2014 Cardinal Hydraulic problems

[Andy Phillips]

I have a '14 Cardinal 3850 that has been having progressively worse hydraulic problems. Started throwing circuit breaker inside the front storage panel near the generator. Pulling too many amp is a sign of bad battery, so I bought new. No solution. Still threw the breaker when trying to perform AutoLevel. Voltage would drop from 14.3v to 10.5v during the procedure pulling 40 amps. The pump motor would get hot, but not immediately. Now, suddenly all I get is a click when operating the leveling system. Tried the slides and the same occurrence, clicking. Checked the fuses near the system circuit breakers under the front panel with a continuity tester. All good. Checked the single fuse by the actual pump. OK to.

What am I missing?

[CHICKDOE]

does the same thing happen when connected to shore power?

[Andy Phillips]

yes. it is constantly plugged in to 50a

[R time soon]

Is your fluid level correct? On Lippert's website, www.lci1.com, you should be able to find some diagnostic testing procedures for the hydraulics. The self resetting breaker could be bad or failing, or the Trombetta could be bad or failing. I would look at Lippert's site for their files or Lipp sheets and see you can find. Might need a higher amperage self resetting fuse in place of the stock one.

[Andy Phillips]

Thank you for the suggestions.

My fluid levels are correct. I will manually spin the motor and then try bypassing the Trombetta to see if the motor spins with a brief direct 12v battery connection.

[NMWildcat]

I have a 2012 Wildcat with the Lippert Level Up and hydraulic slides.
First thing I do when having any problems is reboot the controller by removing all power, shore and battery.
We had a problem with the autoreset breakers in ours. It would operate for a bit, then click off. Wait a few seconds and you could go for a bit until it clicked off again. Repeat.
Called Lippert tech support and they had us replace the main 50amp auto reset breaker with an 80amp. Fixed that problem. Later had problems with smaller resettable breakers (push small button on breaker to reset) for controller and other things. They wear out, so replaced all of them. All good for the last several years.
Call Lippert Tech support. I have found them to be very helpful and they even sent me free parts several times!

[Jim34RL]

When was the last time that the hydraulic fluid was changed in the unit? Also, was the proper fluid use per Lippert recommendations?

This maybe old and will not flow correctly I believe this should be changed on a schedule that Lippert has provided in the O& M guide. At least with my Cedar Creek there is a schedule on when to change and what type of fluid to use.

Just a suggestion!

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Jim34RL

When was the last time that the hydraulic fluid was changed in the unit? Also, was the proper fluid use per Lippert recommendations?

This maybe old and will not flow correctly I believe this should be changed on a schedule that Lippert has provided in the O& M guide. At least with my Cedar Creek there is a schedule on when to change and what type of fluid to use.

Just a suggestion!

Jim, I'm definitely not disagreeing with you at all about changing the hydraulic fluid (Dex 3 transmission fluid if I remember correctly). Never hurts to change fluids.
But I don't think changing it will help much, particularly in this case.. These hydraulic systems are pretty basic and not finicky about fluid unless it is low.
I have never changed mine in 10 years. I have probably added a quart all together of new fluid when changing out a couple of cylinders. As long as it doesn't get contaminated, I doubt I will ever change it.
Just another viewpoint.

[Cajunrver]

Curious, does your battery go back up above 14 volts after you try it. If not the battery may have a problem and the converter may not be able to keep up the voltage. Just a thought. Good luck.

[djousma]

Originally Posted by Cajunrver

Curious, does your battery go back up above 14 volts after you try it. If not the battery may have a problem and the converter may not be able to keep up the voltage. Just a thought. Good luck.

Along with this, also check for loose connections both at the battery and all points between battery and pump. Including the power lead going to the panel switches. Also make sure you battery disconnect isn't off. Slides will not move on converter alone.

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Jim, I'm definitely not disagreeing with you at all about changing the hydraulic fluid (Dex 3 transmission fluid if I remember correctly). Never hurts to change fluids.
But I don't think changing it will help much, particularly in this case.. These hydraulic systems are pretty basic and not finicky about fluid unless it is low.
I have never changed mine in 10 years. I have probably added a quart all together of new fluid when changing out a couple of cylinders. As long as it doesn't get contaminated, I doubt I will ever change it.
Just another viewpoint.

When looking at my hydraulic reservoir, which is an open system in my opinion. The cap is a snap fit and not sealed tightly. This has led me to believe the fluid can be contaminated by air which does contain entrained moisture. Affecting the lubricity of the fluid and causing the pump to struggle in flow to and from the hydraulic components in the system.

Granted this may not be the root cause but, maintenance should be done at the suggested intervals to keep the system operating at peak performance.

[Andy Phillips]

Originally Posted by Cajunrver

Curious, does your battery go back up above 14 volts after you try it. If not the battery may have a problem and the converter may not be able to keep up the voltage. Just a thought. Good luck.

Yes. After a couple of minutes.

AutoZone sold me a new battery and said my 2nd one tested good. The could have sold me a 2nd one but didn't.

[Andy Phillips]

Originally Posted by djousma

Along with this, also check for loose connections both at the battery and all points between battery and pump. Including the power lead going to the panel switches. Also make sure you battery disconnect isn't off. Slides will not move on converter alone.

It had operated marginally prior to completely failing so I don't believe the disconnect switch is off unless it failed. I will check all connections for loose connections, again.

[Jim34RL]

The Battery disconnect switch will not power off everything in the electric circuit on your trailer. There are a few parasitic draw down items that over time will drain your batteries. The only sure way to shut off all electrical usage is to disconnect the batteries when you are not towing the trailer and the trailer is in storage.
This is what I use to disconnect the batteries in my trailer. See pic attached, the disconnect device is connected in this picture. I have used this device after I replace my first battery when the battery died in storage in 2017.

[djousma]

Originally Posted by Andy Phillips

It had operated marginally prior to completely failing so I don't believe the disconnect switch is off unless it failed. I will check all connections for loose connections, again.

I know you said you leave trailer plugged in all the time. My reason for asking about disconnect is if off, the batteries are not taking a charge, and eventually drain down and will fail to run the slides in/out.

I doubt that's your problem since you said you were measuring 14v at the batteries I assume.

My bet is bad electric motor on the hydraulic pump. You could call lippert and talk to one of their techs and get some ideas.

[jacknife]

Originally Posted by Jim34RL

When was the last time that the hydraulic fluid was changed in the unit? Also, was the proper fluid use per Lippert recommendations?

This maybe old and will not flow correctly I believe this should be changed on a schedule that Lippert has provided in the O& M guide. At least with my Cedar Creek there is a schedule on when to change and what type of fluid to use.

Just a suggestion!

Every 3 years use Auto transmission fluid

[Wumba]

Had the same issue with another FR product several years ago. What NMWildcat said is the solution. The current breaker needs to be changed out to the 80 amp. This went on with Lippert for some time (8 months) before they realized this was the issue. This was after they replaced the pump, solenoids, control boards, etc. After the breaker switch, it worked perfectly. Good Luck!

[Andy Phillips]

Originally Posted by Wumba

Had the same issue with another FR product several years ago. What NMWildcat said is the solution. The current breaker needs to be changed out to the 80 amp. This went on with Lippert for some time (8 months) before they realized this was the issue. This was after they replaced the pump, solenoids, control boards, etc. After the breaker switch, it worked perfectly. Good Luck!

The pump motor had burned up. Probably my fault. Replaced the pump/motor/solenoid assembly. It's all good now. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[jacknife]

Shore power does not change anything . The system is 12 volt if the batteries are fully charged it will work if there is not another problem . Shore power just charges batteries that’s it !