LevelBest gone whacky

[jeffro]

2005 Winnebago Voyage. The leveling system (Kwikee Level Best) has gone bonkers . Hydraulic fluid checks out and I added some. Control panel comes on but rear jacks and drivers side won't engage (down) when pressing those buttons, front jacks engage but will not stop once button is released have to hit the on/off button to get them stopped, same for passenger side. All_up button works but once all retracted the pump keeps going have to hit on/off. Unplugged control panel to reset it and then when first activated (on/off button) the driver side jacks start going down. Then back to the same unworkable state. Anyone have any suggestions? I am sort of without a lot of diagnostic tools. Is there a phone number for Kwikee? TIA

[Wayne M]

Jeffro,
Kwikee is now owned by Power Gear. I have the number as (574) 254-1428, but don't hold me to it if it is wrong. Sounds like you have a control board problem to me.

[jeffro]

Thanks Wayne, I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they have to say. I'm leaning with you on the control board problem.

[Clay L]

Power Gear and Kwikee are now both owned by Acuant and the customer service of Kwikee is zero now and I have been told the same is true of Power Gear. They will not answer calls unless something has changed in the last couple of months.
You can download a troubleshooting guide from the Kwikee web site that may help.

I would first take the front panel off (four screws) and unplug the circuit board, wait a couple of minutes to let it reset, plug it back in and try it again. It is not uncommon for the board to get lost in the land of little bytes and require a reset.
That fixed my problem a couple of times but last fall I had to replace the circuit board. I got it from Lichtsinn Motors Winnebago & Itasca Motorhomes, Iowa RV Dealer - North Iowa GM Dealer - Lichtsinn Motors

They are a few blocks from the Winnebago factory in Forest City and I have always had good service from them. Cost was close to $400 as I recall. They mailed it out the day after I ordered it.

[RV Wizard]

It sounds like the controller needs to be reset and possibly have the zero point re calibrated as well. The trouble shooting guide and/or owners manual should get you through these steps. Let us know what you find.

[jeffro]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I had already done an unplug reset when I originally posted, everytime I reset it went back to whacked out again. Strangely though, I brought the coach home from getting some tow wiring done for the latest tow vehicle and the darn thing worked when I went to level in the driveway So what the heck, looks the electronics are a little flakey on these things after seeing several posts here about reseting the controller. Geez I hope it contnues to work because $400 sounds like a gouge to me .

Thanks again everyone

[Clay L]

I hate to be negative, but after I did some trouble shooting the darn thing started working for a couple of cycles and then went weird again. That's when I ordered the control board.

[RV Wizard]

Be sure you have checked the grounding of the system; especially at the pump/motor assembly. A loose ground can cause intermittent operation and wreck electronics to boot.

[jeffro]

Thanks guys. I will certainly check the grounds to make sure good connections. We have driven over to Denver area and all has worked good to this point. So we are crossing our fingers and hoping it was just a board reset fix. We'll find out the next few weeks.

[tppilot]

I found this thread (using search function) because I was having similar problems on my 2005 Voyage. The left/rear jack would begin extending immediately upon selecting the control panel 'ON'. It wouldn't stop until selecting the panel 'OFF'. None of the other jacks would extend. The reset procedure (unplugging the power connector) did not correct the problem. The 'ground' connection at the manifold was good.

So...........I ordered a new control panel/circuit board. I had to use my troubleshooting 'gut instinct', knowing that if I replaced this part and the problem persisted, there was no way they were going to take this part back and issue a refund. (How many times have you seen the sign saying 'NO RETURNS ON ELECTRICAL PARTS'?)

Kwikee is of NO USE to the end user, as they will not answer the phone. They will only talk to dealers. (Tried that, too. Freakin' waste of time.)

OK, the good news..........the problem seems to be solved. The new part came with a new harness, which was termed the 'power interrupt harness' on the enclosed literature. The new harness comes with some sort of relay. This seems to confirm my hunch that coach/chassis battery issues will cause spikes in this system, requiring some sort of reset to correct. I've experienced this in the past. In fact, this current issue happened immediately after a camp outing in which the coach batteries went flat. I used the chassis battery (via the emergency switch) to get the genset running. As we were dry camping for several days up in the high Sierras, I had to do this about 3 times to keep the coach powered up.

Anyway, now the bad news...............almost $600 shipped to my door!! (From a well-known discount parts dealer in South Texas). Holy crap, batman............

[jeffro]

Hey tp.....
Your issue sounds identical to mine. Needless to say my levelers went wacky again after the Denver trip this summer. I have the coach in the shop to get new tile and carpeting so they will look at it and get it repaired.
.....And to add to the Manufacturer's no service, I contacted Winnebago and they couldn't even tell me the part number for the keypad/controller board, all they found was a Kwikee kit# from the build sheet which didn't get down to individual part#s....ugh!

WOW $600.00 dollars sounds like a rip. There isn't that many components on the board and it isn't even that complicated of a design. I worked in Semiconductors for years and probably not much more than $30.00 dollars worth of transistors and components on the board. Oh well I guess the membrane keypad is costly eh?

Glad you got yours repaired. I hope mine gets back to normal, sure is difficult getting level without the jacks working properly.

Happy trails...............

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffro Hey tp..... . .....And to add to the Manufacturer's no service, I contacted Winnebago and they couldn't even tell me the part number for the keypad/controller board, all they found was a Kwikee kit# from the build sheet which didn't get down to individual part#s....ugh! WOW $600.00 dollars sounds like a rip. Happy trails...............

As I mentioned above I got the control board/keypad from Lichtsinn Motors for about $400. They didn't seem to have a problem getting the part number

As you say I doubt if there is $30 in parts in the thing.

[tppilot]

Clay, it may be because the control panel on the Winnebago Voyage is unique. In fact, there is no part number anywhere on the panel. I had to open up the panel and read a number printed on the circuit board to the parts dealer, who then contacted Kwikee to order the part.

He indicated to me that Kwikee told him the Winnebago panel is apparently 'one of a kind'. Hence the $600 price, I suppose.

This sort of validates Jeffro's comments regarding his experience with trying to get the part number for the panel from Winnebago. I don't believe there is a part number..........

I would recommend to anyone that may read this thread in the future - if you have battery issues on your coach, disconnect the Kwikee panel BEFORE fooling around with any remedy. Reconnect once the battery issue is resolved. I can't say with any certainty that voltage spikes will kill this panel, but my experience tells me that it's likely.

[jeffro]

Hmmmm, now I remember when we were in Las Cruces, NM the engine battery was drained and then I needed a jump to get her going. But the levelers didn't start acting up until a couple of trips later.....could be related, dunno?