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Old 04-18-2017, 02:05 PM   #1
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Thumbs down 2010 Georgetown 373 levelers will not retract manually

My Lippert system was low on hyd fluid when I started up this spring. Indication on the control panel was "jacks down". One may not have been completely up. With engine running the jacks should have retracted but extended all the way instead. Not enough fluid in the tank to bring them up and the motor kept running until it quit. Over heated and burnt the insides due to a leak in the pump seal where the motor drives it. I put some fluid in the reservoir and proceeded to manually raise the jacks using an electric drill as told by the Lippert manuals. The weight came off the jacks but will not come up anymore. I had to drain the excess fluid from the tank due to the returned fluid over filling it. I screwed the jack valves (one at a time) on the manifold the correct way for retracton as well. How can I get all the air out and retract the jacks. Please help me with this.
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Old 04-18-2017, 06:41 PM   #2
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The way to get the air out of the system is to continue to use the drill on every circuit on your motorhome. I would work on the levelers the most as it seems they had the lowest fluid and air must have gotten into those line.

Check your fluid level before using or you will end up the same way.
Lesson learned.

Now what is your plans to repair or replace the motor?
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Old 04-18-2017, 08:44 PM   #3
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I have anew motor on order from my RV dealer for a cost of around $1350, I took the old motor apart and modified it so I can use it to turn the pump with the drill. I will keep turning the pump on the system to rid of the air.
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Old 04-18-2017, 11:01 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pr_dog View Post
I have anew motor on order from my RV dealer for a cost of around $1350, I took the old motor apart and modified it so I can use it to turn the pump with the drill. I will keep turning the pump on the system to rid of the air.
I think for that price you are getting a whole new system.
Pump, motor, reservoir, valve body.
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Old 04-19-2017, 02:17 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Iggy View Post
I think for that price you are getting a whole new system.
Pump, motor, reservoir, valve body.
Iggy, that is the price of the motor only. And "Only in Canada" The lippert catalogue has it listed for $777.65 and the price listed fo9r the whole thing like motor, manifold and harness at around $1660. USD. The mark up here is outrageous.


I have been busy all day with other appointments and will start up more work on the MH tomorrow. When manually functioning the jacks should I do it in pairs like the normal operation would?


Thanx for the replies and if there is anything else let me know.


Bob
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Old 04-19-2017, 09:29 PM   #6
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Your statement that the jacks went down instead of up may indicate a different problem. I had this happen twice on my 2011 Georgetown before Lippert was able to come up with what is hopefully a permanent fix for the problem. This problem occurred with Lippert systems that used a unidirectional pump and used hydraulic pressure to both lower and raise the jacks. These systems required a delay between the time the pump started operating and when the jack valves opened. Ths delay was controlled by circuitry in one of the control cables and when the circuit shorted out, it would lock the hydraulic control uint in the "lower the jacks" mode making it nearly impossible to raise the jacks.

The worst part of this problem was that there's a simple bypass for it. There's a solenoid on the hydraulic control unit that, when power is disconnected from it, drops the hydraulic unit into "raise the jacks" mode. Unfortunately, this component was undocumented in Lippert's manuals in 2011 when I bought my rig. The first time this happened to me, I blocked a TA service bay for over 10 hours until we figured out a way to raise the jacks by draining the hydraulic fluid from the system and using a lever to push up the jacks. The second time it happened, I just unplugged the lead to the solenoid and was able to raise the jacks using the motor. I've had no problems since Lippert replaced the control cable with one that has modified circuitry to prevent the burn out problem.

This solenoid is powered directly from the house batteries and, in my rig, remained activated even with the master DC switch turned off. It drained my house batteries and destroyed them. Fortunately, my rig was still under FR's warranty and FR paid for the replacement batteries.

Phil
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:27 AM   #7
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I believe that is not my problem. I do have a friend with a 2011 Georgetown 360 that has had to replace the house batteries twice. I will lwt him know about that problem with the constant powered up solenoid. I assume the valve in question is the directional control vale with the black and white wire on the left side of the hydraulic unit looking at it from the motor side.


Bob
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Old 04-20-2017, 01:46 PM   #8
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Pusherman. Is your hydraulic system Lippert or Equalizer Systems. My friend has the Equalizer system in his 2011 Georgetown 360 and I was just at his place to see him and he was topping up the batteries which was boiling dry. I don't know where the Directional valve is on that system but suspect that is his problem.
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Old 04-20-2017, 01:56 PM   #9
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Is this what you are talking about?
This is the motor reversing relay so the motor can change direction.
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Old 04-20-2017, 02:08 PM   #10
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Iggy. No that is not on my unit. I have a solenoid similar to the one on you vehicle to operate the starter. The valve I was talking about is (I think) the flow divider which has a white wire from a small black unit that has a grey wire from the motor solenoid that is always live due to the hot red wire from the in line circuit breaker
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Old 04-22-2017, 11:41 AM   #11
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that picture you sent does have the same solenoid that I have. Correct me if I am wrong but I understand from my dealer and thru working on my system that that is not a reversing relay. The unit with the "trombeta" will cause the motor to run clockwise or counter clockwise dependant on the selection given. The one with the solenoid only runs the motor clockwise and uses a directional flow valve to send the fluid to retract or extend the hyd cylinders. LCi has put out a new PDF that has the unidirectional motor and system dated this year. I just downloaded it to give me a better picture of my system and to identify the components.
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Old 05-08-2017, 05:06 PM   #12
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Manually Retract Levelers

Here's a good link:

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