Landing Gear - Montana Owners Club

Victoria Winslow · 10-23-2008, 05:33 AM

Hi, We just purchased a 2009 3465SA and was told that you can blow the landing gear fuse if they either over retracted or extended. we dropped it off to have some work done and when we went to pick it up, sure enough the manual or remote feature for the landing gear did not work. easy enough fix with a new fuse..but does anyone know why this happens..i have never had this to be a problem on other units.Thanks in advance for your replies. We love our Montana

bsmeaton · 10-23-2008, 06:06 AM

I've never had it happen, but I would assume that when the travel of the gear reaches the limit, the motor over-torques trying to overcome the restriction, which causes the amperage draw on the motor to increase beyond the rating of the fuse.

daneboy · 10-23-2008, 06:36 AM

Welcome, Brad is correct, more juice flowing than the fuse can deal with.
Enjoy your new rig,
Jerry

snfexpress · 10-23-2008, 10:40 AM

Welcome to the forum. The fuse can also blow due to suddenly reversing the landing gear direction. As an example, if you are lowering the legs and then immediately reverse direction, you'll have a sudden surge of electricity. I think it was explained to me that with electric motors, this sudden reversal doubles the voltage.

I found out about this when I installed the Zaxis remote controlled landing leg system. I hit the up button then hit the down button and the fuse blew.

skypilot · 10-23-2008, 11:03 AM

Correct -- if you hit the up button immediately after the down button it will blow the fuse -- looking at a web page for a remote (not the Zaxis I don't beleive -- I googled it and just clicked, didn't even grab the name

sorry ), regardless, that is what I searched for an in the troubleshooting section it said to wait a couple of seconds before raising the unit after having lowered it some. I would guess that the motor needs a moment to stop movement and then 'switch' directions. I've blown the fuse on my hydraulic pump doing the same thing so I can only imagine what a stress the mechanical motor is under.

bsmeaton · 10-23-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by skypilot

Correct -- if you hit the up button immediately after the down button it will blow the fuse

I know a lot of folks have experienced this problem, but one of the bad characteristics of my home-built remote is if I let up on the button momentarily it will immediately reverse that motor the other direction, yet I have never blown a fuse. I've done it under load, without load, doesn't seem to matter. Wonder if Lippert used different motors on the gear over the years and some are more fickle than others..

timandsusan · 10-23-2008, 11:46 AM

Just a little story on my experience, the fuse on my 2006 3475 has never blown but I have replace both landing jacks--one due to failure under an extended warranty and the other due to a dealer screw up. So while I did not directly pay for either--I saw the bill--$560 each is the cost.. So I recommend that you treat them with alot of delicacy! The fuse maybe the cheapest way to save an expensive part!

ols1932 · 10-23-2008, 12:26 PM

It can also blow if you have to run the motor for an extended period of time while raising the front end of the rig when parked on very uneven ground (front has to be raised up extra high). For that reason, when I realize I'm going to have to extend the landing legs a long way, I operate the motor for a short period of time (30-45 seconds), then do something else. Then come back and do the same thing again. I repeat this operation until I have the front of the rig up so that the rig is level. Haven't blown a fuse since 2003 and we full time in this rig!

Orv

Waynem · 10-23-2008, 01:41 PM

I never had the problem in my 3400RL UNTIL all the post started showing up about blowing the fuse. I just went out to the auto parts store and bought an AGC Circuit Breaker that plugs right into where the fuse goes. After that, it tripped the circuit breaker but I didn't have to go replacing the fuse because after 15-30 seconds it would reset itself.

Just a thought!

There are pros and cons on the circuit breaker and you can do a search to find them.

clutch · 10-23-2008, 05:40 PM

We had a fuse blow about the third time we were unhooking from the truck. Apparently lifting the trailer and truck is more than the fuse can handle. We couldn't see any fuses and after a quick check with MOC all was well. Our fuse is IN the wire loom. Yes we are more careful now and yes we carry extra fuses.

MAMalody · 10-23-2008, 06:31 PM

Question: is there a time when the motor for the front landing gear should be replaced. Ours is working fine, however, my wife thinks it is slowing down and working harder.

garyka · 10-23-2008, 11:39 PM

When it happens to me,were is the fuse and what kind?

Steve and Brenda · 10-24-2008, 12:46 AM

Better yet, why not replace the fuse with a 30-amp thermal breaker?

skypilot · 10-24-2008, 03:32 AM

GaryKA: The fuse everyone is talking about is on its own wire running from the motor (or switch) to the battery (at least on mine it was from the switch to the battery). Was buried back behind everything and really difficult to find initially. Heartily recommend you go out when it is light (with a flashlight even then) and look for it. I like the idea of the (I believe it was called an IGV Circuit Breaker in an earlier post on this thread -- it is back a page so I don't see it now) resetting circuit breaker; a little more expensive than a fuse but it gets rid of the hassle later on of trying to find where you put the ones you bought (I never seem to find them when I need them!!); and then replacing it with everything else going on right then. Just a thought.

rogue · 10-24-2008, 06:52 AM

Its a good idea to check where the fuse is located, and exactly what type and size fuse is there. On our 2955RL it came factory with 40 amp regular (not maxi or mini but regular) blade type fuse. some others (as stated above) have 30 amp fuses. The 40 amp is difficult to find replacements, so when you find them, but at least a 5 pack. Its cheap insurance to have extra fuses even if you never need them.
Bob

simonsrf · 10-25-2008, 06:55 AM

I recently got a quote from Venture Mfg. for ~$150 each for the replacement cost of the landing gear legs.

Removing the top cap and adding some gear oil to the top of the screw leg has sure helped the struggling motor.

grampachet · 10-25-2008, 10:37 AM

Our 3000RK was blowing fuses. When I took it back to CW they checked and said the motor was drawing to many amps and then they replaced the motor under warranty. However they did wire it back wards so extend was retract and retract was extend.I was rather upset with their incompetency I told the manager I did not want them to touch it again I would rewire it. The manager than talked me into letting him go and change the wires. It is so much quieter and smoother now. I did tap into the fuse wire and put in a breaker. I just used inline connectors and tapped into each side of the regular fuse wire and took out the 30 amp mini fuse. I could not find a breaker for the original fuse holder.

Waynem · 10-25-2008, 04:42 PM

I found the inline breaker at Auto Zone, an auto parts store here in Texas. It is an AGC Circuit Breaker and plugs into the existing fuse holder.

Circuit Breaker

Edited: If you get this particular one you will need to break the tab at the furthest breaking point. Make darn sure you hold it with a pair of pliers at the breaking point. Don't ask my why I state that!!!!

Ozz · 10-26-2008, 01:28 AM

Here are some pictures:
http://tiny.cc/Fuses (The 3 amp fuses shown are not the correct size, I just had them in the picture to show a fuse out of a fuse holder)
http://tiny.cc/Fuse
http://tiny.cc/Breaker753

sreigle · 10-27-2008, 07:33 AM

I've seen those plugin breakers but nothing larger than 30 amp. Our landing gear fuse is 40 amp. I bought a 40-amp auto resetting breaker after the one time we popped the fuse but have not yet installed it. The 40-amp breaker has to be screwed to a wall, the wires to the fuse holder cut, then attached to the breaker. I just haven't done that yet. Has anyone ever seen a 40 amp auto resetting breaker that just plugs in like the 30 amp do?

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