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Old 03-29-2013, 03:56 AM   #1
mach111
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Fuse Keeps Blowing

After several months of owning our Monty I need advice.

Each time I retract slides or jacks on our '09 2980RL the 30 amp inline fuse for the hydraulics blows when slides or jacks end their cycle. I try hard to not overload the system by holding the buttons too long. I replace the fuse and all is well. Fuse does not blow every time just on occasion. This happens with buttons and the remote and hooked to shore power or T/V. Grounds and voltage seem to be good. Battery is 3 months old and checks good. No other electric issues are happening.

Has any service bulletins been issued in the past for this issue? We are the second owners so the recall could have been missed. Just thought I would ask if anyone has experienced this problem before I call Keystone.

Thanks to all of you for making this site so user friendly and informative. We really enjoy meeting the friendly fellow Monty owners in our travels.
 
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Old 03-29-2013, 04:21 AM   #2
bncinwv
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Many have replaced the fuse with an auto-rest breaker. Another oddity is that some rigs came with a 30 amp fuse and others came with a 40 amp fuse. I used whichever was available with no ill effects. Most who replaced with an auto reset breaker used a single 40 amp and others wired two 40 amp breakers in parallel to solve the problem. If it were me, i would try a 40 amp fuse and see if that solves the issue. If not, i am sure others will be along with the specifics of the breaker installation.
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Old 03-29-2013, 05:03 AM   #3
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Hmmm? I am curious. Where is the 30 amp fuse located?
As far as I know I do not have a fuse for the hydraulics, only an auto reset circuit breaker. I do have a 30 amp in-line fuse in the front compartment, but that is for the front jacks.
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Old 03-29-2013, 05:09 AM   #4
DQDick
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If you mean the fuse blows and then resets itself after a few seconds that is what many of us have experienced. On many of the older rigs folks have added another fuse in tandem. I called Keystone on our rig, when it was new, and they authorized the installation of a 60amp fuse under warranty. Call Keystone customer service and see what they recommend for your year of Monty. It won't be a new issue for them.
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Old 03-29-2013, 08:08 AM   #5
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If you retract the legs until the motor lugs down, you will blow the fuse. I put a piece of white tape around the leg so I know when I'm getting close to the top. I stop the legs about a quarter of an inch from the tape and haven't blown a fuse since.
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Old 03-29-2013, 08:19 AM   #6
mach111
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by NCFischers

If you retract the legs until the motor lugs down, you will blow the fuse. I put a piece of white tape around the leg so I know when I'm getting close to the top. I stop the legs about a quarter of an inch from the tape and haven't blown a fuse since.
Yes, I have the legs marked with a black paint stripe.

The slides will blown the fuse upon complete retraction also. Yes, as I said in the post I am aware of lugging the motor down.

I am going to try the simple solution first of changing the fuse to 40 amps then go from there. In '02 factory recommended changing a fuse from 30 to 40 amp on jack system solved same problem in a diesel pusher we had. The reset breakers sound like the ultimate fix. Also am going to call Keystone about the 60 amp fix also.

Thanks to all your suggestions. I will update the fix as time passes.
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Old 03-29-2013, 09:39 AM   #7
Carl n Susan
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Color me confused! There are two distinct and separate systems being referenced.

Hydraulic Slides - The hydraulic slide system power goes from the battery through a 30 (or 40 - it depends) Amp self resetting circuit breaker.

Jacks - The landing leg jacks are electric all the way (no hydraulics unless you have the Lippert 6 Point Leveling System which was not available originally for a 2980) with power from the battery flowing through an in-line 30 Amp blade type fuse.

Operating the slides will not affect the 30 Amp blade fuse for the jacks and vice versa.

The OP reports changing the fuse each time it blows. This implies (at least to me) it is the 30 Amp in-line blade fuse for the landing legs. Increasing the size to 40 Amp is the normal solution for this problem. But blowing the fuse is usually due to extending/retracting too far or indicative of leg problems (bent, not lubricated, etc.). A 2980 doesn't have enough weight on the front jacks (unlike some other models) to overload the capacity of the jacks.

The 30 (or 40) Amp self resetting circuit breaker for the hydraulic slides is a much more common problem. And the CB gets a little weaker each time it "pops" making it more prone to "popping" during subsequent usage. While it "fixes itself" without human intervention, the starting/stopping is irritating. The solution here is to upgrade to an 80 Amp CB or wire two 40 Amp CBs in parallel.

A "Search" on either of these terms should uncover a number of examples on the corrections.
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Old 03-29-2013, 11:53 AM   #8
mach111
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Carl,

Thanks for the explanation to help me to understand.

Have searched and found topic explaining change to 80 ampCB or to parallel two 40's.
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Old 03-29-2013, 01:32 PM   #9
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Thanks Carl for jumping in here and letting everyone know about the two sets of fuses/breakers. I was just about to jump in there myself since I'm now in the process of changing out both front landing gears and the gearbox down here in Little Rock! My 2980 does have the extra weight from the two 12 volt batteries I put in for Quartzite- a real overkill on my part but as soon as I get back to Omaha those two big bruisers will be coming out and the regular 12 volt battery is going back in. I am putting in a 40 amp fuse in to replace the 30 that is inline from the battery to the front landing gear motor as when we hopefully will have the job done tomarrow. See my update post on "Here we go Again" thread. It explains what problems came up. Anyway, hope mach111 gets his problem figured out but it does sound to me it is bad gears in the landing gear and/or bent legs causing a bind shaft and gears. Keep us informed on the progress and what you come up with mach111!
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Old 03-29-2013, 01:45 PM   #10
Tom S.
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by mach111

Carl,

Thanks for the explanation to help me to understand.

Have searched and found topic explaining change to 80 ampCB or to parallel two 40's.
But that mod is only for the hydraulic motor that operates the slides. Do not do that for the jacks. If you are blowing the 30 amp jack fuse, you have an issue with the jacks that needs to be fixed, and not by upping the size of the fuse!

Worse yet, if you are blowing that 30 amp fuse when using the slides, you have some other problem and need to have someone familiar with electrical circuits look at it because the slides and jacks are supposed to be separate from each other.
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Old 03-29-2013, 02:10 PM   #11
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Exactly what Tom said. I put an 80amp fuse on the slides with the blessing of Keystone. Would not do that with the landing gear.
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Old 03-29-2013, 02:12 PM   #12
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Yup, some ambiguities here...

If you raise the landing gear and the fuse blows, then watch those limits. A 30 amp or a 40 amp won't help this. If you aren't exceeding the raise limits then there might be some extra binding or problem that stresses the motor to cause the fuse to blow. I'm gonna guess this is not hydraulic. Please someone confirm.

For the slides, if you extend or retract and things stop, this operation uses an autoresetting breaker. Wait a few seconds, then resume. If this keeps happening, there are several causes for this. 1.) make sure the batteries are very charged or connect to the TV (with the motor running) or to shore power to add some extra 12v power (from the TV batter(ies) or RV converter on shore power) to workaround this issue. 2.) Check that the rear stabilizers are down (to prevent extra movement and stress as the slides move). 3.) Check the fluid level of the reservoir when the slides are fully retracted and ensure it's filled properly (probably with ATF Type A or check your manual regarding slides). Finally, 4.) the autoresetting breakers are underrated and then you need to replace the existing one with a higher rated breaker (e.g. 80 amp) or dual breakers in parallel (two 40 amp). It's recommended if you go the dual breaker route, get two new ones so they are probably the same age.

Operating the slides should NEVER blow the fuse for the landing gear. If it does, get the electrical checked out because there's probably a bad connection somewhere. Hopefully, you are not trying to operate both of these at the same time!
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Old 03-29-2013, 08:05 PM   #13
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Just a FYI on the 2980. My model year (2006) has the highest pin weight of any Montana that year. I bought it 9 months old, so am not sure what is standard, but I think I have a auto-reset fuse for both the landing gear and slides. There are definitely 2 on the back of the front basement.
Also, when my motor and clutch went bad on the landing gear, they sent out a replacement motor that was much faster and included an inline blade fuse. It blew the inline fuse about every 20 seconds so I made them re-order the correct motor which is slower, but also is either geared lower or has more power, as it has never blown since it was replaced.
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Old 03-30-2013, 05:25 AM   #14
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I replaced it with a breaker, fits right in the fuse holder.
Pictures in the link. I have a smaller fuse package shown, but that is just to show the fuse is the same as the breaker ion size.
Any auto parts store.
http://s112.photobucket.com/user/JimsSue13/library/Ozzsmods101/Landing%20gear%20fuse%20upgrade%20to%20breaker
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Old 04-06-2013, 03:24 AM   #15
mach111
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UPDATE TO TOPIC
After a complete lube to landing gear, change fuse to 40 amp, and relocate pink wire to proper breaker(thanks to pic of wiring posted)all is well. Pink wire had been changed to slide breaker at sometime.

Changed factory breaker to a new 80 amp re settable breaker and lube slides all is well.
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