Leveling System "Times Out" ?

[astrungis]

I bought our Montana in February of 2013. I have been using it for 4 months at least. Traveled 6,000 miles with it. Hooked and unhooked dozens of times. Towards the end of our last trip, the leveling system including the slide operation would stop. The battery voltage would drop to/below 12V. Once they recharged, the slide/leveling system would operate for 10 seconds and stop again. I took it to the dealer for warranty. Keystone referred them to Lippert. They said it was operating and wired as designed!

The dealer technician said that the batteries were charging at 13.7V. He found that the hydraulic pump trips the main hose breaker in the battery compartment and "times out". Then you have to wait for it to "time in" and try again until it "times out" Frustrating...

The tech said for 1.2 hours labor he would add a 80A breaker dedicated to the hydraulic slide pump to resolve this issue. Anyone else ever experience this? What did you do?

 

[Tom S.-MOC]

I have the same problem and will replace the breaker myself as soon as the spring thaw comes.

 

[scott-pati]

Sounds to me like something is binding up. Have you tried turning off the slides except one and see how that goes, then turn on a second and try etc. that way you may find which slide is giving you trouble.

 

[mhs4771]

We had to do that mod to our 2010 Montana so it's not a new problem. We had the same problem with our SOB when the weather got colder, but found the Mfr put in the wrong breakers, they sent me the correct ones and once installed no further problem.

 

[richfaa]

Our 2013 3402 has never done that. We are never in very cold weather 'They said it was operating and wired as designed!'

.So lippert is telling you it is designed to fail??

 

[bethandkevin]

Our 2013 is operating normally and we DO use it in cold temps. Never had an issue. Did the dealer test your batteries and check your connections? Low voltage will cause what you describe. The batteries may have the voltage, but if the reserve capacity (crank amps in a start battery) aren't there they need to be replaced. Being hooked to the TV may not help.

 

[jimcol]

The problem is common and the fix is easy. I use to have the service bulletin from Lippert describing how to increase the amperage of the auto circuit breaker. Can't locate it now but one of our members BB Tex posted pictures of his fix at: http://s906.photobucket.com/user/BB_TX/media/100_1136.jpg.html Might search this forum using auto circuit breaker for more info. Jim

 

[takpak]

The battery voltage would drop to/below 12V. Once they recharged, the slide/leveling system would operate for 10 seconds and stop again.

Part of the key here too, is what you are saying about the battery voltage. As the voltage goes down, the amp draw goes up. Could be a battery problem, or could be "line loss". Fully charged batteries without any load should be at least 12.6 volts or a bit higher, if they just came off a charge cycle. They should have enough "oomph" not to drop very much when in use, at least at first.

 

[Irlpguy]

What I am seeing here is the voltage at the batteries. You say it drops below 12V that suggests to me that the batteries/battery has about failed. Have you checked them for water since you bought the unit.
The fact the batteries are showing a charge rate of 13.7V does not indicate the condition of the batteries.
I would buy a hydrometer to test the batteries after checking the water level in them. Fully charge them and let them sit for at least a half hour and check the voltage again, Should be at least 12.8V.

As the voltage drops the current goes up, explaining the tripping of the circuit breaker, try the process with the RV plugged into shore power and see if it acts the same.

Any tech that wants to charge for 1.2 hrs to put in a new circuit breaker that should be a 15 min job is a robber in disguise.
While replacing the circuit breaker may appear to solve the problem, you need to be sure the batteries are in "good" condition and all connections are good first off.

 

[DQDick]

We had ours replaced with 80amps by Keystone under warranty because of that very issue once it got cold. If I were you I would also check the batteries, they also may not be heavy duty enough for what your doing and the temperatures.

 

[richfaa]

Our 06 3400 did trip the breaker at first. We had the slides properly adjusted by a qualified service facility and that reduced the tripping problem 90 % or better. Of course we do not use the Montana in cold weather. I do not think the slides have ever on either of our Montana 's been operated in temps below 60 degrees.

we also do not just hold the slide switch in and let then operate. We will do the bedroom and kitchen slide first then pause for a few seconds then the opposing slide, pause then the large slide. We did purchased a couple of 80 amp breakers way back and still have them in our" things that break" department.