Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

MIMF · 07-27-2005, 03:30 PM

Trailer Trash,

The hydraulic pump in your coach is driven with a 12VDC motor. That motor is rated to pull as much as 100 amps. That will drain a 12 volt battery very quickly if it continues to draw that high amount of amperage.

The circuit breaker that is typically installed at the factory is a 50 amp automatic reset. That means that if the motor is drawing say 80 amps, it won't take long to heat up that breaker and make it pop. That is what protects the motor to keep from burning it up. After a few seconds when that breaker cools down, it resets itself. However, it now is not good for 50 amps anymore. In-other-words, the more it pops out, the weaker it gets. If your breaker has been popping for a while, it may by now be good for 40, or 35 or some value other than 50 amps.

Here are a few tips. Make sure the slide room inner tube bars and gear pack assemblies under the main floor rooms are clean and lubricated with silicone or WD40. If they aren't sqeaky or noisy when the rooms are moving then, there is not much you need to do.

Next, make sure with all the rooms in, that the fluid level in the reservoir for the pump is up to approximately 1/2 inch from the top of the tank or the bottom of the fill/breather cap. If you must add fluid to get it up to that level, use ATF Dexron III or Mercon. That all depends on whether or not you are a GM or Ford person. ATF is red in color. If the fluid in the tanks is clear or transparent beige in color, that's OK. Pour the ATF in anyway. It will mix with the original fluid just fine. In fact, the ATF will allow your pump to work better causing the motor to draw less amperage. Particularly in cold whether.

If all is good with the fluid, now would be a good time to install or replace the 50 amp breaker. Once that is done, do an amperage draw test to see how much amperage the motor is really pulling when the slides are moving. Especially when the rooms are coming in. Don't be surprised if you see higher readings than 50 amps. If so, add the second breaker in parallel with the first. If you are getting readings of say, 50 to 70 amps, add a 20 amp auto reset to the 50. If you get readings of 70 to 80 amps, add a 30 amp auto reset. Much higher than 80 amps, I'd go ahead and put in another 50 amp in parallel and be done with it. Just don't exceed 100 amps total so that you won't lose the protection to the motor.

Now, listen up. Here is the answer to your question. Each circuit breaker of course has two terminals. One is marked "BAT", the other is marked "AUX". To hook up two breakers in parallel. you will need to get about 4" of 6 gauge wire and 4 eyelettes that are about 3/16 of an inch in diameter. Cut the 4" piece of 6 guage in half and strip the insulation off both ends of both pieces. Then crimp the eyelette connectors to each end. Position both breakers so that the "BAT" and AUX" terminals are side-by-side and lay the wires you just made straight across to the matching terminal. The 6 guage lead coming from the positive side of the battery should be connected to the "BAT" terminal of the first breaker. Then the short jumper you just made goes across to the "BAT" terminal of the second breaker. Now, the second short jumper you made gets connected to the "AUX" terminal of the first breaker to the "AUX" terminal of the second breaker. Then, the 6 guage lead on up to the pump gets connected to the "AUX" terminal of the second breaker. Make sure all the connections are snug, including the ground to chassis and you should be good as gold.

If all of this is greek to you, call me at the office at 574-537-8900 ext-4303, or call me on my cell at574-320-4974. I will go over this again or set something up to e-mail info to you.

Have a great day!

07-27-2005, 03:30 PM	#2
MIMF Montana Master Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Goshen Posts: 1,058 M.O.C. #2827	Trailer Trash, The hydraulic pump in your coach is driven with a 12VDC motor. That motor is rated to pull as much as 100 amps. That will drain a 12 volt battery very quickly if it continues to draw that high amount of amperage. The circuit breaker that is typically installed at the factory is a 50 amp automatic reset. That means that if the motor is drawing say 80 amps, it won't take long to heat up that breaker and make it pop. That is what protects the motor to keep from burning it up. After a few seconds when that breaker cools down, it resets itself. However, it now is not good for 50 amps anymore. In-other-words, the more it pops out, the weaker it gets. If your breaker has been popping for a while, it may by now be good for 40, or 35 or some value other than 50 amps. Here are a few tips. Make sure the slide room inner tube bars and gear pack assemblies under the main floor rooms are clean and lubricated with silicone or WD40. If they aren't sqeaky or noisy when the rooms are moving then, there is not much you need to do. Next, make sure with all the rooms in, that the fluid level in the reservoir for the pump is up to approximately 1/2 inch from the top of the tank or the bottom of the fill/breather cap. If you must add fluid to get it up to that level, use ATF Dexron III or Mercon. That all depends on whether or not you are a GM or Ford person. ATF is red in color. If the fluid in the tanks is clear or transparent beige in color, that's OK. Pour the ATF in anyway. It will mix with the original fluid just fine. In fact, the ATF will allow your pump to work better causing the motor to draw less amperage. Particularly in cold whether. If all is good with the fluid, now would be a good time to install or replace the 50 amp breaker. Once that is done, do an amperage draw test to see how much amperage the motor is really pulling when the slides are moving. Especially when the rooms are coming in. Don't be surprised if you see higher readings than 50 amps. If so, add the second breaker in parallel with the first. If you are getting readings of say, 50 to 70 amps, add a 20 amp auto reset to the 50. If you get readings of 70 to 80 amps, add a 30 amp auto reset. Much higher than 80 amps, I'd go ahead and put in another 50 amp in parallel and be done with it. Just don't exceed 100 amps total so that you won't lose the protection to the motor. Now, listen up. Here is the answer to your question. Each circuit breaker of course has two terminals. One is marked "BAT", the other is marked "AUX". To hook up two breakers in parallel. you will need to get about 4" of 6 gauge wire and 4 eyelettes that are about 3/16 of an inch in diameter. Cut the 4" piece of 6 guage in half and strip the insulation off both ends of both pieces. Then crimp the eyelette connectors to each end. Position both breakers so that the "BAT" and AUX" terminals are side-by-side and lay the wires you just made straight across to the matching terminal. The 6 guage lead coming from the positive side of the battery should be connected to the "BAT" terminal of the first breaker. Then the short jumper you just made goes across to the "BAT" terminal of the second breaker. Now, the second short jumper you made gets connected to the "AUX" terminal of the first breaker to the "AUX" terminal of the second breaker. Then, the 6 guage lead on up to the pump gets connected to the "AUX" terminal of the second breaker. Make sure all the connections are snug, including the ground to chassis and you should be good as gold. If all of this is greek to you, call me at the office at 574-537-8900 ext-4303, or call me on my cell at574-320-4974. I will go over this again or set something up to e-mail info to you. Have a great day!