Slides stopping

[CamillaMichael]

I recall some discussion a while back about why slides were stopping intermitently when not connected to shore power...no luck in finding the discussions with search...can someone explain what is going on with the slides?? I never have any issues when connected to shore power, but always have a "few stops" when not connected to shore power. Related to this issue, I just happened to have the forward storage door in front of the battery open when the slides did their last stop-n-go two step and noticed a small red light on the back panel/wall, over the battery box. When attempting to do the feel test, I found a small toggle button that put the red light out...must be some kind of reset??? Any ideas/knowledge what this could be? I am guessing that it is a reset for the breaker related to the slide issue, but the slides will continue to retract after less than a minute pause without the breaker (?) light going out???

[mhs4771]

We had similar issues with our 2010 2955RL. The solution for us was to add the second auto reset breaker in parallel with the OEM one. We had a single 50 amp breaker, but when on battery power alone the draw from the hydraulic pump can exceed that 50 amps causing it to trip, wait a few seconds and it resets. Once we added the second breaker we never had the problem again.

[BB_TX]

Many of us have had the problem with the auto reset circuit breakers getting weak and doing that. But, at least with me, it did not matter if I was connected to power or not. Not sure why it would only do it when disconnected.

Solution is to replace the breaker with a new one of same size (sometimes a temporary fix) or to replace it with a higher amperage breaker, or to wire two same size breakers in parallel. Both of the latter a permanent fix.

[Irlpguy]

We have a 2012 - 3402RL and the red light you noticed is the LED indicator that tells you the remote receiver is activated. The "reset" button you found on the feel test was the momentary button that you can turn off the receiver with.

If you stand at this compartment opening and toggle on the remote you will see the LED come on, you are then able to operate the slides and landing gear from the remote. If you want to confirm this, turn the remote on, then turn off the light with the button below it, you will then see that the remote will not control any of the hydraulics. It will still turn the lights on and off though.

We find at times when not connected to shore power our system does the stop n go thing as well, we have never reset anything and at times I just thought it might be the communication between the remote (transmitter) and the receiver where the red light is located. If that is not the case, then I would assume there may be some sort of voltage sensing built into the system, when under heavy load it senses a lower voltage and shuts off until that voltage increases to a certain level, which it will do after the load is taken off for a short time.

I will one day solve the puzzle, it just has not been a big enough problem for me to worry about "yet". I hope yours is not as well.

Oh by the way, we never have the problem when connected to shore power. So the voltage seems the likely cause.

[mhs4771]

Being on Battery power only gives you a slightly lower voltage, even with good batteries, than when connected to shore power, Lower voltage means a higher current draw and since the breaker operates on current independent of voltage, the higher current draw trips the breaker, resulting in the stop-n-start of the hydraulic pump motor.

[DQDick]

When we had that problem, Keystone approved changing the breaker to an 80amp breaker. No problems ever since, even when the temperature is really cold.

[Irlpguy]

For efficient operation and longevity of the hydraulic pump motor the voltage and current draw is limited to a certain amount. If that is 50 amps, then I will be content to wait the moment or two that it takes for the circuit breaker to reset itself. On the rare occasion we encounter this problem, having a larger breaker may not adversely affect the motor, however over time if this was a regular issue the life of the hydraulic motor would certainly be reduced.

Try cranking over a starter motor or that on a winch for an extended period of time with no breaker and you will fry the motor in short order. As was stated in an earlier post, as the voltage drops the current will increase in order to produce the same result. Unfortunately this produces an overload on the motor and is detrimental to the motor and the batteries.

Fuses and circuit breakers are there for a reason, going to a larger capacity fuse or breaker may solve the problem for the moment, but very well may create another more serious problem down the road.

If you find you just can't live with it, then I would recommend you contact Lippert, they manufacture the system and would be the best source of advise regarding the stop and start of the pump motor and whether to increase the capacity of the circuit breakers - "or not".

[MIMF]

Once again, folks. With the Parker hydraulic pumps that Lippert uses for ALL of the hydraulics, they are prone to this activity this time of year. It is cold and the fluid in the reservoir is slightly "stiffer". Therefore, the pump motor will work harder to pressurize the system which, will inturn causes a higher amperage draw. That motor that drives the pump is rated to draw as high as 100amps.

The circuit breaker that protects the pump motor is a 12 volt auto resetting breaker. That is to make it easier for you folks because, a 50 amp 12 volt breaker auto resetting breaker is about the biggest you will most likely find. However, once these breakers start to pop open, each time they cool down and reset, they are weaker. At a curtain point, they will become weak enough that they will not reset.

You can put 2 30 amp or 2 40 amp or, even 2 50's in parallel and all should be good. But, here is what I did. I bought a 70 amp manual reset and put it inline. If it trips, it will remind me to go to the pump to make sure all connections are snug and do a little troubleshooting to make sure everything is good before I physically reset the lever on the side of the breaker. I have never had an issue yet. If, the battery/ies is not providing at least 12 volts, this will exagerate the issue. That is why when you are plugged into shore power, everything is fine because, the converter is providing a charge to the battery/ies.

If you have the issue on battery power and want to temporarily avoid the issue, back your diesel up to the front end of the unit and plug the Bargman into the recept on the back of the truck. The 12 plus volts you are getting off the truck will make the pump motor very happy.

Hope this has provided a little insight. Maintaining the battery/ies and all connections, especially chassis grounds for these 12 volt systems is very critical for proper and trouble free operation.

Soon, it will be time to get the old Challenger ready for summer use. As always, I will be tightening and testing the connections and using the the red stuff that Ozz talks about.

[mazboy]

lots of input but i had the same problem with my 2010 3150, i just upped the reset fuse to a larger one...i think i went to a 50 amp fuse....never a problem after that.

http://www.wiringproducts.com/conten..._breakers.html

[CamillaMichael]

Thanks to all for your input...think I will let things be for the moment. Tinkering with electric "things" has always been one of my many areas of weakness...with my luck, if I were to attempt any changes, I would end up with the slides going in and out every time the toilet was flushed!

[Irlpguy]

Good plan folks...

You now know there are options if the problem gets worse or you are not willing to wait a few min. Heck you also now know what that little red light and button are for...

May your Stop n Start two step never reach a fast stompin line dance.

[mazboy]

simple to replace the fuse on the wall...just get a 50amp resetable fuse and put on the wall.

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by mazboy

simple to replace the fuse on the wall...just get a 50amp resetable fuse and put on the wall.

Most anything can seem simple when you know what you are doing, but when you don't, the most simple task can be daunting!

[psomers]

Increasing breaker size is not a good idea. What I would worry about more than the motor is wire size. Wiring for 50 amp is probably 5 ought. Running any higher current than wire is sized for causes wire to get hot.

[farmboy]

quote:Originally posted by psomers

Increasing breaker size is not a good idea. What I would worry about more than the motor is wire size. Wiring for 50 amp is probably 5 ought. Running any higher current than wire is sized for causes wire to get hot.

Paul, I hate to tell you, but after 4/0 it goes to mil sizes. I would have no problem with 50 amp on 4awg wire.

[moutard2]

My slides do the stop 'n start dance when the battery in my remote needs to be replaced.

[RJI47]

I had the same problem in October. I also have the dual C/B set-up. it took 2 hours to get the rooms out. I finally called Lippet and had a conversation with the tech there. He said in his technical opinion, it was not the trombetts, and most likely not the fues by itself either. He did confirm that the more the C/B trips, the weaker it gets. He was 'almost' positive that the battery (which is the original) was weak, and not putting out enough voltage, which in turn increased the current draw. His suggestion was to take the battery for a "stress test", and replace it if necessary, and replace the C/B. When I put the rooms in, it took 6 trys, before they all came in. When I came back in Dec with a new battery and C/B, and a new trombetts just to be safe, all the rooms opened perfectly without a problem..... Go figure. I haven't replaced the C/B or battery yet, but I will before I head home.

[RonD]

I replaced our auto reset 50 amp breaker with a marine 100 amp breaker, non auto reset, if it trips, you have to reset with a button push, also I replaced all the 4 ga wires in the system with 2 ga, the motor will pull 75-78 amps at times, larger wire is always better

[Art-n-Marge]

There are several issues with slideouts and here's the scoop, since I pretty much had all these problems at one time or another. Any of this will cause an intermittent start/stop of the breakers and if the breakers do this they will weaken and cause the problem once again. Monitor all these and you should be good.

1. Fluid level - when full the reservoir should be filled to 1/4" from the top. Use any Type A ATF fluid - any cheap Mercon, Dextron would fit the bill as these are replacements for the hard to find Type A. Do not use Type F.

2. Slides out of adjustment - 99.9% of the time this is NOT the problem if the slides eventually go all the way in or out. This is a tough job to fix yourself, but it has been a solution for some.

3. Slide maintenance - Properly maintained (dry lubed, whatever the manual recommends) helps prevent stress as the slides move in and out. I clean then lubricate the gearing and rollers with a dry silicon lubricant (sold at RV or hardware stores) periodically. In addition I also clean and treat the rubber surrounds for all four slides - stuff is sold for this too.

4. Unstable rig - my manual recommends that the rear stabilizers must be in place to minimize any extra movement from the slides being in operation. The extra movement might cause extra stress as the slide extends or retracts and cause the breakers to reset - they will reset and continue but remember that excessive autoresetting means you'll be changing these out as they weaken.

5. Weak Battery - this sounds like this might be a problem in your case especially since you mention that when connected to shore power, there is no problem. This implies when connected to shore power, the 12v converter in the rig is providing enough power to operate the slides and the battery(ies) are not strong enough to do this by themselves.

6. Weak autoresetting breakers - this turned out to be my major problem. After I started lubricating things regularly, and kept the reservoir filled as recommended, always stabilized and made sure the batteries were fully charged and maintained (mind need water level checking), the only problem left to solve was this one. There is documentation from Lippert (assuming you have lippert hardware) and how to fix it by REPLACING the autoresetting breakers to a higher rating, either 80 amps or as much as 100 amps. Ever since doing this I have had NO issues and I have passed on this recommendation to many others (via email or phone calls) and there has been 100% success for members who got this recommendation. If you do this fix and you still have problems when using only the coach batteries I would strongly suspect your batteries or whatever you use as a charging system for them.

There you have it. Eveything I've experienced, learned from the MOC, or from Lippert and resolved this issues as part of my maintenance to keep the slides operating correctly.

[CamillaMichael]

Thanks for your detailed reply, Art!