Another Motorized Lift Question- not working

Popuproge · 04-13-2016, 06:52 AM

Hello- I have a 2001 Rockwood Premier 2317G that has a motorized Lift that has stopped working. After spending hours on this site researching, I have replaced the 2 25 breakers on the positive side of the battery, the 30 breaker on the yellow wire coming from the positive side of the battery. I have verified that the battery is 100% charged and have had it on the slow charge to make sure it stays charged. (The battery is a newer battery.) I have also verified the switch is working.

I keep reading about a breaker that is hidden under tape under the motor, I can not find one like this, do all popup's have one? I have also read about a breaker bank that might have tripped the one that goes to the battery, can't find these either, anyone know if my camper has this?

What happens is when I hold the switch the 2 25 breakers flip and then a few minutes later reset. I hear nothing from the motor, and there are no smells, nothing happens. I bought a multimeter to test the motor as I have read but have been unable to figure out how to work it yet. I hope to get it figured out today.

I also read about trying to manually turn it to see if the motor starts, however it looks as if that has been sheered off on my motor. (like that when we got it). Is there any way to turn it without that part on?

Any suggestions beyond these or expanding on these? Sorry for so long, just wanted to let you know that I have researched and read, but still hoping for a long shot before having to replace.

Thank you!

**Bama Rambler** · 04-13-2016, 07:05 AM

It sounds as if the motor or wiring at the motor has a dead short.

I'd remove the motor and hook it up and test it on the bench.

If you could post of picture of the part you think is sheared off we may be able to provide some insight on how to manually turn it.

f5moab · 04-13-2016, 07:45 AM

This is the wiring that was on my power winch before I took it off and replaced with a manual crank.
But, yours is a lot older than mine so there could be some differences.

Popuproge · 04-13-2016, 09:18 AM

Thanks for the input.. not sure that I can take it off and test it, so I guess I need to find a place around here who can do that.

The wiring is almost identical to mine, so it does look like that is good.

Here is a picture of the location that I would assume that I would need to crank and as you can see, there is nothing there to connect to.

**Bama Rambler** · 04-13-2016, 09:48 AM

A pair of Vice Grip pliers to grip the end of the motor shaft should work to allow you to turn it enough to see if it's bound up.

With the two 25 amp breakers wired in parallel you effectively have a 50 amp breaker.

It's hard to see from the pictures, but it looks like there's only a couple of bolts to remove the motor.

f5moab · 04-13-2016, 09:50 AM

That area is supposed to be kept packed in grease. In fact it is part of the yearly maintenance....(or was until I removed the power winch)....

Some more info from where that photo came from...
Wicked Winch - Lift System Troubleshooting for Flagstaff Camping Trailers | Roberts Sales

This is how my power winch was wired. The circuit breaker is on the hot side. Something very strange about that wiring.

The entire assembly is held in place by three bolts on the front plate.
But if it were me, WITH THE ROOF DOWN, I would clamp down the cable at the track under the trailer to keep it from moving, and remove the cable from the center spindle of the power winch. (Held in place with a set screw.)

Then use some GOOD penetrating oil and allow it to sit for a while, then attempt to move the gearing with a set of channel locks. If it all moves, get it moving good, clean and pack with grease.

Then re-attach the cable, and get under the trailer and lubricate the cable tracks and the corner spring conduits.

From the way it looks, there has never been any maintenance done on the trailer winch, so have to assume it is the same for the tracks and the spring conduits.

Recommended yearly maintenance on FR popup trailers....
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...nch-60970.html

MiCamper6 · 04-13-2016, 06:08 PM

Your set-up looks just like the old motor/winch on my Starcraft PUP. The motor/winch is a problem area as it is barely adequate for the job it has to do. The manufacturer no longer supports that assembly, selling an uprated assembly in its place. Not cheap (cost me $500 plus the cable), but it works much better and isn't a tough job provided the cable is still good.

MohicanJeff · 04-13-2016, 06:34 PM

The 2 larger diameter wires are for your motorized lift. Hard to tell by the picture but it looks like the negative and positive might be switched. The larger black wire should have the 50 amp reset breaker on it. try only these 2 wires and let me know what happens. Good Luck!

f5moab · 04-13-2016, 07:02 PM

Should be a 40 amp circuit breaker but the motor assembly looks rusted in place. The contact plate for the limit switches is not contacting the low limit and the bolt on the plate is not contacting the high limit switch.
I would replace it with a new model or just install a hand crank in place of the power unit. You might be able to use the existing cable....maybe not.

GB guy · 04-14-2016, 08:43 PM

On my last pup, there was a taped connection under the winch, it had been connected with steel bolts, eventually the rust built up, under the tape, and created the dead short, replaced bolts with stainless, retaped , replaced 40 amp fuse, worked great, hope this is your problem, and easy fix

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

Popuproge · 04-17-2016, 08:35 AM

Thanks for all of the responses and suggestions. I was able to remove the motor while it was down and take it to a repair shop. It was froze and he was able to clean it and get it working for $25.00. When I put it back on the Pop Up, the roof did go up....the breakers did pop a couple of times so I did have to wait for them to reset but up it went. This is a camper that I got from family that they had not used in a couple of years, so wanted to get inside to see if it would be worth replacing anything before I spent any money.

We found a lots of mold on the canvas but bought some cleaner and the mold and stains are coming right off. Quick question... if canvas has the vinyl backing on it, do I need to apply the 303 aerospace waterproof when done?

Going to close it back down and do the maintenance and greasing that has been suggested and hopefully it will quit popping the breakers so that we can use the camper this summer. When it went up you could tell that it was having a hard time so hoping the lack of maintenance that they did was the cause and with the grease this will be better. Might have to come back and ask suggestions on replacing.

Sorry for the questions... just new to the Pop Up world and when offered this Pop Up, thought it might be a easy way to give it a try.... So cool to find such a wonderful forum....

MiCamper6 · 04-17-2016, 09:08 AM

As I posted above, the motor/winch capacity is marginal for the job it is required to do. You can nurse it along for a while as I did, but once I lost the ability to run it with a cordless drill the only answer was replacing it with an upgraded unit. Good luck!

tomdice · 04-18-2016, 03:13 PM

How do u remove that motor?

f5moab · 04-18-2016, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomdice

How do u remove that motor?

Disconnect the power and ground from the battery. Remove the cover, and remove the switch from the cover.
Rotate the spool by the bypass nut/bolt till you can see where the cable goes into the center of the spool, loosen the set bolt and remove the cable (it will be....better loose).
Then remove the three nuts and bolts on the plate that retains the motor to the trailer frame, then pull the motor, wiring and switch out.

tomdice · 04-18-2016, 05:30 PM

thanks will do

You may also like: