Blown fuse?

[jackbetsy]

We are getting ready to head south and today discovered the outside switch for the landing gear doesn't work (the remote works). Also the inside switch for the slides doesn't work (the remote does) and the outside switch for the stabilizers doesn't work (again, the remote works). Though the remote does work, it shuts down every few seconds and needs to reset. Should I be looking for a blown fuse? Any ideas what the problem could be? Thanks, guys!

 

[LCBoyer]

I think you may have a weak battery

 

[jbcason]

Two separate problems. Fuze for the manual switch is blown. The start and stop is the circuit breaker that powers the landing gear is weak.

 

[Wheelhouse]

Check the inline fuse in the battery compartment. You may have to replace or increase the fuse rating because of the draw on the landing gear. The in-line fuse breaks and resets itself. That is what makes you think the battery may be weak. I was to to maybe go from a 30amp to 50amp.

 

[1retired06]

I had a similar problem with inability to turn off the outside lights from the interior switch. I shut off all power, disconnected the battery, and reconnected, and that took care of the problem. I suspect the remote control assembly reset when I did that.

 

[jackbetsy]

Not the battery - had it checked. Disconnected everything to try to reset. That didn't work. Can't find a blown fuse unless there is one I haven't found yet. Where is the circuit breaker that powers the landing gear?

 

[Irlpguy]

Some folks have found that the ground wire from the remote receiver where the wires to the Manual Switches connect to the receiver were not making good ground, they moved that to a different location. Here is a picture of my remote receiver which may be slightly different than yours but look in the top left hand corner or for the terminals marked Manual Switches. There should be 12V at the + side of that terminal all the time.

Your receiver is obviously being powered or the remote would not work, and would indicate no power or poor ground at the Manual Switch terminals. Hope that helps.

 

[Irlpguy]

Upon re-reading your original post it appears you have two things happening, one I mention in my previous post and the other is the stop/starting of the pump. That is related to the auto reset circuit breakers. They tend to act up in colder weather when the oil is thicker, when the batteries are weak or in some cases the breakers themselves are not operating properly anymore.

The Circuit Breakers are the first thing the + wiring from the battery will be connected to after leaving the battery. There will likely be two of them and they should be 50amp. Plugging your unit into shore power will give you the added benefit of the converter assisting the battery when putting the slides in and out. If you are unable to connect to shore power I would use jumper cables from your TV and I suspect that will help with the circuit breakers kicking out.

Occasionally the battery in the remote can also cause the same effect if it needs replacing.

 

[DQDick]

Ed has got your whole problem covered, I would just add that before you change the breaker call Keystone. Keystone replaced ours with an 80amp fuse under warranty but said that some older models couldn't use higher fuse ratings but what they did then was put two fuses in sequence and that seemed to solve the problem. Just give Keystone customer service a call, tell them the breaker is kicking out and ask what size is appropriate for your age of rig.

 

[ishler]

Just to build on what Ed covered when my remote module failed I needed to jump both the + and - leads.

 

[Carl n Susan]

I agree there are two problems. The infamous auto-reset circuit breaker (your 2009 likely has the 40 amp one) has been discussed many times before. Here is 5 pages of the most recent one. Pictures of paralleling two 40 Amp breakers are available here on the MOC if you Search.

Auto-reset breaker discussion
http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56038

The problem where the remote works but the switches don't is another popular topic. Here are some pertinet discussions and what others have done (successfully) to overcome the problem.
http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46515
http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55999

 

[dsprik]

I had a different solution. My switch popped. Replaced my switch and fixed the problem. I previously replaced inline fuses. Didn't know the switch has a built in one time breaker...

 

[Irlpguy]

quote:Originally posted by Ishler

Just to build on what Ed covered when my remote module failed I needed to jump both the + and - leads.

Good point, if the failure is internal to the remote receiver, a jumper to both from a known "good" source would indicate the receiver is not switching the power it receives to the Remote Switches and leaving a jumper in place would bypass the receiver.

The links provided by Carl also are valuable information on previous posts on the subject.

 

[jackbetsy]

Ok I pulled the circuit breakers (one was 50 amp and one was 30 amp). Replaced them with new ones and now I have nothing at all. Now the remote doesn't even work. Put the old ones back in and still have nothing.

 

[jackbetsy]

Any help would be appreciated. We are in Frankford, Delaware.

 

[Irlpguy]

quote:Originally posted by JacknBetsy

Ok I pulled the circuit breakers (one was 50 amp and one was 30 amp). Replaced them with new ones and now I have nothing at all. Now the remote doesn't even work. Put the old ones back in and still have nothing.

Jack the circuit breakers must be wired correctly, if you happened to have the first one from the battery wired in backward then you would get nothing to either breaker. They are marked but are hard to see. Some have a short and longer terminal, the short terminal is the Batt. and the longer one is the Load. Some use a different colored terminal to indicate which is which.

Check that you have them in correctly, if you do then you must have a poor connection at ground or from the battery.

 

[Irlpguy]

Jack on the circuit breakers it appears even with colored terminals the short one is the Batt and the long is Load, or if the same length the brass colored one is Batt.
Here is a basic schematic of the circuit breaker wiring in my 3402, it may differ somewhat from yours.
A picture of yours would be very helpful.

Corrected the location of the Jumper from circuit breaker to circuit breaker and added the wiring to remote.

 

[jackbetsy]

Thanks for your help. I will try to post a picture. Your schematic looks very similar. Is it possible for the whole component to go bad?

 

[Irlpguy]

quote:Originally posted by JacknBetsy

Thanks for your help. I will try to post a picture. Your schematic looks very similar. Is it possible for the whole component to go bad?

If you are talking about the remote receiver you can always check to see if there is power to the terminals on it from the circuit breaker. The circuit breakers unless tripped will have power on both sides if they are wired correctly, not much to go wrong with them.

I would suspect like any electronic devise the receiver could "go bad", however I think it more likely it is now not getting power for some reason. You might want to confirm the battery in your remote is ok just to be sure that is not the reason it is not now working.

Jack send me a PM with your phone number and I will give you a call.

 

[jackbetsy]

Many thanks to all for the help, especially to Ed who walked me through trouble-shooting and taught me how to test the breakers. The problem ended up being the component which I received today from Lippert. All is well and we will continue south tomorrow. Thanks again everyone! Have a safe and healthy 2014!