Leveling jacks won't retract

[Johnw]

Leveling jacks wouldn't retract when we went to move MH today. Extended them some more (mistake). Now really up in the air. Any suggestions appreciated.

JohnW

99 Discovery 36T

[Avalondanes]

Need more info. What jacks do you have, HWH,Power Gear....hyd or electric?

Richard

[Johnw]

I believe they're Power Gear but cann't find any info in owner's manual except "4 point hydraulic jacks"

[Stevegd007]

If hydraulic , look for the pump. Follow the hose back from the jacks. At the pump you should find a valve to release the fluid pressure. Once the pressure is off the jacks, you can push up the jacks. All this is under the RV work for the most part.

Another Idea is most all the jacks are made by HWH or in your case Power Gear. Google the site, call the manufacturer. You can get lots of advise from them that is helpful.

[Johnw]

Thanks Steve - checked Power Gear site. Their manual says fuse on control panel (mine dosent appear to have one there - pulled the panel and nothing but circuit board). Or fuse within 18" of pump. Will check it out tomorrow and also look for release valve.

JohnW

[Johnw]

Update - jacks still down at uncomfortable level. Four solenoids at pump. Followed wires but could not locate any inline fuses. Don't see any manual release valve. Coach is 99 model but pump appears to be 98 model (part 500351, date 9806163059). Called Power Gear but they only refer you to dealer - no tech support by phone or net any more. Seems like there must be a fuse somewhere in the system. Could I run 12v from a battery to the individual solenoids to release the pressure? I believe the retract switch supplies ground to complete the circuit - so if a fuse is blown it would be on the hot wire? I'm sure there is a simple solution for someone who is familiar with the system. Called Beaudry in Tucson but they are too busy to help.

[Avalondanes]

Try this link:http://www.powergearus.com/documents...ice_Manual.pdf
They still have tech info on there web site.

Richard

[hillbilly3]

If its like mine, the fuses are on the circuit board next to eight pin connector, they are hard to get out because there wedged between the connector and the circuit board that is vertical from the main circuit board. they pull straight out, a pair of needle nose pliers will be required. They look specialized, so you can probally only get them from Power Gear. Have you tried releasing the parking brake? This will send it into emergency retract, which I think overrides the circuit board and releases the pressure. (The fuses are black cylinders with very small print on top)

[Batman_777]

I've seen something similar posted on iRV2. I think the problem was a release solennoid, switch, release valve or something. Simple fix

[justimagination]

Johnw...........there are two overides to release pressure beside the control panel. The emergency brake (as previously mentioned) by hillbilly3, as well as the gearshift selector. You can start the engine with no control on the jacks, but when you move the gearshift to any position other than PARK, or release the PARKBRAKE, the jacks will retract, or they should.
I would leave the key out of the ignition, release the EMERGENCY BRAKE then reapply it, start the engine, take it out of PARK, and release the EMERGENCY BRAKE, hopefully everything will go to normal. Good luck,
David G.
PS, keep us posted, ok.

[Avalondanes]

Johnw,
If you raised the coach, that means that the fuse is not blown, you have power to the control board. You can try the ways others have posted, release the park brake etc. The solenoids should have a center that is 1/4 turn, spring loaded. that is manual release for each circuit, one jack at a time. The link to power gear manual shows this on diagrams.
hope this helps, good luck.

Richard

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Johnw... don't know if you have the schematic and/or component location manual/s. The switch on the control panel that says RETRACT is a simple switch that controls a SOLENOID that should be somewhere on or near the Pump/Oil Reservoir. This solenoid is what releases the pressure and allows the springs on the jacks to retract. See if you can find this Solenoid and check if it's getting power and/or a ground when you press the switch. At the very least you should be able to manually engage the solenoid and relieve the pressure on the jacks.

Be careful under that motorhome though, make sure you have plenty of room for yourself if those jacks release, and make sure the wheels are blocked.

[wa8yxm]

Well if you have 4 valves I do not THINK it is a power gear (however who knows)

I know on Power gear jacks if you don't lube 'em as per the manual they don't retract well.. They will let you down, but they stay down on the ground.

I will ask a question.. I understand some power gear jack systems the valves can be opened manually, (in the event of a control failure) On mine the valve solenoids do have a plastic screw on cap that can be removed.. But what to do next is not obvious.

[Johnw]

Update 2 - Thanks everyone for input. Problem does not seem electrical. Voltmeter shows 12v at all solenoid connections at block on resevoir at pump. There are actually 3 jack solenoids, one each for rear jacks and one for front two jacks. They are square and located at the top of the block. Directly below them is a round solenoid. I'm assuming this operates a dump valve. It is powered when the retract switch is hit. I also tried the parking brake and transmission over-ride procedure but nothing happened to jacks. Manually bled the rear jacks by disconnecting hoses at pump (a little messy but not to bad) and both jacks retracted. For fun??? hit the retract switch again and both front jacks partially retracted and both rear jacks partially extended. I believe this indicates fluid at all jacks is equalizing at the jacks and not dumping back to the resevoir - thus stuck or bad solenoid even though its powered. I'm assuming the round solenoid operates a dump valve. It has a nut on the end and does not appear to have any manual operation (maybe unscrew the nut and turn the solenoid? I don't know.) Anyway, I bled all jacks so they are now up and I can move the coach. The jack extended light remains on - probably a pressure switch somewhere. I'll pull the pump fuse so they should not extend again and there is little fluid left in the jack lines. Now to find a Power Gear knowledgable person who can explain if and how to repair the dump solenoid and/or valve. Thanks everyone again for responses.

Johnw