xdDeQV2AG-4Pv1_KrYfXxsMEJsEyEY-qQYaAmO78P8HAQ

 

[NorthCal Bob]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Ours kept tripping also. This has been a common problem on many rvs according to my dealers service center. I paralleled the 50amp breaker to the hydraulic pump and changed my batteries before taking it to my dealer because neither of those worked so I thought it was a problem with the hydraulics. Well went in to pick up my Rv and was told it was fixed they replaced my breaker and added a second one in parallel, when raising the front jacks it tripped again. So the tech came out and wasn't sure what was wrong so they called the service manager over and he found that the main 50 amp breaker to the disconnect switch was tripping. They added a second 50 amp breaker to the main in parallel, lowered and raised the landing gear 3 times so far without any problem so far. I agree with Jim that when it is cold the breakers tend to trip more and become weak. The tech at the dealership said the pump draws abt 90 amps when the legs are being retracted and don't know why they don't install larger breakers. Lippert told me they could not advise me to put in larger breakers the breakers are determined by the factory building the Rv.

 

[happykraut]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

I paralleled the 50amp breaker to the hydraulic pump and changed my batteries before taking it to my dealer because neither of those worked so I thought it was a problem with the hydraulics. Well went in to pick up my Rv and was told it was fixed they replaced my breaker and added a second one in parallel, when raising the front jacks it tripped again. So the tech came out and wasn't sure what was wrong so they called the service manager over and he found that the main 50 amp breaker to the disconnect switch was tripping. They added a second 50 amp breaker to the main in paralle

In my opinion over-fusing a circuit by 100 percent is a bit excessive. I stopped at Lippert and spoke with one of their techs and was told the system draws 80A on retraction. I replaced mine with a 80A breaker.

 

[busted2341]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

I'm sorry but I am not understanding. A breaker did not trip to my knowledge. But I guess rebooting or turning the system back on took care of that. Where or how would this breaker work and why wouldn't it be installed if this is a common problem? Why would it work fine for 18 months and now start this. If I use the auto retrack it does not shut down.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

I'm sorry but I am not understanding. A breaker did not trip to my knowledge. But I guess rebooting or turning the system back on took care of that. Where or how would this breaker work and why wouldn't it be installed if this is a common problem? Why would it work fine for 18 months and now start this. If I use the auto retrack it does not shut down.

The picture below shows a typical row of 12V DC mini-circuit breakers. They're usually covered by a red rubber boot and are located near the battery. With one exception, these are auto-reset breakers. When overloaded, they trip and after a few seconds reset themselves.

There's a lot of debate as to whether a 50 amp breaker is sufficient. Lippert leaves it to the trailer manufacturer to decide what breaker to install. If Lippert installed the levelup system at their facility, they may use heavier wires and a larger breaker. Heartland uses a 50 amp.

A lot of things can contribute to tripping the breaker, especially in cold weather. Loose/dirty/corroded connections at the battery, or at the pump, or poor grounding, or a weak battery can all contribute. Cold weather causes the viscosity of the fluid to be affected, putting a greater load on the pump and electrical supply. Batteries don't deliver as much voltage in cold weather.

Many people believe that once a breaker starts repetitively tripping, it becomes weak and will get progressively worse.

Some people have either resolved, or perhaps masked the problem by moving to an 80 amp breaker. One thing to note is that the wiring may not be matched to 80 amps and sustained use of the circuit could overload the wiring.

In summary, check your battery. Clean the terminals. Check for loose connections and loose crimps. Check the grounds. Take 10 minutes to replace the 50 amp breaker which costs less than $10.

 

[sjandbj]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

The picture below shows a typical row of 12V DC mini-circuit breakers. They're usually covered by a red rubber boot and are located near the battery. With one exception, these are auto-reset breakers. When overloaded, they trip and after a few seconds reset themselves.

There's a lot of debate as to whether a 50 amp breaker is sufficient. Lippert leaves it to the trailer manufacturer to decide what breaker to install. If Lippert installed the levelup system at their facility, they may use heavier wires and a larger breaker. Heartland uses a 50 amp.

A lot of things can contribute to tripping the breaker, especially in cold weather. Loose/dirty/corroded connections at the battery, or at the pump, or poor grounding, or a weak battery can all contribute. Cold weather causes the viscosity of the fluid to be affected, putting a greater load on the pump and electrical supply. Batteries don't deliver as much voltage in cold weather.

Many people believe that once a breaker starts repetitively tripping, it becomes weak and will get progressively worse.

Some people have either resolved, or perhaps masked the problem by moving to an 80 amp breaker. One thing to note is that the wiring may not be matched to 80 amps and sustained use of the circuit could overload the wiring.

In summary, check your battery. Clean the terminals. Check for loose connections and loose crimps. Check the grounds. Take 10 minutes to replace the 50 amp breaker which costs less than $10.

I would agree with Dan's post. It takes very little time to check the connections. In my case once the Lippert service rep told me the pump was rated for a 80 amp breaker I made the change. When changing out the breaker I also took the time to redo all the connections, which several were only hand tight, and replace the wire to a 6 gauge wire from the battery to the breaker and the breaker to the pump. Since the distance is so short the the minimum wire size is only 12 AWG the larger wire is a better bet. The biggest expense is the 80 amp breaker. Those things do not come cheap. Since replacing the circuit I have had no trouble for the last 2 years.

Regards,
Steve

 

[chiefneon]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

The picture below shows a typical row of 12V DC mini-circuit breakers. They're usually covered by a red rubber boot and are located near the battery. With one exception, these are auto-reset breakers. When overloaded, they trip and after a few seconds reset themselves.

There's a lot of debate as to whether a 50 amp breaker is sufficient. Lippert leaves it to the trailer manufacturer to decide what breaker to install. If Lippert installed the levelup system at their facility, they may use heavier wires and a larger breaker. Heartland uses a 50 amp.

A lot of things can contribute to tripping the breaker, especially in cold weather. Loose/dirty/corroded connections at the battery, or at the pump, or poor grounding, or a weak battery can all contribute. Cold weather causes the viscosity of the fluid to be affected, putting a greater load on the pump and electrical supply. Batteries don't deliver as much voltage in cold weather.

Many people believe that once a breaker starts repetitively tripping, it becomes weak and will get progressively worse.

Some people have either resolved, or perhaps masked the problem by moving to an 80 amp breaker. One thing to note is that the wiring may not be matched to 80 amps and sustained use of the circuit could overload the wiring.

In summary, check your battery. Clean the terminals. Check for loose connections and loose crimps. Check the grounds. Take 10 minutes to replace the 50 amp breaker which costs less than $10.

Howdy!

we've been having the same reoccurring problem listed here the last few months. My question is where do I get a 80amp breaker to replace the 50amp breaker that will fit in it's place. I saw the 80amp breaker posted previously but it will not fit into the area of the now 50amp breaker. Thank for the help.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

 

[danemayer]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Howdy!

we've been having the same reoccurring problem listed here the last few months. My question is where do I get a 80amp breaker to replace the 50amp breaker that will fit in it's place. I saw the 80amp breaker posted previously but it will not fit into the area of the now 50amp breaker. Thank for the help.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

I'm not aware of an 80 amp breaker with the same form factor as the 50 amp. I think when people move to the 80, they mount it separately and have to run some wire.

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

...where do I get a 80amp breaker to replace the 50amp breaker that will fit in it's place.

Chief - I bought this one (on Amazon but now less on eBay - link) but have not installed it.


I also picked up a 50 amp mini circuit breaker from Heartland and yesterday, replaced my existing one with it.

Like Dan, I have never seen an auo-resetting circuit breaker in the mini-breaker form-factor - only the large form-factor pictured above. Also, as Dan mentioned, another cable will be needed. Depending on where you mount this larger form-factor breaker, you might want to buy a short red battery cable with pre-installed terminals at an auto parts store to take power from the buss to this larger breaker - if that's the route you end up going. Here's an example of a 9" cable for $6 from O'Reilly.

 

[sjandbj]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Howdy!

we've been having the same reoccurring problem listed here the last few months. My question is where do I get a 80amp breaker to replace the 50amp breaker that will fit in it's place. I saw the 80amp breaker posted previously but it will not fit into the area of the now 50amp breaker. Thank for the help.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

Here are a few pictures of my first attempt at installing the new breaker. It worked great. I had to relocate it when I installed my solar system. I wired it directly to the battery.

 

[ksucats]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

I emailed Lippert Customer Care regarding this very same problem that I'm now having on my Landmark. Given what I've read here, and a Lippert Data sheet found in an earlier post on this forum, I stated that my belief was that we either needed to swap out the single 50 amp mini-breaker for an 80 amp, or piggy back two 50s. Their response was that the size of the mini-breaker is determined by the OEM (Heartland in our case), not Lippert. Apparently the data sheet is no longer on their website .

As for the issue of drawing too much amperage they provided a data sheet giving different hydraulic fluids to use at different temps:

http://www.lci1.com/assets/content/support/technical-information-sheets/Leveling
%20and%20Stabilization/TI___188_Hydraulic_Operation_Fluid_Recommendation.pdf

My rig is scheduled to go into the shop on 17 Feb with this issue being one of the items to be looked at. I'm hoping that I don't have any problems getting the slides in (or level-up jacks up) when it comes time.

Now, to cloud the issue even more, if one is a frequent user of their rig during the winter (we don't so much), how would one swap out the hydraulic fluid for the full synthetic. I could see this being used year round as many do for their tow vehicles. However, based on another post I recall reading, mixing petrochemicals (grease in the read case), resulted in degredation of both greases / solvents. Wouldn't it be extremely difficult to purge all of the OEM fill out for the synthetic. Hmm, making my head hurt.

 

[CountryMouse]

Re: Slides and 6 point landing gear shutting off

Has anyone tired just replacing the wiring with a larger gauge? If people are getting results replacing the 50 amp breaker with an identical breaker with the only variable being a change in wire size, it seems the wire size could be the culprit from the get-go. If so this will be an easy fix to a common problem.