Help, Slide problem

[jliveit]

First trip out in our 2011 Mountianeer 324 RLQ and headed south for the winter and at our first stop for the night slides did not want to go out. Had to keep pushing the switch and slides would only move a couple of inches and could hear something click up near the battery then they would stop. Took about 20 minutes to get them out. Anyone have any ideas what I should look for? Had worked fine at home for the 2 months we have had it.

[steves]

Check the fluid level in the reservoir.

[sfish]

Check all connections around the battery.

[jliveit]

Fluid is fine, full!

[racerjoe]

sounds like the battery is not fully charged. did you have the trailer plugged in when you tried? The clicking is probably the relay tripping off and on from not having enough power. The battery can fail that fast. Once we put the slides in to come home,went to open them at home and would not move,battery had a bad cell.

[jliveit]

Were plugged in to shore power and yes it sounded like a relay would kick out the would hear another click and slide would move a inch or two. If battery has a bad cell could it keep shore power from working the pump also?

[daneboy]

Could your slide be dirty and binding? If so clean and lube.

[gitrdun]

Could be tripping relay to slides. When relays gets hot the relay will open then cool and close to operate. Might need a bigger one.

[jliveit]

Don,t think dirt is the problem, unit is only little over two months since it came off assembly line and never even pulled in the rain yet.

[steves]

See if this helps?

http://www.lippertcomponents.com/Own...ideout-Web.pdf

[hookman]

You probably need a heavier breaker ours would start going out and stop then start and stop again so they put in a heavier breaker and it cured the problem.

[steves]

Copied from the owners manual:

POWER UNIT RUNS, ROOM MOVES SLOWLY
Low battery, poor ground, extremely low Charge battery, and check ground wire
outdoor temperature.
Leaking cylinder See “Checking for Bad Cylinder” page

[Art-n-Marge]

Since this sounds like the start/stop issue you could be having autoresetting breakers that are not strong enough for the load. Like mentioned above there are several reasons and all this must be correct for the slides to operate correctly:

1. With the slides in (retracted) the reservoir must be filled to 1/2" of the top of the reservoir with ATF Type A fluid or equivalent fluid. Do not check this when slides are out. Use a permanent marker to mark the level so it's easier to check in the future.

2. Battery must be in tip top shape. Otherwise plugging into shore power will help but extra 12V power will be attempted to be drawn from the batteries so they must be fully charged and cells must be topped off properly with distilled water. Maintenance-free batteries must still be charged and maintained correctly even though topping off is unnecessary. The batteries should measure at 12.8 volts or about 14 volts if they are being charged. This voltage reading does NOT guarantee the battery is strong enough but in your case your batteries are "young" and should be good.

3. The rig must be level AND stabilized prior to moving slides out or in. Otherwise extra movement may cause undue stress that will cause an underrated circuit breaker to reset.

4. You have 4 slides in your unit. The circuit breaker may be too light on their rating. Email me or PM me and I can send you the information to correct this which involves replacing the existing circuit breaker with higher rated autoresetting breakers or dual circuit breakers wired in parallel to effectively increase the rating (two 40 amp resettables will get you 80 amps). This is a common fix and comes from Lippert (slideout manufacturer) and has been successful for resolving the majority of our members' rigs including mine.

I wish the factory would just fix this, but the circuit breakers are within specifications and there are too many things that can weaken them over time. Going to the Lippert fix increases the price of manufacture so you can figure they ain't gonna do it until Lippert increases the specified rating. Apparently the motor has a max rating of 100 amps, but Keystone doesn't want to go there and will install 30, 40 or 50 amp circuit breakers, which don't seem like enough over time. Your guess is as good as mine.

[SlickWillie]

You know, I really can't understand why they keep putting the same breaker in at the factory. The tech at our dealer told me almost three years ago they were paralleling two fifties on their new Montanas. Personally, I would get an 80 amp and replace the current one with one breaker. That way, you don't have to make up the additional wires. Of course, the two 40's will work just as good.

[Waynem]

I would check that ground that they seem to want to put to the side panel. Make sure all grounds, and all wires are firmly secured.

I would not change anything that the manufacture has not proven to be an effective fix. Making any change to circuits could void warranty and liability unless it can be proven by you that the fix was not the cause of failure. (warranty laws)

With a new 2011 model I would call Keystone, explain the problem, ask were the nearest dealer was that had hook-ups and head that way. Much easier for them to deal with it and you will be fully covered.

Good luck.

[jliveit]

Cleaned the terminals and so far so good. Maybe that was it I don't know but all day it has worked.
Thanks everyone for your help!!

[paphog]

Had same problem had to put stronger relay to care of problem.
Jim