Tracer 3150 Slide Out Issue

JoeyO · 10-03-2015, 06:47 PM

Its been a while since I have contributed to the forum, but I hope someone can assist me on a issue I'm having with my main slide out.

I was camping in Aug., packing up and of course thats when the slide out would not respond. I was plugged into shore power and had a fully charged battery, so I was thinking the slide motor was shot. I used the little nine inch whip driver and brought the slide out in. Of course I had to remove all the top 1x6 wood trim around the top and side perimeter for the slide in order to gain full access to the slide motor. I'm pretty tall and it took all my arms length plus standing on the cooler to reach that driver as the slide started coming in. Since then, I spent $100 on a 3ft whip driver and hopefully won't have to use it, but if so, I'll be ready!

I initially contacted the MFR Norco Industries who makes the slide out motor and tried to trouble shoot it with one of their techs, they felt it was not the motor, but instead said to check if there is a voltage drop. I passed on this option and brought my Tracer 3150 into the dealer. The first thing they did was tell me my 6 month old battery was not properly sized for the trailer and replaced it with an adequate one. The other item they identified was that one of the electrical wires was melted (for the slide out). They replaced that, tightened up the slide cables as they were loose. But now, they are trying to adjust a skipping or slipping of the slide out!

I tried searching for skipping slide outs, but only located one fix that was listed as a Reseting of the slide out. I do not want to pick up my trailer when there is still an issue with it, so I am hoping one of you readers might have heard of a similar scenario of this and can provide a fix.

Please let me know!

Thanks, Joe

JoeyO · 10-06-2015, 08:08 PM

Just wanted to update my question with the results from my service call at the dealer.

The assigned Tech looked into the voltage drop issue I referenced when I brought in my trailer. Upon investigating, they determined that the replacement battery I purchased from a major Auto Store (AZ) was not powerful enough and was likely responsible for melting a portion of the wire harness that was behind the slide switch. I was not really aware the importance and differences between Deep Cycle Batteries and RV/Marine Batteries. I thought I did my homework on batteries and had read plenty on the forums, but I must admit, I just bought their largest Deep Cycle battery and never thought twice on if it had the right features needed to run the slide outs and such.

The Tech stated that the Deep Cycle battery I had in there, would do the job, but when it is called upon, it struggles and generates heat. And this is likely why my troubles were occurring. I hope this info helps others.

Thanks, Joe

northstar1960 · 10-06-2015, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyO

Just wanted to update my question with the results from my service call at the dealer.

The assigned Tech looked into the voltage drop issue I referenced when I brought in my trailer. Upon investigating, they determined that the replacement battery I purchased from a major Auto Store (AZ) was not powerful enough and was likely responsible for melting a portion of the wire harness that was behind the slide switch. I was not really aware the importance and differences between Deep Cycle Batteries and RV/Marine Batteries. I thought I did my homework on batteries and had read plenty on the forums, but I must admit, I just bought their largest Deep Cycle battery and never thought twice on if it had the right features needed to run the slide outs and such.

The Tech stated that the Deep Cycle battery I had in there, would do the job, but when it is called upon, it struggles and generates heat. And this is likely why my troubles were occurring. I hope this info helps others.

Thanks, Joe

I find it hard to believe it's the battery . What sized battery did they put in and what difference is there from the one they said wasn't big enough ?
Seems like the wiring was undersized or shorted out

JoeyO · 10-07-2015, 05:42 PM

I was skeptical as well, the wiring is 12GA, what Prime Time used or what came standard from the harness by Sigma out of Elkhart, IN. The battery was purchased in The other item I had issue with was that it was plugged into shore power as well as having the battery connected, when the slide out quite responding. I did learn that my purchase of the battery was from last season, not 6 months ago. The Durlast has 550Amps, the new battery - Deka - has 650amps. Here is a link to the pics of the harness and the two batteries. - My Photos Its something I still need to speak to the Tech that worked on it in order to put my mind at rest that this was the reason and not something else.

Thanks, Joe

northstar1960 · 10-07-2015, 05:59 PM

it was not the battery . cranking amps will not make the difference . the dealer and tech is make up BS . even a yr old battery will not cause this , if the battery was bad it simply would not work . my guess is a short and or bad wiring ,12 gauge is small but should do the work depending on the amp draw of the motors . there was a short /pinched wire etc and they don't want to pay for it so they feed you a line of bs and cross there fingers and hope you swallow it .
plus thew fact it was plugged in means it was not even drawing from the battery . their covering a bad wiring job or a short that would make them responsible for repair costs

12 volts from a 50 amp hr battery is the same 12 volts as from a 105 amp hr battery
it just won't last as long between recharge

JoeyO · 10-12-2015, 05:49 PM

I had a bad day today - Dealership has the RV in as of today to recheck the original issue AND while we were camping this past weekend, we were closing up the main slide and the interior corner wood rosette caught the edge of the pantry cabinet and pulled it out of its frame! The construction issue will get resolved by the dealer, I will have to likely pay additional labor for the electrical troubleshooting. But it doesn't end there! Today I was washing it with the kids and we had the awning out to wash it. It was windy and yep - it tore right at the cap end! I was so disappointed as I knew it was windy, just didn't expect it to be that bad. One day at a time.

northstar1960 · 10-12-2015, 10:41 PM

hang in there it'll turn around and all this will be history . i learned from early on to check the slide before opening or closing and make sure no cabinets opened or something had fallen that would interfere with the slide . I've made my own blunders but nothing serous YET!
seems the awnings while nice to have are completely under-designed . made just well enough to work while very calm out .
Good luck and keep us posted

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