Community Forums

AccessMaster · 01-29-2018, 02:48 PM

How do I make the steps retract completely? Mine need to travel about one inch further to tuck up against the top of the opening. I just replaced the motor and lubricated the steps. They run great, just stop a little too soon.

BFlinn181 · 01-29-2018, 03:11 PM

Did they retract fully before the motor replacement? If nothing is in the way and everything is lubed, I'd suspect the mechanism either isn't the correct one or maybe something has slipped on a shaft preventing full motion.

trx430ex · 01-29-2018, 07:18 PM

Viewed a great reply to this question as I suffer the same thing. The answer was to disassemble the motor and lubricate the drive shaft. And all was fixed.

Yes, I understand that a new motor should not need that. But yet there it is, need to get to this issue myself.

The symptom to look for is if you can use one finger as it is going up to help it complete it’s travel. If you can do that, then the above is necessary.

The vender did not build the replacement part to spec. And most likely it was made in China.

AccessMaster · 01-30-2018, 08:21 AM

That is exactly how mine is. I assume the controller is looking for a spike in voltage to stop the motor from running. The last few rotations must require the most current to complete the withdrawal of the steps to the full up position. I will give it a try. Thanks.

AccessMaster · 03-26-2018, 04:42 PM

Well shoot. I lubricated the motor drive shaft and that did not make any difference. The steps move easily. The new motor brought the steps all the way up for a couple of weeks and now its worse than ever. The steps barely pull even with the coach. They hang down with a 2" gap. Guess I will give Kwikee a call.

TowDawg · 03-27-2018, 05:48 PM

This might seem obvious, but I had the same issue on a previous coach and it ended up being that the batteries weren't fully charged and didn't have enough juice to pull them up the final little bit. It was the first clue that I had an inverter/charger issue.

Unplanned Tourist · 03-27-2018, 06:01 PM

Low voltage can certainly cause your problem. As the voltage goes down, the amperage has to go up to do the same work. (Watts) You may have a corroded connection or partially broken wire. Sounds like you need to check the voltage at the motor as it's working.
Happy Glamping.

AccessMaster · 03-28-2018, 05:27 AM

Yep. Checking the voltage is my next step. I just hate to cut into the wiring since they have those neat water tight plug connectors. The batteries are good and the problem persists even when the batteries are being charged.

I assume the controller would cause the same problem, so I will be by passing it to see if that allows the motor to run the steps all the way up.

BFlinn181 · 03-28-2018, 08:47 AM

You can pierce the wire insulation with a pin to take a reading, then seal it up with a bottle of liquid tape. A handy thing to have in your electrical tool bag.