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99holidayram · 10-21-2012, 04:11 AM

hello everyone this is my first post here and thanks in advance for any help. i just purchased a used 1999 holiday rambler vacatioer 36'. first thing when i got it home i was attempting to level the rv with my HWH joystick controler and had lights on controle and in park with acc on and brake applied. when trying to activate the jacks i noticed nothing was happening i could hear the solinoid on the pump clicking but no power to solinoid. i attemped to jump post on solinoid and found my coach batteries were not charged. after starting generator and jump starting coach batteries i have no power to controler now? looked at every fuse possible and checked for power at controler and nothing? i was wondering if there is a fuse someware i am not aware of or possibly did i pop the solinoide on the hydro pump when i was jumping solinoid?the solinoide has the 2 large post for battery conection in and out and 2 small post one i belive is switched power from acc the other im not sure what it does? hope that explains my delema. thanks.

nightriderrv · 10-21-2012, 06:04 AM

Glad your here

There should be a inline fuse in the wiring by the pump itself also look in the main fuse box

Bigd9 · 10-21-2012, 06:38 AM

Quote:

or possibly did i pop the solinoide on the hydro pump when i was jumping solinoid?the solinoide has the 2 large post for battery conection in and out and 2 small post one i belive is switched power from acc the other im not sure what it does? hope that explains my delema.

The solenoid could be bad, and replacement is easy. The two small terminals on the solenoid should be labeled "I" and "S". The small wire should be connected to the "S" terminal and should be energized by the HWH joystick controller. The "I" terminal should be void of any wire connection. It was used back in the good old days for a connection to the ignition coil to give it a full 12+ volts for starting big cranky hard to start engines.

First thing you need to do is make sure your coach and starting batteries are all fully charged and connections are clean and secure. Voltage should be on one of the large thick wires on the solenoid. The only time you will see voltage on the small wire is when the controller is trying to energize the pump to put the jacks down.

You said you can hear "clicking" when you used the controller right? Do you still hear the clicking when batteries are fully charged? The pump takes a lot of current so the batteries must be in good condition without any dead cells.

georgetown350 · 10-21-2012, 06:59 AM

Go to the hydraulic pump and wiggle the wires especially the ground while someone inside pushes the power button on panel.

Bigd9 · 10-21-2012, 07:08 AM

One word of caution when working around discharged batteries. When charging most batteries found in cars/trucks/RV's they will give off hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is explosive and any spark, no matter how small can ignite the gas. The resulting explosion can be spectacular. Just be very careful.

gnrenfeld · 10-21-2012, 07:20 AM

As I recall on our previous 99 rambler the fuse was located under or outside of the compartment in the ground wire. Can not help other than that.

99holidayram · 10-21-2012, 07:56 AM

thanks for the info i have checked battery voltage at the seloniod and with my battery charge hooked up to my coatch batterys i am getting 13.4 volts. i did also check the fuse that runs down to chassie ground and that was good also. now for the in-line fuse i have looed ear the pump and near the controller buy removing the dog house cover and for the life of me can not find any fuse?originally that was what i read in the pdf file i down loaded. they must have been playing games when they installed these units because this fuse is not easy to locate. has anyone else had problems finding this fuse? thanks also i am going to get new coatch batteries today to make sure thats not the issue. i new i needed them but have not had time to go to the store to get them yet. i tthought my battery charger hooked up would do the trick because the batteries to take a charge just dont last very long.

99holidayram · 10-21-2012, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

The solenoid could be bad, and replacement is easy. The two small terminals on the solenoid should be labeled "I" and "S". The small wire should be connected to the "S" terminal and should be energized by the HWH joystick controller. The "I" terminal should be void of any wire connection. It was used back in the good old days for a connection to the ignition coil to give it a full 12+ volts for starting big cranky hard to start engines.

First thing you need to do is make sure your coach and starting batteries are all fully charged and connections are clean and secure. Voltage should be on one of the large thick wires on the solenoid. The only time you will see voltage on the small wire is when the controller is trying to energize the pump to put the jacks down.

You said you can hear "clicking" when you used the controller right? Do you still hear the clicking when batteries are fully charged? The pump takes a lot of current so the batteries must be in good condition without any dead cells.

ok now i have no power to the controller so i hear no clicking i still think its a fuse or a bad solinoid but ive been in the compartment and the only fuse i can see is the one that goes to chasie ground?

Bigd9 · 10-21-2012, 08:23 AM

I wouldn't worry about the solenoid until you get power to the controller board. On some of the boards, they have a fuse either close to the board or actually on the board. Other than that, it is going to be a trick or treat type of hunt. Follow the wires until you find a fuse. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help.

genesimmons · 10-21-2012, 08:40 AM

did you download the service manual? their are troubleshooting tips in it

jaytho · 10-31-2012, 05:26 AM

I just went through this on my 1995 navigator. On mine there is a 40 amp inline square type automotive fuse near the pump that runs that lives in a little orange rubber dust cover.

Next, the controller has about 6 or seven fuses in the controller box.

Mine has two solenoids, one to control power up the whole system, and the solenoid from the pump. So follow the power.

The solenoid that has one always hot end should kick first, then the pump solenoid, after the air dumps.

Mine would work if I wiggled the second solenoid wire (had to have wife start it up). Saw smoke, thought that the pump solenoid was shot. I took it apart, (bag the hot wire please -easy to weld as there are plenty of metal ground around). Noticed that the terminals on the motor were all loose and wiggly. Well, have to pull the motor. Two Allen screws, and it's out. Be Careful to not lose the shaft coupler between the pump and the hydraulic pump.

In my case the the pump motor was completely fried. Seems like it had been coated with hydraulic fluid and the brush plate got soaked, then had melted. I got a replacement on eBay for 100 bucks and life is now good.

99holidayram · 11-01-2012, 04:26 AM

hello again. thanks to everyone that responded here. I found my problem. under my hood i have a power shut off box with 2 round dials that when turned shut poer off to chassie the other shuts down power to the motorhome. i noticed that the cover on this box was loose so i started looking at it and noticed that the inside was aanother fuse box! looked at the legend on the cover and ssure enough one said hydrolic leveling jacks 5 amp fuse. took it out and it was blown. replaced it and all is good everthing is working again. i did wait for 4 days and calling the manufacturer every day for no assistance from them what so ever! they answer there phone very well there but thats as far as it goes with them. thanks again to everyone that gave advise and hope this helps out the next person.

Bigd9 · 11-01-2012, 05:57 AM

Glad you got her up and working again. Goes to show you how different each one of these coaches are. Thanks for taking time to give us your solution to the problem.