Slides not operating

Rick Coleman · 06-01-2007, 08:50 PM

I'm hoping the collective minds gathered at the Alpine SoCal Rally at Sugarbarge and the rest of the Alpine forum can help me out. I Came out to the desert this weekend and arrived an hour ago. Plan is to bring the coach back to cooler climes for the summer. All was well when we were out here 2 weeks ago and buttoned things up when we left. We were opening up upon arrival, and I turned on the ignition to open up the slides. Living room slide barely moved, the lights dimmed and I released the switch. Tried it again- the slide moved a little, lights dimmed, and it stopped. It's night, I figured I'll look into it in the morning, and I'll just open the bedroom slide. Same thing! Slide barely moves, lights dim, things kind of groan.

No hydraulic fluid on the ground that I can see with my miner's light, and it is, after all, both slides. Furthermore, I had the hoses checked and replaced when I bought the coach new a year ago. I'm hooked up to 50 amp shore power and it seems to be on and working.

The problem seems to be electric. I fired up the generator just "to check", and it's still the same. Barely moves, and lights dim.

Any ideas? Of course it's Friday night. My plan was to take the coach in for service and a few repairs Monday morning.

Rick Coleman · 06-01-2007, 08:50 PM

I'm hoping the collective minds gathered at the Alpine SoCal Rally at Sugarbarge and the rest of the Alpine forum can help me out. I Came out to the desert this weekend and arrived an hour ago. Plan is to bring the coach back to cooler climes for the summer. All was well when we were out here 2 weeks ago and buttoned things up when we left. We were opening up upon arrival, and I turned on the ignition to open up the slides. Living room slide barely moved, the lights dimmed and I released the switch. Tried it again- the slide moved a little, lights dimmed, and it stopped. It's night, I figured I'll look into it in the morning, and I'll just open the bedroom slide. Same thing! Slide barely moves, lights dim, things kind of groan.

No hydraulic fluid on the ground that I can see with my miner's light, and it is, after all, both slides. Furthermore, I had the hoses checked and replaced when I bought the coach new a year ago. I'm hooked up to 50 amp shore power and it seems to be on and working.

The problem seems to be electric. I fired up the generator just "to check", and it's still the same. Barely moves, and lights dim.

Any ideas? Of course it's Friday night. My plan was to take the coach in for service and a few repairs Monday morning.

swansnest · 06-01-2007, 09:24 PM

Rick - Try pushing the reset button by the hydrolic pump in the side compartment. When the pump has power a red light is on & close to it should be a reset button.

When I have had that problem all I did was hit the reset button and the slides worked again.

Hope that solves your problem!

rmmpe · 06-02-2007, 03:38 AM

I would also check the battery condition. If not having adequate charge, the same symptoms would be evident.

Rick Coleman · 06-02-2007, 05:03 AM

Not having had any slide difficulties before (I've been very fortunate) I don't know the location of the compartment with the slide pump, etc. Where is it? I'll try it as soon as I can find it.

Thanks

Rick Coleman · 06-02-2007, 11:45 AM

I found the location of the slide solenoids and pump relay(s), but there is no toggle switch or reset button to be found. The schematic in the compartment doesn't show one either. Anyone have a clue where to look? There is no visible red light when the power is on, and no reset. It's obvious that coaches are not all the same. Anyone with an '04-'05 36MDDS????

chris cross · 06-03-2007, 08:56 AM

Rick: Are your levelers down? On my coach, they must be or the slides react as you described. The levelers don't have to do much other than being down. My slides are hydraulic, not electric. I'll bet yours are also.

Rick Coleman · 06-03-2007, 04:40 PM

Good News! I never did find a reset button, but several suggestions that the battery charge was down were correct, in spite of being hooked up to 50amp shore power. I ran the engine at fast idle for 20-30 minutes and the alternator boosted the battery charge. Slides worked like a charm! And yes, Chris, the jacks were down and the coach level. Thanks to you all for your suggestions. Now I can plan on getting going early tomorrow to Acacia RV for some maintenance and repairs. This forum is a real lifesaver for we "RV challenged" people.