Slide Problems - Montana Owners Club

Driftwoodgal · 01-19-2007, 02:00 AM

When bringing in or putting out our slides on our 3400 it just stops. Hubby was blaming me that I was letting my finger up on the button. I had him come in and do it, same thing happened.

Any one else out there having any problems with theirs retracting?

Collee

H. John Kohl · 01-19-2007, 02:35 AM

When you say stops, does that mean all slides stop or the motion shifts to another slide?
The latter is common.

Driftwoodgal · 01-19-2007, 06:16 AM

When I push the slide button in the bedroom slide comes in and then the kitchen slide follows. After that the desk slide starts coming in and then the slide with the dining table. The largest ( dining table) slide stops about half way through the process. This has happened several times, more than six times.

Colleen

richfaa · 01-19-2007, 06:59 AM

That is sort of normal.Happens on our 3400 also.We have learned to not hold the slide button in for the entire time we are retracting or extending the slides. Think the breaker heats up and trips . It is a automatic reset so wait a few seconds and it will work again. We let a couple slides come in or out..let up for a few seconds then continue,, By the ntime those 3 other slides have worked and it gets to the largest slide ..it is heating up.Give it a try and see if that works.

hazmic · 01-19-2007, 09:38 AM

This subject has been brought up here before so you may do a search and read them. One thing you did not mention was did the pump stop? If it stopped chances are that the circuit breaker kicks out and then resets and away it goes again. The one that the unit came with is NOT a high dollar part. MIMF hopefully will see this and answer also. I replaced mine with two 40 amp breakers hook up parallel so I have 80 amps. After doing this it has never kicked out since. Hopefully this might help you.

CRUZIN 2 · 01-19-2007, 10:01 AM

Driftwookgal

I agree with (hazmic) if the slide pump is stopping and tripping the breaker, that is not right.

Larry & LaVonne

Mike-n-Jen · 01-19-2007, 02:24 PM

Ours trips the breaker also. I was figuring its because of the cold and mabey the slide rails could use some graphite lube on them or somehting.

If I may add another question to this thread....

Recently we have had to push the slide button for several seconds before any slides start to move. I thought mabey air had gotten into the line somwhere or there may be a leak. The resivor is still at the same level it has always been and I havent noticed any air bubbles, so im at a loss so far. Any thoughts?

Thanks
Mike

Driftwoodgal · 01-19-2007, 03:27 PM

I flunk when it comes to the search engine on this forum. So I resort to posting a new question in hopes that I get a new answer.

Rich,

We are going on a cruise tomorrow....I will try your suggestion when we return in 14 days. I am thinking that the entire process completely stops and won't continue until we put the slides back out.

Hazmic,

I would hope that the part that came with my trailer would be able to with stand 9 days of camping. HHHMMMMMmmmmm we aren't real fixit people like others on the boards. We bought a product that hopefully works beyond that amount of putting the slides in and out. We have owned the rig since June of last year and have put them out several times here on our property, so they have been put out more than 9 times.

You mention the pump....I hear a noise that continues until the slides stop. Is this the pump noise that you mention? I can put the slides in reverse and they will go back out without a problem. No waiting to put it in reverse ( putting slides back out). I sure would hate to be some where and not be able to get the slides out or in when needed.

MIMF,

Any suggestions????? A real novice here looking for information. I guess we should have started with a pop up.

CRUZIN 2 · 01-19-2007, 03:31 PM

Mike

I think that I would take it back to your dealer, for a new 07 it's their problem. Hope you get it solved and keep us informed.

Larry & LaVonne

Dustytuu · 01-19-2007, 03:50 PM

We also had problem with our bigger slides stopping. Our battery was dry on water and also Don replaced the circuit breaker.

Driftwoodgal · 01-19-2007, 04:25 PM

Dustytuu,

Thanks for the battery advice... been there and did't do that. We keep the levels in the battery full now. We didn't realize that there was a need to check levels. We do now because of various problems that we had. Hubby won't be replacing a circuit breaker as he won't touch the electrical things, we will be going to the dealership for a warranty issue.

Okie Guy · 01-19-2007, 04:45 PM

Driftwoodgal,

I wouldn't hesitate to take it to the dealer since. This is a slide issue and your unit is less than a year old. Your unit should still be under warranty. Call your dealer and he will make it right if he is on the up & up.

Good Luck!
Phil

capn chris · 01-20-2007, 03:47 AM

I've posted this before, but we had same problem w/ours, as have others. Simple fix per MIMF (Dale) is get a new or 2, 50A Autoreset breaker from an RV dealer. They cost less than $5. The breaker is located just below the pump on the bulkead. Disconnect the Neg. cable from the battery, and remove the faulty breaker (has a plastic/rubber red cover). Remove two wires, and two mounting screws. Install new one. The whole process takes about 10 minutes!! Good luck and hope you enjoyed your cruise.

richfaa · 01-20-2007, 04:30 AM

Same as capn chris..Our dealer does that to every one that comes in..problem or not.Also have a spare..just in case.

Mike-n-Jen · 01-21-2007, 12:52 PM

Thanks all! Thanks for the info and advise.

Im due to see the dealer again soon, waiting on parts from our last warranty visit. I will talk to them about it then.

Mabey im a bit quirky, I dont trust many mechanics to touch my stuff. Many times they do as much damage as good. Nobody takes care of my baby like I do.

Thanks again!
Mike

mtpocket2 · 01-22-2007, 12:29 PM

Our slide started coming in about a foot and stopping. Press the botton and get another foot. Took awhile to get the slide in. The dealer replaced my breakers and problem solved. They used a better quality breaker, same amperage. Said it is very commom for the factory breakers to do this.

MIMF2 · 01-22-2007, 01:32 PM

Hi y'all,

That motor that drives the pump is rated to pull as much as 100 amps. That is why it has 6 gage wire feeding it from the battery. You know, larger hose, more water. Larger wire, more amperage.

There are a couple of things to check.

First, with the rooms in, the fluid level in the reservoir needs to be about 1/2" from the top of the reservoir. If you need to add fluid to get it full to that point, go down to Wally World and get the cheapest ATF, Dexron, Dexron III/Mercon, Mercon 5, that you can find. Don't worry about the color of the fluid in the tank and the color you are pouring in, it will work just fine.

Next, with the power diconnected to the coach and the battery disconnected, check and tighten all of the connections from the battery all of the way up to the pump, Test all of the nuts to make sure they are snug. Make sure the chassis ground connection is firm and free from rust and corrosion.

Now, if the circuit breaker for the pump motor keeps tripping and resetting, each time it does this, it gets weaker. Typically, the manufacturers install 50 amp 12 volt auto reset breakers to the pump. 50 amp breakers in auto reset are the largest you can get for 12 volt and they put them in there to make life easier for you.

If all of the connections are snug and all looks good and the breaker is popping, even after a new one is installed, you may want to have an amperage draw test done while the pump is under load. Don't get excited if it shows as much as 80 or slightly more amps while it is working moving a room. At this point you have two choices. Wire a 30 amp auto reset 12 volt breaker in parallel with the 50. That will give you 80 amps max draw and still protecting the motor. Or, you can do like I did. Went down to my neighborhood Advanced car parts store and picked up a 12 volt 70 amp manual reset breaker and another piece of 6 gage red cable.

I screwed the the 70 amp breaker to the bulk-head, ran the new red 6 gage cable from the positive battery post to the battery stub on the breaker then, took the red 6 gage cable off the breaker it was hooked to and moved it to the auxillary stud on the new 70 amp breaker. I did that because, on our unit, Keystone had something else hooked to the auto reset breaker other than just the pump.

Also, if the 70 amp manual reset breaker pops, I want to be able to go double check things before the breaker is reset. I can test all of the connections before I reset the breaker.

Make sense? It works great for me!

Another thing to keep in mind. This time of year, if you are in a cooler climate the fluid will pump harder causing the pump to draw higher amperage. ATF will help eleviate a small percentage of that because it is formulated to do that for the gigantic pump hooked up behind your truck engine!

Anybody have any other questions, don't hesitate to holler.

Dale

You may also like: