front slides stuck in position

[Eqdawg87]

Got the motorhome to my house to start packing and the 2 front slides
no work. Clicking noises from the hydraulic area. This is new unit, don't
think solenoid went out. Was rather warm out and motor/pump hot due to leveling jacks. Any ideas?


2014 Berkshire 390FL

[boowho]

Originally Posted by Eqdawg87

Got the motorhome to my house to start packing and the 2 front slides
no work. Clicking noises from the hydraulic area. This is new unit, don't
think solenoid went out. Was rather warm out and motor/pump hot due to leveling jacks. Any ideas?


2014 Berkshire 390FL

If your pump motor overheated, you may have caused internal damage. It comes apart quite easily (assuming your a bit mechanically inclined) and you can check it out.

On mine, one of the brushes had fused itself to the brush holder due to overheat. I was able to "unfuse" it, clean up the brush holder with a small file, then put the brush back in. Bingo!!! Everything working fine.

Brush was a bit "boogered" but still usable.

Alternatively, you can replace the whole motor at a cost of about $240.

Hopefully, your problem is much simpler; and not the motor itself. Mine failed when I was trying Eq Sys's procedure for bleeding the air out of the system. Their published procedure can easily ruin the motor by causing it to overheat badly.


Boowho??

[Eqdawg87]

This unit is under warranty, just pick up 2 months ago. Yes I could dismantle the pump and see, maybe in morning will shock-jar it. The leveler's did heat the unit up a lot. Might get lucky and a thermal cut off is inside.

[silver]

If the coach sat with the batteries connected it may just be low power. Did the levelers work? If yes the pump motor is good. Start the generator so you have full power to the pump. Make sure the coach is level and try again. Also check water in your coach batteries. Make sure plates are covered.. Hydraulics will not work properly with low power. I have been told that even the new cable system used on the big slides uses an hydraulic assist to move.

Just a thought.

[Eqdawg87]

Now that is plausible, I did add and inch plus of water to all 4 batteries. Genset ran 1 hour, and the levelers are stuck in down position. I will go out and plug in unit now. I did run 100+ miles today, figured the coach batts would be charged..Thanks for help.

[Paulie Boy]

A bit of advice I received from Randy at Equalizer. Loosen the two screws at the back of the motor. Bang the back of the motor with the screw driver, tighten the screws back up and try the motor again. By doing this you are releasing the brushes that are stuck.


Paul
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[I-RV]

An inch plus of water added to the batteries seems like a awful lot The battery fluid should be just touching or just below the bottom rim (inside the battery) of the opening.

[Eqdawg87]

@Paulie Boy, I can do that if necessary. The back 2 slides worked though? Might be they're not hydraulic. @I-RV, water was above plates, 4 batts 3/4th gallon. Don't think they even checked them when I bought unit. Is new 14 model on lot for a year, plugged in.

[Paulie Boy]

We have a 2014 390BH-60. The two back slides are electric and the two larger front slides are hydraulic.


Paul
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[I-RV]

Eqdawg87, I hope there is a name we can call you - LOL

There is several manual operations that can be done for hydraulic emergencies. One is turning the motor with a electric drill and manually opening the proper hydraulic valve. Jumping the motor with your toad's battery or a portable power pack. These operations take a bit of instructions and familiarity with the hydraulics - Hank

[Eqdawg87]

Erik Quentin or Eq. The dawg is 'cause 3 pekes rule the house. 87 was a life altering decision. I quit the liquid stupid!! Thanks for asking. I will try the backing of screws first. If that fails I will find a warranty shop closer than Elkhart, 250 miles from Peoria. The jacks are down tho. So manually doing I will have to do.

[Eqdawg87]

Plugged in all night. Jacks wont rise, slides not moving...A new unit shouldn't need this already.

[I-RV]

Erik - I suggest that you call Randy at Lippert. the supplier of the hydraulics. Problem is that he will only be reachable this coming Tuesday. How high is the fluid level in the hydraulic tank? Check the fuse laying in among the hydraulic compartment wires. You may have to dig around to locate it. - Hank

[boowho]

Originally Posted by Eqdawg87

@Paulie Boy, I can do that if necessary. The back 2 slides worked though? Might be they're not hydraulic. @I-RV, water was above plates, 4 batts 3/4th gallon. Don't think they even checked them when I bought unit. Is new 14 model on lot for a year, plugged in.

Sitting on the lot for a year without any battery maintenance could (possibly) have ruined the batteries. It did on my coach. Had to replace all four.

Only one was really "cooked" badly, but not replacing them all at the same time is just asking for the new one to fail very quickly. Just sayin'

Boowho??

[I-RV]

Erik - Your back slide are electric and work off the batteries. Do they work. If not, you have battery problems like Boo cited may be the problem. Hank

[Eqdawg87]

Yuppers, the back slides work great. I can hear the relays just click on the front two when the wife tried and I was outside. Going to pop the back open on the motor alittle and see if the brushes are frozen. Wish me luck.

[silver]

Is your parking break on? Jacks will not work if ti is off. Also slides will not work if ignition is on.

[Eqdawg87]

yes, removed the back of brushes 1/8th inch and that did the trick...tho now I cannot tighten them back up, or it does same as before. So are the brushes bad? Since this is a new unit warranty void if I do much more than what I did I suspect. Any thoughts on that??

[boowho]

Originally Posted by Eqdawg87

yes, removed the back of brushes 1/8th inch and that did the trick...tho now I cannot tighten them back up, or it does same as before. So are the brushes bad? Since this is a new unit warranty void if I do much more than what I did I suspect. Any thoughts on that??

Really strange.... If under warranty, I'd let them fix it.

I will say that if you have the same motor as me, the brushes are different than most I've seem. Most brushes press on the commutator in a direction perpendicular to the motor shaft. The commutator itself is aligned with the shaft, in other words and the commutator is cylindrical shape

The brushes on this motor press on a FLAT commutator (like a flat disk) that is (itself) perpendicular to the shaft.

May sound confusing, but the bottom line is that this motor is a LOT easier to work on if trying to replace the brushes. If you get all the wires disconnected you can then remove those two bolts and the whole motor come off in your hands. You will NOT lose any Hyd fluid as the motor and pump itself are two separate housings with regard to the fluid.

BTW, if they happen to replace your whole motor under warranty, try to talk them into giving you the old brush assembly. If usable, I'll pay you $40 for it. Hope I haven't broken a rule by making this offer.

Boowho??

[Eqdawg87]

Yes, it's only 2 month on road. 1240 miles on it. 750 miles for warranty work from where I bought it, by the factory.