steps wont close.

[stony]

Ok i have an issue.

I just drove up to Alaska. It was cold with a lot of snow. There was a lot of snow around the electric steps. They worked fine BUT today they extended and wont go back in. i was able to get then to go in a couple times by pulling the step fuse next to the battery over the course of a day or so. But now they wont go in at all. Is there anyway to manually retract them. Any suggestions on how to get them to stay in. its currently 5 degrees and i'm not interested in troubleshooting it just need them to stay in till i get home.

Thanks

[herk7769]

You are going to have to get the snow and ice out of there before you burn out the motor. (If its not gone already).

It sounds like the motor is struggling against something and was overheating till the fuse popped. There has to be a manual way to retract the steps. Do you know the manufacturer of the steps?

[davepcpowernet]

The motor wont burn out as the electronics in the controller shut off when the current increases to the shut-off point. It sounds as though the steps need lubrication. Your steps are probably made by Kwikee whose website has lubrication instructions. Kwikee Steps

[scubieman]

Take a hair dryer and warm up every part you think maybe the problem.

[dashonthedash]

First, check for any obstructions in the steps. Then, check whether the magnetic door switch has come loose (that happened to me), or if it is covered with snow. I would also check that the step switch is working (easy to do if you have a DVM), and check for a loose wire (particularly the fuse, since it seemed to work briefly after you pulled it). If these steps don't get you anything, close the door, start the engine and see if the steps retract via the ignition switch. If they do, it may mean a bad switch. I don't know of a way to manually retract them, but you might try the owner's manual or the Kwikee website.

[stony]

Pretty sure they are just froze up. Next ?? Anyone know where FR hides the Jack to change a tire?? Mine is a 28 foot forester. I was stuck out in the middle of Yukon Canada about 100 miles north of fort Nelson with on of the rear tires flat. Good thing a guy came by and sold me his Jack!!!!

[remember]

i bought a everest 345s 2008 in 2008 and had a flat tire coming back from wildwood new-jersey,i had to use a small jack bought in costco,,and find out after going back to the dealer that there is no jack,coming included in those 50,000 dollars fifth-wheel

[stony]

SO lets recap... finally made it home (utah) from Alaska.... steps froze up and would not work, the chassis would not charge the camper batteries (no blown fuses) so i had to run generator every night we stopped, fridge froze up (-30 in Yukon learned rv fridges don't like cold my bad..) and had a valve stem on the inner rear tire break off causing it to go flat. FR didn't install a jack in a 80K class C rv????? WTF. Anyways got sidelined for a couple hours till i got one. Very lucky there were nice people out in the middle of no where. Every time i have ever made this trip i brought a 4 ton jack. for some reason i didnt this time (brand new 28 foot rv had something to do with that)

G-nite going to bed. !!!!

Oh yea arctic pack don't work for sh*t in the Yukon black water is frozen and wont empty. they should call it just below freezing pack. cause it doesn't work in the arctic!!!!!

[dashonthedash]

Lesson learned: Don't go to Alaska in the winter

FWIW, The Kwikee online Step Service Training Manual has a section in its table of contents on manual retraction, but nothing in the text itself. Also, I could find nothing on the temperature operating range of the step or its controller, although I suspect, like most electronics (except spaceflight), it is not designed to operate under 0*. In fact, many components and power supplies are rated only above an operating temperature of 0C (32F).