Community Forums

Dale777 · 06-16-2008, 04:00 AM

On two occasions in the past week, initially none of my slides would Retract.

On the 1st time after repeatedly pushing the Retract button and turning the ignition off/on to Accessory, the slides finally Retracted. I then had an RV repair shop check the HWH system and electrical connections and exercise the slides; everything worked okay and checked out okay.

Today, it happened again. With the ignition on Accessory, when I pushed the Retract button nothing happened, but I could hear a click sound from the HWH reservoir/pump area, but no slide movement. After turning the ignition on/off several times and trying Retract repeatedly, the slides finally started working.

Since I'm on a trip now, I'm afraid to ever extend the slides again, since I might get stuck with the slides extended and couldn't continue my travels.

Any suggestions?

Dale777 · 06-16-2008, 04:00 AM

On two occasions in the past week, initially none of my slides would Retract.

On the 1st time after repeatedly pushing the Retract button and turning the ignition off/on to Accessory, the slides finally Retracted. I then had an RV repair shop check the HWH system and electrical connections and exercise the slides; everything worked okay and checked out okay.

Today, it happened again. With the ignition on Accessory, when I pushed the Retract button nothing happened, but I could hear a click sound from the HWH reservoir/pump area, but no slide movement. After turning the ignition on/off several times and trying Retract repeatedly, the slides finally started working.

Since I'm on a trip now, I'm afraid to ever extend the slides again, since I might get stuck with the slides extended and couldn't continue my travels.

Any suggestions?

alpinerver · 06-16-2008, 05:01 AM

Had a similar problem in Mesa last winter, Technician there discovered problem w/ printed circuit board in HWH compartment, took the cover of and taped some components, has worked fine, however he said will probably need to replace board sometime in the future. Good luck.
Larry

FleetMan · 06-16-2008, 05:16 AM

Have you tried "tapping"on the pump relays? I had a similar problem. The pump master relay was the culprit; broken wire inside the badly
corroded relay. I would get the click and could detect a hot electrical odor but could not pinpoint it. Trouble shooting with the help of HWH Tech Support isolated the problem.

J.S.Eddy · 06-16-2008, 04:50 PM

You are very fortunate that HWH was able to help you. When my Living Room slide decided not to retract, and I called HWH, I was given a "person" who was absolutely useless. Short story: After replacing one solenoid, to no avail, I ordered the meter to check the hydraulic pump pressure to make sure it was up to par, and guess what.... When I disconnected the shuttle valve, in order to plug in the pressure gauge, the slide out came in automatically. So, it was the shuttle valve all this time, without a hint of help from HWH.

'nuf said. Jim Eddy, '03 Alpine Coach, 38'FDTS
'00 Saturn S/W

Douglas, Georgia.

EngineerMike · 06-16-2008, 05:29 PM

Jim- what sort of "meter" is that? is it just a pressure gauge? and where to you tap in to get the reading?

I was playing around in the HWH compartment & thinking it'd be simple to have a pressure gauge on the manifold.

Dale777 · 06-18-2008, 03:46 AM

Thanks for the suggestions.

Since I'm not at home yet (still traveling to get home), I'm afraid to extend the slides to try any diagnostic procedures yet. However, in thinking about the intermittent nature of the problem and the clicking-like sound in the hydraulic pump/reservoir area when the slides won't retract, I suspect a bad relay.

Dale777 · 07-07-2008, 07:58 PM

I'm home now. So, for the intermittent slide extend/retract problem I have, I've tried to talk to an HWH technician since last Wednesday. No call back at all. Today, after calling HWH twice more within 6 hours, I finally talked to non-technician.

After talking to this non-technician, I decided to order both the master relay and pump relay for replacement myself. The non-technician was no help in diagnosing the problem, so I decided to spend a few bucks for both relays and replace them myself, rather than wait for this problem to go from intermittent to permanent. The non-technician kept saying that she couldn't help until the problem became permanent.

If it becomes permanent, I could find myself stranded somewhere with the slides extended. In that case, I would have to wait and wait for a real technician from HWH to finally help me in diagnosing the problem, then wait for parts to arrive, then either install them myself or wait for a mobile technician to arrive to install the parts.

Any suggestions on the best way to replace the HWH master relay and pump relay?

Wil Rathke · 07-08-2008, 04:14 AM

If you have the HWH 625 system that has the circuit board in the hydraulic compartment with all the LEDs on it, you may find it helpful to download the HWH PDF file ml35669.pdf from their web site. Their website link is http://www.hwhcorp.com/. There are 39 LEDs listed on this chart that indicate the status of must electrical signals and conditions.

Dale777 · 07-10-2008, 09:04 AM

My intermittent slide extend/retract problem has been resolved. Yesterday, I received both a replacement MASTER relay and PUMP relay from HWH, which I completed installing today. After numerous tests of the slides, there are no more intermittent problems.

CAUTION:
In removing the old relays, I did find one somewhat LOOSE CONNECTION that might have been the problem, but since I was about 75% done with the job, I went ahead with the replacement of both relays. Believe me, it is a very tedious job to simply replace two relays in that little HWH compartment, plus it is 96 degrees here in Texas so the heat doesn't help.

In addition to the loose connection that I found, I also found that all the washers were installed underneath the electrical cable connectors instead of on top of the connectors. The order of placing the pieces on the various bolts should have been: electrical connector, then washer, then nut.

Watch out for loose connections, missing lock washers, and incorrectly installed washers.

Ted III · 07-10-2008, 03:14 PM

Dale, these little trying issues are for the young at heart which I am certainly not one of and I don't believe you are also. At that kind of temperature you almost did not need a soldering iron. I was going to ask which of the two items were the culprit but after reading your post I will let that slide(no pun intended). I am delighted you resolved your issue. We did discuss in Hilton Head a couple of times that we really were not supposed to rebuild these machines. I guess that depends on whether you care to use them or not. Happy that you survived the situation and you are awaiting for the next challenge! If you had it to do again would you have purchased the complete board or is the cost terribly prohibitive?

Dale777 · 07-10-2008, 05:05 PM

Ted,

With my creaky back and the Texas heat, I certainly don't like doing any of these jobs that I have had to do on this coach. However, in many cases, I've found that I can do the job quicker and with more quality than having it done by a dealer. I'm not doing this work myself to save money, but rather to get the job done quickly and surely. Remember, I had already paid Terry LaBonte RV repair in Greensboro to diagnose this problem, but they said they checked all connections, tried the slides, and found no problem. No help!

The cost of the Master Relay and Pump Relay was about $26 and $19, respectively, plus shipping. So I was certainly not going to go to all that trouble of dealing with that tight compartment and tangle of wires and hoses, without replacing both relays. I don't know which relay was bad, and I don't even care.

Also, I did not touch the circuit board. If I have to replace the circuit board at some stage, it looks like it will be much easier to deal with, since it appears to be much easier access.

Renipladlo · 07-10-2008, 07:29 PM

Dale, you hit the nail on the head with your comment. I know I can do it quicker, and with more quality than many other techs. An example, for my HH issue we had the dealer diagnose it, along with the stove issue, and the Kingdome. I got the coach for pickup, the HH was not put back together, even though the shop forman told the tech to do it the day before, the stove lid was not down correctly, which is what caused the problem in first place, they charged me for tighting the Fridge, and to fix a shade, the shade still did not work properly, and they had to monkey with it again. I hopefully will be able to watch them fix the stove to ensure it's done correctly. They are also supposed to mess with the shade again, but, I'm thinking it might be better if I took it to this place up the road, and have them do it, that is one thing I cannot do is shades, couches, seat covers, that kind of thing, the mechanical and electrical is a snap for me, since I build computers and fix those.