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Old 04-01-2017, 06:15 PM   #1
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Another "School Me" on how to do something, question

Last Wednesday while attempting to leave a campground we brought all the rooms in and when we tried to move the living room slide back in, it refused. The slide moved maybe an inch and a half and stopped, we toggled it in and our a half dozen times with the same result.

A little background on this slide. I had a technician work on this back in December and afterwards it was working fine. His statement was that the amperage on the controller needed to be bumped up enough to get it to work properly.

Fast forward through four camping trips and it worked each time until last weekend. We finally ended up with an offer from three other campers to help push the room in. With the four of us pushing on the slide and my wife using the switch to activate the motor, it finally did come back and the locks locked into place. The motor didn't sound as "strong" as it normally does when it is bringing the slide in.

Now the "school me part." Is there a manual retraction procedure? If so, it isn't called out in the manuals that I have. I did download the slide .pdf and knew from it how to trouble shoot the controller.

I also called the Factory Service Line and the tech told me failing all else, connect a set of jumper cables from a car or the house batteries directly to the leads on the motor (requires cutting the wires and attaching the jumpers). He said that I may have to reverse the jumper cables to get the room to slide the correct way. I warned as soon as I heard the room torque down a bit to unhook immediately.

That procedure seemed a bit drastic but it was seriously considered. How does one bring the room in manually? Thanks in advance for advice, ideas or the correct procedure.
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Old 04-01-2017, 06:29 PM   #2
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When you were operating the slides was the shore line plugged in or were you just using the batteries?
Where is the motor located in one of your compartments or near your propane tank?
Not sure you have any adjustment left on pot of controller for additional current out put, but worth a try using small adjustments.
May want to check wiring to motor both positive and ground and pull the 12v plug on controller plus the large wiring plug just to clean contacts and pins of control board.
The motor needs a good clean 12v to get that large slide up its ramp.
To manually get slide in with help the torque nuts need to be released, as long as motor runs the way you did with help can accomplish the same thing.
Info should be in QT's 1 & 2.
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Old 04-01-2017, 06:35 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by "007" View Post
When you were operating the slides was the shore line plugged in or were you just using the batteries?
Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I was on shore power. The factory tech asked the same question. He told me shore or generator power should be the go to for moving the slides. He said when boondocking the generator is still the preferred method.

The motor is located in the bay directly behind the propane tank,.

Because of some of my physical problems I am unable to contort my body enough to get to that potentiometer to adjust it. The service tech that worked on it the first time said that if he remembers correctly there is very little adjustment left for increasing the amperage.

I have to go to the shop and talk to the tech anyway. So I will let him know about cleaning up the connections.

Another thing I did check was the stop rods where they are welded to the horizontal struts. I have read that some of them break at the welds. Not so on my coach.

On another note, we do hear an occasional loud metallic pop when the room comes in and to address that noise I checked to see if all the bolts and screws were tight and not missing on the ramp it self.

I'm not sure where the "torque nuts" are located but I will check QT's 1 & 2

Thanks for the advice.
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Old 04-01-2017, 06:54 PM   #4
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I have found on our MH that it helps to make sure you are on your leveling jacks. Then with the side where the slideout is located bump that side a little higher before retracting the slide. This helps take off some of the stress off the slide motor.
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Old 04-01-2017, 07:02 PM   #5
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I have found on our MH that it helps to make sure you are on your leveling jacks with the side where the slideout is located take some bump that side a little higher before retracting the slide. This helps of the stress off the slide motor.
Sorry, but I don't think I understand what you are saying to do other than to have your jacks deployed while retracting the slides. We had our coach leveled at the time.

Are you saying to bump or rock the top of the slide before retracting it?

Thanks
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Old 04-01-2017, 07:03 PM   #6
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I had issues with the large living room slide on the same coach model you have. We had to put a bigger fuse in (not a good idea but when we were trying to move the slide it popped the breaker every time) and put the pot on the slide controller at the highest setting. It does work to bring the slide in by attaching the motor to a battery because we did it. We have instructions for moving the slide manually in the bedroom and in the owner's manual. We made wires so we could connect the motor to the battery if we needed to because it is easier and faster than the manual process.

We called Newmar and they recommended that we level with the left side (the slide side) a little higher than level so the effort to bring it in is not as great. This was a band aid until we could get it to them.

We brought the coach back to Newmar and asked them to correct the problem. They said that motor was "getting old" and drawing more current than it should. They replaced the motor with a new one and it has been great ever since. The slide moves a little faster and we changed the fuse back to the correct size and the pot is no longer maxed out.

We also had it looked at by 2 different repair places and all they could offer is larger fuses and a maxed out pot. We did not like that solution at all.

Be prepared if you decide to replace the motor. It is expensive. I do not know if you could do better on price if you did not get it from Newmar.
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Old 04-01-2017, 07:12 PM   #7
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With your coach on the jacks and leveled out next raise the side where the slideout is located about 3-5 inches with your leveling system. This makes that side a little bit higher and relieves the slideout motor when retracting the slideout.
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Old 04-01-2017, 07:45 PM   #8
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Larger fuses will cause you bigger problems.
I think we discussed at one time to check the ramp rollers have to come up for screws popped or loose plates on ramp which could bind the rollers from making it up ramp. Could possibly be the noise your hearing or that could also be the locking bar dropping as slide moves in.
2005 COACH would say motor is fine but wiring connections need to be checked.
Where is your controller located under kitchen sink cabinet?
Mine was could sit on entry steps to adjust.
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Old 04-01-2017, 07:50 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ludmilla View Post
I had issues with the large living room slide on the same coach model you have. We had to put a bigger fuse in (not a good idea but when we were trying to move the slide it popped the breaker every time) and put the pot on the slide controller at the highest setting. It does work to bring the slide in by attaching the motor to a battery because we did it. We have instructions for moving the slide manually in the bedroom and in the owner's manual. We made wires so we could connect the motor to the battery if we needed to because it is easier and faster than the manual process.

We called Newmar and they recommended that we level with the left side (the slide side) a little higher than level so the effort to bring it in is not as great. This was a band aid until we could get it to them.

We brought the coach back to Newmar and asked them to correct the problem. They said that motor was "getting old" and drawing more current than it should. They replaced the motor with a new one and it has been great ever since. The slide moves a little faster and we changed the fuse back to the correct size and the pot is no longer maxed out.

We also had it looked at by 2 different repair places and all they could offer is larger fuses and a maxed out pot. We did not like that solution at all.

Be prepared if you decide to replace the motor. It is expensive. I do not know if you could do better on price if you did not get it from Newmar.
As always Ludmilla you've blazed the path for me again. I kinda of suspected the motor because the amperage pot is supposed to be nearly maxed out. I too was looking at adding some permanent jumpers on the motor leads to use the jumper cables easily per the Newmar techs instructions.

Yeesh, a new motor huh? Do I need to put my first born on the auction block to pay for it? How on earth do you ever get one of those out of there. The entire drive shaft has to be removed to get the motor out correct? And yes, I wouldn't entertain bigger fuses...that sounds a little dangerous. Besides, we are not popping breakers or fuses.


Quote:
Originally Posted by bootcamp View Post
With your coach on the jacks and leveled out next raise the side where the slideout is located about 3-5 inches with your leveling system. This makes that side a little bit higher and relieves the slideout motor when retracting the slideout.
Ah, I understand now, thank you.
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Old 04-01-2017, 07:56 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by "007" View Post
Larger fuses will cause you bigger problems.
I think we discussed at one time to check the ramp rollers have to come up for screws popped or loose plates on ramp which could bind the rollers from making it up ramp. Could possibly be the noise your hearing or that could also be the locking bar dropping as slide moves in.
2005 COACH would say motor is fine but wiring connections need to be checked.
Where is your controller located under kitchen sink cabinet?
Mine was could sit on entry steps to adjust.
You are correct, we did discuss the ramp plates and screws. I did check them prior to this incident. No problems found then. However, I haven't checked them this time.

Yes, it could be the locking bar. I will check that when I visit the coach and tech at the shop tomorrow. My controller is located almost dead center of living room slide. However, I can't contort my neck and back that way due to several surgeries, rods and plates everywhere. I sure wish I could though.

Thanks
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Old 04-02-2017, 06:41 AM   #11
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We did not replace the slide motor ourselves so I do not know how it is done. It cost about $1100 to replace the slide motor at Newmar, I think. It was around that amount.
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