Isata 3 Equalizer Systems Leveling Jack Issue

sdbruin · 03-08-2021, 07:58 PM

So, after just pulling into a site this weekend and extending the leveling jacks on a brand new Isata 3, I happened to look under the rig to see the progress only to find a veritable waterfall of red transmission fluid pouring out of the pump manifold area of the jack system. Not an ideal start to the weekend. The good news is the jacks managed to make their way back into their original position allowing for an eventual departure, sans emergency call to Equalizer Systems. Come today and a call into their service department, a new pump is on its way in my direction, with the last task to find a service department to swap this thing out. And yes, its under warranty but appointments are hard to come by here so I need to solve a more pressing issue.

On to my question - the control panel is now squawking with the beeping sound when the coach ignition is on, evidently because it thinks the jacks are extended (which they aren't.) At one point on the drive home they self-activated, prompting a rapid exit to the shoulder to confirm if they were in fact extending, and/or dropping red ATF all over the road. Clearly, it would be best to find a way to kill the power to the system. I attempted to shut down the jacks by removing 12V fuses, but none of those actually killed power to the control panel. Does anyone have a schematic or location of the fuse for the leveling jack panel short of me digging into the compartment behind the unit?

Thanks

**bclemens** · 03-09-2021, 09:41 AM

1. This exact same thing happened to me on a brand new unit as well. (it had actually had the jacks run a few times before it gave way)
2. In that case I was on the road during a trip to the East Coast Rally...so there was no turning back.
3. IF you leaked a bunch of ATF as I did, then there might not be enough fluid, so it will alarm low fluid. OR, if the jacks fall even a little bit, then they will trigger the alarm.
4. What Equalizer suggested is to get some ratchet straps to strap them up. I did not have these, was not at a place to buy them, so I just took a calculated risk. I was able to get from Sandusky OH, to Delaware and back to PA before I had a chance to fix them and they did not drop at all.
5. In my situation I sent them a video and they determined that it was the O-ring on the retract pump. (Foaming ATF was everywhere). They sent a rebuild kit, which consisted of (2) O-rings. One for the supply and one for the return.
6. Having never, ever worked on a jack system. I was able to pull off the pump cover (two bolts I think, after loosening the hoses that were sort of in the way) I found the nicked O-ring, removed it, put the new one in place and put the pump cover back on. I did this at a Jellystone in PA, pretty unlevel site, at night with a DeWalt shop light, a socket set and an open end wrench.

I am not recommending this, just passing on my experience. If you pull the fuse, you are only stopping the warning signal, so its a false sense of security. Best bet is to use ratchet straps if you are concerned.

Sandiegodoug · 03-09-2021, 10:24 AM

So mine has been leaking since new. A slight leak. The tank seems to be covered with transmission fluid. I pumped more in. My neighbor got exact unit as mine and his has slight leak too,his is 2021. Bc, was your tank covered with a layer of transmission fluid? The drops seem to come from the tank.

**bclemens** · 03-09-2021, 10:29 AM

No...there was no question when mine had an issue. When I tried to retract the jacks, ATF was foaming out in a spray 3 feet long. If you have an O-ring that is cut or nicked it will spray out under pressure, not a leak.

If there is just ATF on the tank it could be two things...
1. someone spilled some on the tank when filling. It is residual? Is there more dropping on the ground?
2. There could be a cap that is not on tight, missing a gasket, maybe a port has a slight leak. I would clean all the ATF off and see if you can figure out exactly where it si coming from. If you shoot that to Equalizer they can likely identify.

sdbruin · 03-09-2021, 10:55 AM

3 feet long spray and waterfall, ✅. Sounds about right. Thanks for the tip on the O-ring. Equalizer told me the same thing but decided to send me an entire new pump. I might take a look and see if I can figure out where that o-ring is and swap them out. I am curious though, what would cause o-rings to fail on nearly new units like this?

Sandiegodoug · 03-09-2021, 11:05 AM

I wiped tank clean, but dripping continues. When I removed cap, fluid was very low on dip stick, so I pumped in more. I’ll take a picture and contact equalizer. System function fine just a little noisy. I called company once about noise and was told to add marvel mistry oil to tank. I was to chicken to do that.

**bclemens** · 03-09-2021, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdbruin

3 feet long spray and waterfall, ✅. Sounds about right. Thanks for the tip on the O-ring. Equalizer told me the same thing but decided to send me an entire new pump. I might take a look and see if I can figure out where that o-ring is and swap them out. I am curious though, what would cause o-rings to fail on nearly new units like this?

If you open the manifold up, you'll see. It is a small Nickle sized (rubber?) O-ring. There is a threaded shaft that runs through it. IF, when installing there is an abrasion or nick on the O-ring, that is under some pretty good pressure and it eventually blew out the O-ring.

The first question I asked was "How in the world did this make it through QC". Answer? It wasn't broken at the plant, just unfortunate timing. The Demo I was in was "brand new", but the jacks get cycled multiple times at the plant (we level the coach on jacks to set the slides) then it is tested in QC. In addition this one was on display at a NHTSA meeting in DC (leveled there), then I took it on my trip and it failed night #1. So while it stinks...it was just bad timing and lasted 10+ cycles prior. Think of it like a hernia...there is a weak wall to the O-ring, it might be fine and not visible, but at just the right level of pressure and temp, it gave way.

With my novice efforts at replacement, it worked from there on out with zero issues.

sdbruin · 03-09-2021, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bclemens

If you open the manifold up, you'll see. It is a small Nickle sized (rubber?) O-ring. There is a threaded shaft that runs through it. IF, when installing there is an abrasion or nick on the O-ring, that is under some pretty good pressure and it eventually blew out the O-ring.

The first question I asked was "How in the world did this make it through QC". Answer? It wasn't broken at the plant, just unfortunate timing. The Demo I was in was "brand new", but the jacks get cycled multiple times at the plant (we level the coach on jacks to set the slides) then it is tested in QC. In addition this one was on display at a NHTSA meeting in DC (leveled there), then I took it on my trip and it failed night #1. So while it stinks...it was just bad timing and lasted 10+ cycles prior. Think of it like a hernia...there is a weak wall to the O-ring, it might be fine and not visible, but at just the right level of pressure and temp, it gave way.

With my novice efforts at replacement, it worked from there on out with zero issues.

For me this was the same situation. We ran the jacks about a dozen times with no issue before this happened. I think from a Dynamax perspective I'd be curious if this comes up from 2021 units more often (including SDDoug's issue as well), and if there were a bad batch of o-rings etc in these pumps.

**bclemens** · 03-09-2021, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdbruin

For me this was the same situation. We ran the jacks about a dozen times with no issue before this happened. I think from a Dynamax perspective I'd be curious if this comes up from 2021 units more often (including SDDoug's issue as well), and if there were a bad batch of o-rings etc in these pumps.

I wouldn't count on that. Mine was from two years ago. Yours is actually the first one I have seen mentioned since then. Not saying there are some I don't know about, but it is certainly not a trend.

sdbruin · 03-09-2021, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bclemens

I wouldn't count on that. Mine was from two years ago. Yours is actually the first one I have seen mentioned since then. Not saying there are some I don't know about, but it is certainly not a trend.

totally fair point. i'd hate for this to happen to anyone else, both from the frustration and environmental pollution point of view!

sdbruin · 03-24-2021, 09:55 AM

BC you were right about the O-ring.

**bclemens** · 03-24-2021, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdbruin

BC you were right about the O-ring.

Great, but there goes half of my right answers for the day, if I am following the broken clock analogy

Let's make the next one a good one.

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